Interesting development news in Africa.
Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0U_5tk6trY&feature=player_embedded
The African Union has suspended Niger following Thursday's military coup, in
which President Mamadou Tandja was deposed and the government dissolved.
The organisation said it had imposed sanctions on the country and demanded a
return to constitutional rule.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the coup, and appealed for calm
and respect for human rights.
Earlier, the new military council announced it was lifting a curfew and
re-opening borders.
Col Abdul Karimou said the situation was "under control" and that there was "no
single voice of dissension" in the West African state.
Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday in support of the takeover.
Ten people are said to have died when the junta seized power.
Tandja 'safe'
Troops stormed the palace during a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon,
seizing Mr Tandja and his ministers before announcing that they were suspending
the constitution and dissolving all state institutions.
Calling themselves the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD),
the coup leaders promised to turn Niger into an example of "democracy and good
governance" and save its people from "poverty, deception and corruption".
A senior army officer, Col Salou Djibo, was named head of a military
government.
The US said it believed the coup had been triggered by Mr Tandja's actions last
August, when he held a controversial referendum to abolish limits on
presidential terms of office.
The opposition Co-ordination of Democratic Forces for the Republic (CFDR) - a
coalition of political parties, trade unions and human rights groups formed
last year to protest against the constitutional changes - welcomed it.
In a statement, the group condemned "President Tanja's stubbornness in power",
and called on the junta to respect its pledge to restore democracy.
Mr Tandja, a 71-year-old former army officer, was first elected in 1999 and was
returned to power in an election in 2004.
His second term in office expired in December, but was extended to allow him to
complete major investment projects.
A junta spokesman, Col Goukoye Abdul Karimou, told the BBC on Friday that the
president was "safe and well".
"We are taking care of him - remember he is one of our elder soldiers," he told
the BBC's Focus on Africa.
The colonel said most of the cabinet ministers captured along with the
president had been released and had gone home.
The three still being held would be free in a couple of days, he added.
It is believed they are being held at a military barracks in Niamey.
'Zero tolerance'
The international community has been quick to condemn the coup.
The European Union followed former colonial power France in calling for all
those involved to "engage immediately in a democratic process allowing for
rapid establishment of the constitutional order".
The chairman of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, said there should be
"zero tolerance" of those taking power by force.
The regional organisation later announced that it had suspended Niger and
called for its citizens to be allowed to elect the leader they wanted.
"Niger is suspended from all activities of the AU. Meanwhile, we will continue
with the process of helping them return to constitutional order," said Mull
Sebujja Katende, the chairman of the AU Peace and Security Council.
International deals
In New York, the UN's secretary general reiterated "his disapproval of
unconstitutional changes of government as well as attempts to remain in power
through unconstitutional means".
Mr Ban noted the CSRD had said it intended to restore constitutional rule and
called on it "to proceed swiftly with these efforts through a process that is
consensual and that includes all segments of Nigerien society".
Niger has experienced long periods of military rule since independence from
France in 1960.
It is one of the world's poorest countries, but Mr Tandja's supporters argue
that his decade in power has brought a measure of economic stability.
Under his tenure, the French energy firm Areva has begun work on the world's
second-biggest uranium mine - ploughing an estimated $1.5bn (£970m) into the
project.
China National Petroleum Corporation signed a $5bn deal in 2008 to pump oil
within three years.
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