It put an end to the suspense which hitherto surrounded President Mohamed Bazoum’s putsch. Abdourahamane Tchiani appeared on national television this Friday, July 28, in military fatigues, explaining that he was “president of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNPS)”. In other words, he admitted being the leader of the coup group that overthrew the Seventh Republic of Niger.
“The action of the CNSP is motivated by the sole desire to preserve our dear homeland, in the face of the continuous deterioration of the security situation in our country”, he justified in his first televised speech. Under President Bazoum, there was “political discourse” which wanted to make people believe that “everything is fine”, while there is “the harsh reality with its share of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration” , he said. His speech came on the third day of the kidnapping of the overthrown president in his private residence located inside the military camp of the Presidential Guard, whose commanders are among the putschists.
International condemnations from all sides
According to Abdourahamane Tchiani, “the current security approach has not made it possible to secure the country despite heavy sacrifices made by Nigeriens and the appreciable and appreciated support of our external partners”, France and the United States being among the main. “The CSNP, by my voice, asks the partners and friends of Niger, at this crucial stage in the life of our country, to trust our Defense and Security Forces, guarantors of national unity”, he said. -he adds. The coup d’etat is widely decried by the Western powers, starting with France.
Emmanuel Macron thus condemned Friday from Papua New Guinea “with the greatest firmness the military coup”, “dangerous” for the region, and called for “the release” of President Mohamed Bazoum. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also indicated that it does not recognize the authorities resulting from the putsch.
The European Union (EU), for its part, strongly condemned the coup, and threatened to suspend the financial aid provided to this country in the Sahel. On the continent, only the President of Kenya, William Ruto, has spoken since General Tchiani spoke. “Africa has suffered a serious setback in its democratic progress,” he said on Friday, condemning “in the strongest terms this unconstitutional act.”
A discreet senior officer
General Tchiani is a career soldier, high-ranking, who had until now remained far from the political affairs of his country. In 2011, he was appointed by former President Issoufou Mahamadou, predecessor of Mohamed Bazoum, to head the presidential guard. He is presented by many observers as a “discreet senior officer”. In February 2021, just after his election as President of the Republic, Mohamed Bazoum decided to keep the general in his post.
Very little information has circulated so far on the biography. According to Radio France Internationale (RFI), which quotes observers, is a general with a “reputation of a very tough man” and “very feared by his colleagues” in the national army. On March 31, 2021, General Tchiani foiled an army coup in the direction of the newly elected President Bazoum. He is now the main architect of his dismissal.
On the ground, the putschist soldiers announced “the suspension until further notice of the activities of the political parties” and called “the population to calm” after incidents during a demonstration Thursday in Niamey organized to support them, during which Russian flags flew and anti-French slogans were chanted. After Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger, hitherto allied with Western countries, becomes the third country in the Sahel, undermined by attacks by groups linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, to experience a coup State since 2020.