The coup threatens to deprive the impoverished state of vital aid, as several states and international organizations have rushed to suspend their payments.
in Niger thousands of supporters of the military junta that seized power gathered on Sunday at the stadium of the country’s capital, Niamey. Many junta supporters carried Russian flags and portraits of junta leaders.
According to a reporter from the news agency AFP who was there, the 30,000-seat Vetava stadium was almost full.
The demonstration by supporters of the junta came on the same day as a deadline set by the West African Economic Community Ecowas for the president by Mohamed Bazoum for restoration to power.
If the demand is not agreed to, Ecowas has threatened to use force.
Niger’s military junta has said it will terminate military contracts with former colonial master France. There are about 1,500 French soldiers in Niger fighting jihadists in the Sahel region. In addition to France, there are about a thousand US soldiers in the country.
A junta supporter waved a Russian flag at a demonstration in Niamey on Sunday. The flag is upside down.
in Niger the military junta’s coup is expected to hit the already poorest country in the world economically hard.
In late July, a military force announced that it had seized power from Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoumi, after which several countries and international organizations announced they would suspend aid payments to Niger.
In Niger, half of the country’s more than 26 million people live below the poverty line, i.e. on less than $2.15 a day. The country has a persistent shortage of food, and it is often the world’s laggard as measured by the UN’s Human Development Index.
In 2021, Niger received 1.8 billion dollars in international aid, or about 1.65 billion euros, according to figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD.
In the West African region, only the neighboring country Nigeria, whose population is almost ten times that of Niger, received more financial aid.
According to the EU, only slightly more than 60 percent of Niger’s annual budget is financed by the state itself.
The World Bank has also been one of Niger’s long-term supporters, and its funds have been used to support numerous infrastructure projects, agriculture and health care.
A coup d’état as a result, Niger’s money taps have quickly dried up.
Already after the coup, Ecowas announced that it would suspend, among other things, commercial and financial activities between other member countries of the community and Niger, and that it would freeze Niger’s assets in the central and commercial banks of the region.
General Abdourahmane Tiani, who seized power, has declared himself the new leader of Niger.
In Europe, for example, the big supporting countries Germany, France and Britain have announced the suspension of development aid to Niger, except for critical humanitarian aid.
The European Union also announced that it would immediately suspend its assistance and security cooperation in the country. The amount of the EU’s four-year aid package for Niger was 2.3 billion euros.
The World Bank has also announced that it will not continue assisting Niger for the time being, except for some private sector partnership programs.
Not one of the major supporting countries, the United States, has said what will happen to the 233 million dollars planned for Niger this year. Foreign minister Antony Blinken however, has made it clear that the support is linked to the fact that the country has a democratic government.
Already announced aid freezes hit Niger’s economy hard. The country’s prime minister compared the situation to ritual suicide in an interview with France 24.
“Relinquishing support is like harakiri, Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou said and warned that the economic sanctions following the coup will be a disaster for the country’s economy.”
However, it is not clear that the money taps will close completely. For example, in 2021, Mali was the subject of similar international disapproval after a military junta coup. Despite this, some of the support programs financed by the World Bank have continued in the country.
The military group that seized power in Niger is also pinning its hopes on the fact that the country will have a new oil pipeline operational by the end of the year.
According to estimates, the increased oil production due to the pipeline could partly make up for the dent in the gross domestic product caused by the lost subsidies.
#Niger #Thousands #junta #supporters #gathered #capitals #stadium
