Niger Coup
- Thread starter BMD
- Start date
I was just about to point that out.
When the wise man points to the moon, the unwise look at his finger!!
It doesn't matter whether they are calling their country Niger or Nigeria. What is important is the FIRM REESTABLISHMENT OF NEO IMPERIALIST TENTACLES IN AFRICA. It will spread from here to other parts of the world. America and Asia will be the next stops in King Charles grand strategy.
(thechinaproject, aug.08):
What are China’s plans for Niger post-coup?
China says it hopes Niger can find a "political resolution" to its coup. After all, there is business to be done, with whichever Nigerien government comes out on top.Last week, Niger witnessed the fifth successful military coup in its 63-year existence, when the commander of the Presidential Guard overthrew the democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum. Neighboring African states have hit hard with sanctions, with Nigeria shutting off its supply of electricity (70% of Niger’s total).
Niger has no shortage of hardships already, consistently sitting at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index from 1990 through to 2018, with the World Bank estimating in 2021 that 40% of its population still lived in extreme poverty.
The P.R.C. says it hopes Niger and regional countries can resolve matters by themselves, and precedents in the Sahel — a region that runs horizontally south of the Sahara, recently plagued by political instability — suggest it won’t intervene beyond UN peacekeeping missions. While the EU, U.S., and West African trading bloc ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja in 2009 for dissolving parliament and the judiciary in a quest to abolish presidential term limits, China — with its non-interference policy — continued to invest in Niger regardless. One former Nigerien minister claimedit was this Chinese financial support that enabled Tandja to resist Western sanctions. However, the P.R.C.’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blames EU sanctions for “plunging Niger into a constitutional crisis,” when Tandja was deposed in a domestic coup in 2010.
A lot of Chinese investment comes from PetroChina — the commercial arm of state-owned oil company CNPC — which has sunk billions into building the country’s major oil refineries and exploring its oil fields, with the hope of a share of all revenues. It built Niger’s oil industry single-handedly, when it began drilling in the Sahel in 2008 (under risk of terrorist attacks), taking over after Western companies abandoned their own projects as too costly and perilous.
PetroChina now owns two-thirds of the vast Agadem oil field, and started processing it through the SORAZ refinery in 2011 for the domestic market.
Its plans have become bolder. The company is spending $6 billion in expanding Agadem’s production for export to the international market, through a vast new pipeline. When complete, it will stretch 1,200 miles from Niger’s Agadem oil fields through Benin to the Atlantic, and would increase the country’s oil output by over 450%. It was estimated to be more than three-quarters complete in March, but what happens to it now is unclear — Benin insists sanctions have not affected construction, but admitted there will be delays. The excess fuel, and export revenues from it, could be a future lifeline for Niger’s military government.
If its own back-patting is to be believed, CNPC has strong ties with Niger’s government. In 2018, Fù Jílín 付吉林, CNPC’s General Manager of the Niger Project, boasted about the company’s key relations within the Ministry of Finance, the debates it had organized on “sensitive issues” for national radio, and how Fu had been invited by then-President Mahamadou Issoufou to visit neighboring countries with him. The Nigerien government certainly seems to be willing to bend the rules for the company, moving the borders of one of Africa’s largest nature reserves in 2019 to accommodate CNPC’s Agadem expansion.
China has been a useful political expedient for Niger. Benjamin Augé, a researcher at the Institut français des relations internationales, says Tandja (in power from 1999 to 2010) made multiple infrastructure deals with Chinese companies without approval from any other branch of government, to raise funds and win voters. His son was placed as commercial attaché in Niger’s Beijing embassy, showing the importance placed on the Chinese relationship.
Similarly in diplomacy, Niger has always gone with whichever China can best finance it. The country pivoted from Taiwan to the P.R.C. in 1974, and back to Taiwan again from 1992 to 1996, taking out two loans with Taiwan’s Exim Bank for $60 million, and repeatedly speaking out for Taiwan’s re-admittance to the UN, right up to the end of 1995. The nation switched back to the P.R.C. half a year later, with Exim Bank spending the next 20 years suing Niger for dropping all repayments on the loans. Today, Niger backs the P.R.C. on the international stage, including on the Hong Kong National Security Law.
The P.R.C. will likely go with whichever Nigerien government it can do business with. David Shinn, professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, told SCMP that Beijing would seek political stability in Niger by supporting whoever happens to be in power, whereas Washington will only work with democratic governments.
Niger’s oil fields are too tempting for China — thought to be holding over a billion barrels, with basins to the east still under-explored. In May this year, another major Chinese oil company, SINOPEC, signed an MoU with Niger for oil blocks of its own. No doubt they and CNPC will try to make friends in this new government if it remains in place once the dust settles — they should have the right contacts given that the general now in charge worked in both Issoufou and Bazoum’s regimes. For the junta and for CNPC, that pipeline could be a fine bit of win-win cooperation. /end
The great minds of the Russian media discuss how to pronounce 'Niger':
#Niger Minister of State, Advisor to the President of the Republic Rhissa Ag Boula, a leading figure in the Tuareg rebellion, launches his movement for restitution @mohamedbazoum
(...)
