Change the names, and this is 1994 all over again. Lou Macari, poor Tommy Burns, Charlie Nicholas, Big Pierre van Hooijdonk, John Collins, and even Tony Mobray. With Hugh Dallas keeping it on track. Huns sit back, Celts attack but don't have the personnel to keep it up. A dodgy call or two, and that's an old firm match. Bah. "Rangers appeared content to sit deep and hit Celtic on the break … The visitors were reduced to 10 men with 66 minutes gone when _____ received a straight red after he and ____ (Basile Boli?) clashed, but it looked a harsh decision as the Rangers man tumbled to the ground. _____'s dismissal knocked Celtic off their stride and Rangers looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage. Rangers, who move 10 points ahead with a game in hand, will believe the victory all but secures their second successive title. "

Abdoulaye Tiemogo, Editor of Niamey opposition paper Le Canard Dechaine, is quoted in this well done AP article "Niger: Once-taboo topic of hunger spoken again".
Niger's first post-independence coup came amid another food crisis in 1974, and "the soldiers who took power justified it by saying the president at the time could not feed the population… That's why they're still afraid of words like famine," said Tiemogo, who spent three months in prison and seven in exile for publishing articles critical of Tandja. A government report in December on the country's latest food crisis may have only come to light because Tiemogo obtained a leaked copy… The failure to publish accurate statistics can have "dramatic consequences," Tiemogo said. "If you don't know what's really going on, you can't react to it, and it's the population that suffers. People die."

Libération-Niger reports that Cmdt. Salou Djibou has announced the membership of the CSRD junta. They are:
Président : Le Chef d'Escadron SALOU DJIBO
• Secrétaire Permanent : Colonel ABDOULAYE BADIE
• Membres du Conseil :
• Colonel DIALLO AMADOU
• Colonel HASSANE MOSSI ;
• Colonel GOUKOYE ABDOULKARIM, Porte-parole du Conseil ;
• Colonel SALIFOU MODY ;
• Colonel DJIBRILLA HIMA HAMIDOU;
• Colonel ABDOULAYE ADAMOU HAROUNA;
• Colonel LAMINOU MAHAMANE MOUSSA ;
• Colonel HAMED MOHAMED;
• Lieutenant-Colonel ADAMOU GARBA ;
• Lieutenant-Colonel AMADOU MADOUGOU WONKOYE ;
• Lieutenant-Colonel CHAÏBOU IDRISSA ;
• Lieutenant-Colonel ABOUBACAR AMADOU SANDA ;
• Lieutenant-Colonel MAMANE SOULEY ;
• Commandant MOCTAR AMADOU MOUNKAÏLA ;
• Commandant MAÏNASSARA SALIFOU ;
• Commandant AMIROU ABDOULKADER ;
• Chef de Bataillon ABDOURAMANE IBRAHIM ;
• Capitaine DJIBRIL ADAMOU HAROUNA ;
• Lieutenant ISSA AMADOU ;
• Sous-Lieutenant ARZIKA TCHIEMOGO.

Christophe Boisbouvier in Jeune Afrique was a veritable "Roman de cle", detailing how the February 18 Coup happened behind the scenes, according to his inside sources. I haven't the room to detail every revelation, but here are some of the top.

Tandja cut the pay and dismisses 37 members of the Presidential Guard in February. When the attack came, it was only elements of this FNIS unit that resisted, while others helped the attackers. He had delivered regular bribes (as detailed in a previous piece by Boisbouvier) to the Joint chiefs of 30 000 to 76 000 euros, but nothing for anyone else. He even made large payments to the former Tuareg rebel leaders to assure their peace deal. The coup was finalized at a 10AM meeting at the Supply Camp run by Djibo, along with a Captain Sirfi of the Air Corps who had contacts in the FNIS unit guarding Tandja. Pele and other top officers were not present at the coup, and the President and Ministers were quickly captured, but allowed their phones.

Thursday evening was Maoulid (Mawlid) the celebration of the Prophet's birth that is a carnival like holiday across West Africa. Sadly, construction barriers near Timbuktu's famous Djingareyber mosque caused crowds that resulted in a panic and stampede. Police say 15 people, including two children, were killed and that another 41 people were injured. "Every year for Maouloud people come to the grand mosque, but this year construction blocked some of the roads," said Imam Abdramane ben Effayouti. "People took to narrow alleys, there was jostling, and the tragedy occurred." Very sad.

Xinhua picks out a phrase in CSRD spokesman Col Goukoye's statement on the 24th for scrutiny. Scrutiny indeed, as this is China, France, and Canada's biggest concern. Goukoye declared that all mining contracts were certainly going to be looked at more carefully and that "everything is going to be done in equity and justice." Referring to possible corruption charges against past officials, he said: "We are definitely going to hold those state officials accountable. That is a priority. An absolute priority. It is a must that we do this and instructions have been given to those charged with this issue to ensure that the payments that are supposed to be done at the expiry date are made at that time." Remember that Col. Hima Hamidou, number three or four in the 1999 junta and number two now, was on a corruption commission shortly after Ibrahim Bare Mainassara was overthrown. It's August 1999 conclusion recovered some 2000M CFA but no high profile convictions. Expect a similar result.

