The military junta which seized power 2 weeks ago, has named a new transitional government.
According to the Associated Press:
State television says coup chief Maj. Salou Djibou signed a decree appointing 20 ministers on Monday. Five of the posts went to women and five to officers.
Renegade soldiers overthrew President Mamadou Tandja on Feb. 18 in a popular coup after the aging leader refused to step down after his mandate expired in December.
On Feb. 22, the junta announced it would form a transitional government giving Djibou the power to appoint a premier and Cabinet. It also promised a new constitution would eventually be adopted by national referendum.
Last week, Mahamadou Dandah was named prime minister.
Todd Pittman of the Associated Press has an interesting take on the situation in Niger, which as you probably know recently experienced a military coup:
They are simple words humanitarian workers in Africa use often but dared not speak in this impoverished nation: hunger, starvation.
And definitely not famine.
For years, President Mamadou Tandja denied there was any food crisis in Niger, even when images were broadcast of skeletal children too weak to brush away flies. Now that the military has ousted Tandja, aid agencies are speaking out, with good reason: The country is facing its worst food shortage in years.
“A window has finally opened and we need to take advantage of it,” said Anne Boher, Niger spokeswoman for the U.N. Children’s Fund.
With food supplies rapidly dwindling, humanitarian agencies must prepare and mobilize funds, she said. “And to do that, we need to talk about what’s really happening. It’s urgent that we act now.”
Nearly half of Niger’s 15 million people are facing food shortages this year because poor rainfall has thinned harvests, according to a leaked government report that said nearly 3 million of those people are expected to face “extreme” shortfalls.
The U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which monitors food security, also predicts there will be “a serious food security emergency” in Niger this year. The number of malnourished children being admitted to feeding centers was 60 percent greater in January than the previous year, the group said. UNICEF is mobilizing help to at least 200,000 severely malnourished children alone.
You can read his full report here.
As you’re probably aware, a military coup was recently staged in Niger overthrowing President Mamadou Tandja. The United States has officially responded:
The United States on Monday called for a peaceful and early transition from military to civilian rule in Niger, following last week’s coup which ousted President Mamadou Tandja.
“The United States continues to call (for) Niger’s speedy return to democracy and the rule of law, as well as prompt, fair and transparent elections,” said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley in quotes carried by Agence France-Presse.
He added that the United States was “gratified” by the strong international reaction to the coup, including a “strong statement” by the European Union. “We will obviously work closely with our international partners and do everything we can to see democracy returned to Niger as rapidly as possible,” he said.
Tensions had been running high in the West African state as Tandja, in office since December 1999, had been trying to stay in power beyond the time mandated by the constitution.
The move stirred anger both at home and abroad as the European Union suspended aid to the impoverished country.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the military coup have announced their intentions to draft a new constitution and hold elections, according to the BBC.
Our readers are probably aware that in the last couple days a successful coup was staged in Niger to overthrow President Mahamadou Tandja. This obviously creates a tricky situation when considering humanitarian aid in the region. Jenny Aker from the Center for Global Development contends that a current food crisis in Niger runs the risk of getting much worse if humanitarian aid were to be cut off.
She writes:
There are both legal and theoretical reasons for cutting off aid after political instability. Legally, the U.S. State Department is bound to suspend aid if a coup occurs. And democracy, at least in theory, is good for economic development – especially if we look at the human rights abuses and economic meltdowns under the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
But reality is quite complex. Whether democracy causes economic development or development causes democracy is a tricky question, and one that has not been definitively answered. We cannot know what Niger would have been like without President Tandja, but its social and economic indicators certainly aren’t much better than they were ten years ago. Malnutrition rates (measured by stunting, or low height-for-age) actually increased between 1999 and 2006, and GDP per capita has remained stagnant. Yet supporters of Tandja claim that he has stabilized the country and brought new investment to the region, citing the 2008 multi-billion dollar oil deal between China and the government.
At this point, though, the debate between democracy and development is an academic one. After drought and pest infestations last year, Niger is currently in the midst of a potential severe food crisis. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) estimates that 2.7 million Nigeriens (18% of the population) are vulnerable to food insecurity. This means that 18% of the population has already started reducing the number of meals per day or consuming lower-quality foods. When I was there in January, entire households had already started migrating to Libya or Nigeria due to lack of food – a key leading indicator of potential famine conditions.
But the current food crisis doesn’t have to become famine. As I explained in 2008, the combination of drought, grain market performance, trade with Nigeria and governmental and NGO responses (or lack thereof) can make the difference between a food crisis and a famine in Niger.
Yesterday a junta successfully seized power in Niger after staging a coup. According to various sources, platoon commander Salou Djibo has been named the new leader, and President Mamadou Tandja’s whereabouts are unknown.
Reuters also reports that the African Union intends to suspend and condemn the country, according to their source. We’ll keep you posted.
Reuters now reports that Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja has been detained by troops and that the coup was successful:
Mutinous troops led by an army major captured Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja on Thursday after storming his palace in a four-hour gun battle that killed at least three soldiers, military sources said.
Political tensions had been high in the west African uranium exporter in recent months after Tandja changed the constitution to extend his rule last year, a move that drew widespread criticism at home and led to international sanctions.
“The coup leader has succeeded. It is being led by Major Adamou Harouna,” one Nigerien military source said. The president and the ministers were being held not far from the presidential palace in the capital Niamey, the sources added.
There was no official statement from the coup perpetrators but state radio interrupted normal programmes to broadcast military music by early evening.