Noting the junta's categorical refusal to engage in constructive dialogue;
Aware of the up to no-go attitude adopted by certain members of the CNSP;
Noting the infamous practice of mass manipulation of our youth, the use of civilians as militias and the temptation to call in mercenaries, war criminals known as Wagner;
Noting the alignment of the mutineers with the populist and unlawful strategies used by the military dictatorships of the sub-region;
Noting the anti-national and liberticidal dynamic that the mutineers are developing through daily threats, arbitrary arrests, censorship of the public and private media, blackmail and violence;
Convinced of the need to mobilise all sincere democrats in order to block this disastrous project to establish in Africa, and currently in Niger, a model of governance far removed from all democracy and freedom:
WE the people of Niger, democrats and patriots, hereby decide, with effect from this day 8 August 2023, to create the Resistance Council for the Republic.
The CRR is a political movement which will work to re-establish order, constitutional legality and President Bazoum Mohamed in the fullness of his functions.
The RRC calls on the military, respectful of their oath and of the people, to put an end to the mutiny and to arrest General Tchiani without delay;
The RRC warns that it will use all necessary means to eliminate this perfidious practice of questioning the choices of the people by rogue and irresponsible soldiers.
The RRC calls on all those of goodwill to spare no effort to re-establish legality and republican order in Niger and to support it in the fight it is waging. the fight it is undertaking. /(deepl)end
(...)
Noting the junta's categorical refusal to engage in constructive dialogue;
Aware of the up to no-go attitude adopted by certain members of the CNSP;
Noting the infamous practice of mass manipulation of our youth, the use of civilians as militias and the temptation to call in mercenaries, war criminals known as Wagner;
Noting the alignment of the mutineers with the populist and unlawful strategies used by the military dictatorships of the sub-region;
Noting the anti-national and liberticidal dynamic that the mutineers are developing through daily threats, arbitrary arrests, censorship of the public and private media, blackmail and violence;
Convinced of the need to mobilise all sincere democrats in order to block this disastrous project to establish in Africa, and currently in Niger, a model of governance far removed from all democracy and freedom:
WE the people of Niger, democrats and patriots, hereby decide, with effect from this day 8 August 2023, to create the Resistance Council for the Republic.
The CRR is a political movement which will work to re-establish order, constitutional legality and President Bazoum Mohamed in the fullness of his functions.
The RRC calls on the military, respectful of their oath and of the people, to put an end to the mutiny and to arrest General Tchiani without delay;
The RRC warns that it will use all necessary means to eliminate this perfidious practice of questioning the choices of the people by rogue and irresponsible soldiers.
The RRC calls on all those of goodwill to spare no effort to re-establish legality and republican order in Niger and to support it in the fight it is waging. the fight it is undertaking. /(deepl)end
The primary drive for this coup is the new president is Arab whereas the majority of the people, pretty much 99.5%, are not.
The coup came as President Bazoum was preparing to restructure the presidential guard and sack Tchiani, who was its chief.
(france24, jul.27):
Coup in Niger: Bazoum tried to "gain autonomy" from his presidential guard
France 24: Niger's presidency has accused members of the presidential guard of being behind the coup. Several sources claim that President Bazoum wanted to get rid of his chief, General Tchiani. What do we know about their relationship?
Abdourahmane Idrissa: First of all, we need to explain that the current presidential guard predates the arrival of President Bazoum. It was his predecessor and mentor, President Issoufou, who put this team together. Internal sources claim that this presidential guard was imposed on Mohammed Bazoum against his will. During a visit to the presidency in Niamey, I saw for myself that these security forces were the only ones in direct contact with him. So it was very easy for them to take control.
When he came to power, President Bazoum tried to distinguish himself from his predecessor while claiming continuity in his policies. He had, for example, opted for lighter security during his travels and granted interviews to the press, which Issoufou did not do. The general feeling, however, was that he was finding it difficult to free himself from Issoufou's legacy, to the extent that people in Niger speak of a "two-headed presidency". Many believe that it was to get rid of this label and gain greater autonomy that President Bazoum sought to dismiss General Tchiani, which Tchiani did not accept. (...)
Yeah, the point being regular people supported the coup 'cause of his Arab ancestry. We saw something similar in Ukraine, where some Ukrainians decided not to accept a Russian being their leader.
It also appears most of these coup belt nations are failed democracies. The central govts have failed to incorporate minorities properly into basic governance. And France has made things worse by ignoring the problems, to the point where trying to make everyone happy has allowed Russia to sneak in.
When he decided to join the EEU instead of the EU like he promised when he was elected you mean?
And have a suspicious Wagner presence among the coup supporters.
More like because Russia and China sponsor Boko Haram until Wagner get there and then they stop.
Yes, that's not how things were under Francafrique.
Instead of helping resolve the situation, the French acted as peacekeepers between the warring parties; typically the govt and disenfranchised ethnic tribes. That's not a solution, that's simply wasting everyone's time.
So Russia offered to take a side and assist the stronger side, mainly the govt, although after a military coup. That's why Russia is in. Had France picked sides or forced a compromise by persuading govts into giving minority groups some autonomy, things wouldn't have led to all the fighting. In fact, many of the minority groups don't want to fight.
It's just a combination of Western disinterest in finding solutions and failed democracies.
France said yesterday it will seriously study a military assistance for CDEAO if requested. It's a kind of picking one side though.
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