The developments around the new military junta government in Niger have been rapid-fire over the last 48 hours. On Saturday, August 19, there was finally the first meeting of the Niger junta with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It lasted for two hours.
Following that, junta leader Gen. Abdouramane Tchiani delivered a stirring and very substantial address to the nation. [See separate slug.] In part, he defended the coup d’etat and indicted the illegal and murderous sanctions imposed on the people of Niger by ECOWAS that deprived the country of food and medical imports and shut off most of Niger’s electricity, imported from Nigeria. “Sanctions are not conceived with the aim of finding a solution,” he said, “but to bring us to our knees and humiliate us.” He added, “If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.”
On the plans for a return to a civilian government, General Tchiani explained that an “inclusive dialogue” was planned to take place within the next 30 days to establish the principles of the transition to the refoundation of the state, and that the whole transition may take place within a three-year period.
Of some note, earlier that day, and after ECOWAS threat, conveyed the previous day, of a military intervention into Niger, thousands of Nigerien men came to the Seyni Kountche Stadium in the capital of Niamey to register for a volunteer force in case of invasion. This was the result of a citizens’ initiative to collect the names of men willing to volunteer and to give the list to the army.
Also on Saturday, Algeria’s Foreign Ministry issued a press release calling for a negotiated solution. Algérie Presse Service quoted the strong language of the press release: