Niger crisis: French President, Macron urges military junta to restore constitutional order

ADEKUNLE ADESUJI, Abuja

 

 

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a return to democratic order in Niger, a former French colony whose elected leadership was toppled in a military coup in July.

“As far as Niger is concerned, we are clear: the coup is a coup against democracy in Niger, against the people in Niger and the fight against terrorism,” Macron said on Thursday.

France therefore demands the release of detained President Mohamed Bazoum and the “restoration of constitutional order,” he said.

The coup in late July came as a major blow to relations between France and Niger.

France has soldiers stationed in several parts of West Africa as part of anti-terror operations, and Macron also defended France’s military presence in the region.

“If we hadn’t got involved with operations Serval and then Barkhane, there’s no doubt Mali and Burkina Faso will no longer exist, and I’m not sure myself if Niger will still exist,” he said.

He said African states had requested the French operations which successfully prevented the formation of caliphates a few thousand kilometres from France’s borders.

“When there is a coup and when the fight against terrorism is not the priority of the new rulers, France does not feel called to remain engaged,” said Macron.

“This is indeed dramatic for the countries concerned.”

Niger, a Sahel country with around 26 million inhabitants and one of the poorest populations in the world was one of the last democratic partners of the United States and Europe in the so-called “coup belt” surrounding it.

.As Tinubu directs Ulamas to return to Niger

President Bola Tinubu has asked the delegation of Islamic leaders (Ulamas) to return back to Niger Republic for another round of diplomatic dialogue with the coup leaders.

 

Tinubu’s decision is coming less than 2 weeks after the intervention team of Nigerian Islamic leaders led by Bala Lau, met with the leader of the Niger military junta, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who agreed to diplomatic dialogue with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after the meeting.

 

The directive was given by Tinubu on Thursday after a meeting with the top clerics led by Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, who came to brief him on the outcome of their dialogue with the military junta in Niamey, Niger Republic.

 

Tinubu made the decision in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

 

The West African bloc has approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger as soon as possible but remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

 

ECOWAS envoy to Niger Republic and former Nigerian Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, upon return from the coup-torn country had said that his delegation’s meeting with Niger Republic coup leaders last weekend was fruitful.

 

He said diplomacy won’t fail to restore the democratically elected government of deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

 

Tiani had said the junta would return to civilian rule within three years but ECOWAS rejected the move.

 

The African Union had suspended the Niger Republic over the ongoing situation.

 

 

The coup has heightened international worries over the Sahel, which faces growing jihadist insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Niger is the fourth nation in West Africa since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.

 

The juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali have said that any military intervention in their neighbour would be considered a “declaration of war” against their countries.

 

The coup is the fifth in Niger’s history since the impoverished landlocked state gained independence from France in 1960.

 

Bazoum’s election in 2021 was a landmark, opening the way to the country’s first peaceful transition of power.

 

He has been held with his family at the president’s official residence since the coup, with growing international concern over his conditions in detention.

 

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