Pro government march in Niamey last week demands the President stand firm.
Nigerien sources are saying direct talks between the government and opposition leaders in Niamey could begin on Saturday, a strategy that has been pushed by Nigerian mediators. Prime minister and frequent flier Ali Badjo Gamatie had previously promised the EU and the Nigerians such negotiations, while both supporters and opponents of Tandja had said flatly that there was nothing to discuss. There seems little that could be accomplished. Tandja has seemed to side increasingly with the hardline supporters like Nouhou Arzika, the crazy uber-nationalist former protest leader (he led the anti-tax protests against Tandja and Hama Amadou in 2005, but cleaved to Tandja during the Tuareg conflict) who’s now the populist voice of the new Republic. I’ve previously compared him to Ivorian state sponsored quasi-fascist Charles Ble Goude, and I think the comparison is apt. The official news is full of his opinions, as well as increasingly Kim-Jong-Il -esque hommages to the President.
Despite a European demands, Tandja says he will go ahead with the Municipal elections on December 27. Any cancellation would suggest the “7th Republic compromise theory” might be in the offing. As of yet, it’s full steam ahead.
Nouhou Arzika looking friendly.
It also remains to be seen if the opposition will call off protests planned for the 22nd, when Tandja’s term was legally to end. This date has also cropped up in anti-Tandja pamphlets that turned up at military bases last month. The Arzika & government sponsored marches (officials including Tandja himself appeared at most) of last week, which followed the opposition marches on the 13th reportedly devolved into violence in opposition PNDS-Tarayya leader Mahamadou Issoufou‘s home base of Tahoua.
Each year (for the last several) the Republic Day celebrations take place in a different regional capitol, meaning all the top officials head out of Niamey and sit around a stadium watch dancing and giving speeches. This year it is the party is at Diffa in the far distant east, home region of Tandja. This seems a particularly dangerous trip for a government in crisis, but so far Tandja has shown no worry for his throne, jetting off repeatedly and leaving his military chiefs in charge.
One Burkina paper rightfully called this Republic Day (the 18th) as the beginning of “A Week of Full of Dangers.” We’ll see.
Related articles Eslewhere
- Niger: Movement Toward A Compromise? (sahelblog.wordpress.com)
- Niger: Obama Weighs In, Protests and Counterprotests Hit Niamey (sahelblog.wordpress.com)
The Niger: Republic Day opens Danger Week? by T. Miles, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
As I noted on the 10th of March, the CSRD junta in Niger has replaced all the civilian Region Governors with military men to administer local affairs during the transition. We now have the full list, and while I for one hate to see any military governing, a careful look at the men (all men) coming and going in Niger's Regions gives us an opportunity to examine what's going on behind the scenes, and what it augurs for the future.
More ...
Nigeriens were - are - undoubtedly pleased that the army stepped in to end a newly installed dictatorship. But criticisms of this so called "good coup" are beginning to appear even amongst its strongest supporters. With many months of transitional rule ahead, these whispers give us some idea of the problems the junta will soon face. 
One doesn't see much film, let alone color film, of colonial era African football. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across clips of a French colonial propaganda newsreel featuring the my favorite African club side wining a colonial cup final from 1956. 
The new military Junta in Niger has released their first real vision of their promised return to democracy. Niger's expectations, a redux of recent history, are being played to by the soldiers.
After a day of confusion, President Tandja and his supporters are under arrest by the military. I have maintained the live updates from the 18th, and added an in depth analysis of the new CSRD junta.
"Poets are feared by those in power that use violence, who are prosperous at the expense of the collective suffering." - Adamou Idé 
a dinosaur comic about about potable water conservation in sub-Saharan Africa?
The US government will make much of the arrests of three Malians who they say were part of a West African criminal network, devoted to drug smuggling and Osama Bin Laden. So far all we have is hype and what looks like the entrapment of low level criminals. 
A brief look, if one is possible, at the simmering crisis in the northeast Central African Republic. As commentators try to come to grips with this often ignored nation, here is some recommended reading for Anglophones interested in the République centrafricaine.
Niger's rulers would have expected this to be wrapped up by now, with the previous legal deadline for a new president to pass on the 22nd with a shrug. But fears (or hopes) remain that some of those most loyal to the project are looking to abandon their President
Join the second march on the UN by Guineans and their allies in New York City, Thursday December 8th. If you can't make it, there are ways to get involved, so please do!
"If you watch it frame by frame you can pinpoint the exact moment his heart rips in half..."
Anti-fascist activist Ivan "Bonecrusher" Khutorskoy was murdered in Moscow this Monday. 
As the "Abuja I" talks begin with ECOWAS, President Tandja of Niger is increasingly backed into a political and financial corner. Will his "6th Republic" be sacrificed as a way out?
The local elections are odd enough. But "Claude Levi-Strauss" is the 4th most popular search on Yahoo? Right between "Dancing With The Stars" and "H1N1 Symptoms". 
I know all the debates about voting not changing anything, and while I tend to agree, I'm not asking you to overthrow capitalism with a vote. It won't do that. But it is a splendid soapbox.... So Vote Reverend Billy for NYC Mayor, Greg Pason for NJ Governor, and Debbie Rose for City Council. 
Popular sound systems blend traditional sounds with DJ beats, and keep people across Bamako on their feet. But will Mali's capitol ban the "Balani Show" dance parties?
A recent seizure of US arms in Nigeria highlights the profit and loss of small arms supplied to West Africa.
Blood on the streets of Conakry is a price the Junta is willing to pay for power.
Uri Davis, born to Czech And British Jews in Palestine is now on Palestine's governing council. Is he a contemporary Yossel Mashel Slovo?