AFRICA/NIGER - Demonstration in support of putschist junta

Niamey (Fides News Agency) - A large demonstration in Niamey today, August 3, in support of the putschist military government on the day of the 63rd anniversary of Niger's independence from France.
Some of the demonstrators wore T-shirts with the image of General Omar Tchiani, commander of Niger's Presidential Guard and President of the Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP, the military junta). There were even some waving the Russian flag, along with that of Mali and Burkina Faso, two countries governmed by military juntas who stated they will consider any external military operation against Niger's military junta as a "declaration of war" on them; particularly, on part of the Economic Community of West African States (CEDEAO/ECOWAS). Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are part of the CEDEAO/ECOWAS, but were suspended from the Community following the coup.
The demonstration in Niamey was organized by Movement 62 (M62). "Born in 2022, its name refers to the 62 years of indipendence and the "fight against neocolonialism" to which Niger has always been committed", recalls Rahmane Idrissa, a Nigerien researcher at the University of Leiden. "It's a form of populism: but unlike that of former President Tandja, who promised tangible achievements, this group is immersed in a "progressivist" utopia (unification of Africa, total break from the West), and in the apocalyptic perspective of a never-ending struggle, or one that will end thanks to the support of a super-ally (which explains the pro-Russian sentiment that, for many of them, goes hand in hand with a war that would see the West completely defeated by "Great Russia", the only guarantee - in their slightly delusional eyes - of the "liberation" of the "continent")", the researcher continues.
"While their position has some nihilist nuances, it also fills them to the brim with an energy that finds a way to spread across social networking sites, a space in which they can broadcast passionate opinions and alarmist conspiracy theories to the masses" Idrissa concludes.
In the meantime France has stated it has concluded the repatriation operations for its citizens who wished to leave Niger, they are now completed. Paris has evacuated 1,079 people of whom 577 are French, and the rest from other countries.
(L.M.) (Fides News Agency 3/8/2023)

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