In a press appearance in Bamako Peter Camatte, the French-Malian NGO head who was held by the AQIM described his captors as "fanatics". His description of the Algerian Abdelhamid Abou Zeïd's group was "Fanatics, who thought no one but them were real Muslims". He said the group was %70-%80 youths, with whom he could communicate with only a few broken English, because most didn't speak any French. He said they sat in the desert, baking, in "unhygienic" conditions, with the only water "absolutely disgusting". These men didn't kidnap him, but he was "sold" to them by a Malian criminal gang. I'm going to go out on a limb (again): it's Algeria's problem with terrorists (who seem to have a lot of cash, via Western government's ransoms) meeting impoverished, armed Malian smugglers. So just which one is dumping the problem of their failed politics on the other?

Liberation (Niamey) reports Col. Gukoye (the CSRD spokesman) listed out yesterday (24th) who the junta currently has under arrest apart from Tandja. And despite the statements previously that these people were released, they are "under arrest", not just under surveillance in their homes. They are (all "former"): PM Ali Badjo Gamatié, Minister of Justice Garba Lompo, Minister of Finance Ali Lamine Zeine, Minister of Mines Mohamed Abdoulahi, Minister of Equipment Lamido Mounouni and Interior Minister Albadé Abouba. This leaves out two formerly reported, MNSD party head Seini Oumarou and Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou.

This Algerian paper has an interesting piece on the current "AQIM problem" in the Sahel, if only as an elucidation of a Algerian nationalist perspective. The US and other are continually hammering on about the Sahel becoming the next Afghanistan or Somalia, but more as an attempt to justify the intrusion of AFRICOM and the "War on Terror" into Africa (so far, true in my view). The states in the region have "refused to blindly embark on the American global war", but many have internal weaknesses (smuggling, regionalism). True, but now it gets fishy. Mali, he says, had the 'excuse' of the Tuareg insurgency not to govern the north. Now Algeria has solved that problem for them, and yet they still "do nothing". Mali has "betrayed" Algeria, releasing the AQIM under the "interferences" of the west, hints that the Mali govt. has a finger in the hostage business. But Mali is "fated to return, sooner or later, the path of cooperation." No mention that the AQIM come from Algeria, of course.

Past rebel and once again Prime Minister Guillaume Soro announced a new cabinet, after his foe/ally President Gbagbo dissolved the government and the "independent" electoral commission week before last. The commission, headed by the opposition, had been faulted for including "foreigners" in the rolls. In post "Ivoirite" CI, foreigners are people from the north of the country, Muslims, or communities who don't support the government. Soro took no principled stand against this clearly unconstitutional stance. The opposition (non rebel) parties did, sending their supporters out to die in riots. Now they've decided they will just extract minor Ministry seats instead. The PDCI of Henri Konan Bedie and the RDR of Alassane Ouattara have accepted ministries serving Gbagbo/Soro, with no changes in most seats: Charles Koffi Diby retaining the Finance Ministry, Désiré Asségnini Tagro the Interior Ministry, and Michel N'Guessan Amani the Defence Ministry (so the "important" ones).

Bilbao fans, my favorite Iberian side, have a reputation for lefty nationalism and fearlessness in the face of Nazis. Seems one got creative, and is a Youtube sensation. Via some dopey website: "According to most newspapers, Anderlecht fans started to mess around with the Basque supporters, thus breaking the golden rule of Spanish football: You should never provoke an angry horde of Athletic fans… Some Bilbao and Anderlecht supporters invaded the pitch after the match, causing a violent riot amongst the fans, whereas other Basque fans engaged in a discussion with the Belgian visitors in the stands… two of these aficionados went a bit further, than the "usual." Sitting above the visiting fans, one of the Basques was throwing plastic cups at the opposing fans, whilst another fan decided to, literally, urinate on the Belgian fans. Some dare to call him genius, others call him simply a drunk buffoon, but everyone knows him as "el orinador" (Castelleno for "The Urinater")."

Pierre Camatte, seized by a gang near his home in Menaka and shopped to the AQIM in the desert, has returned to Bamako. Will he ever be able to go back to his longtime home? The Malians released four AQIM prisoners in exchange, we can assume under French pressure. What else each side got from France or other western nations we will likely never know. Algeria and Mauritania have withdrawn their ambassadors to Mali in protest. Mali has its problems, but in this case, it just seems everyone else's festering problems, which would cost them too much to fix at home, come to northern Mali out of convenience. The very least Algeria, Mauritania, and the west can do for Mali is is to make it harder for their proxy warriors to end up in Gao. But that's wishful thinking, I'm sure. No word on the other hostages.

Following the Monday night communique outlining the transitional authority of the CSRD, The junta President Salou Djibo has named as Prime Minister Mahmadou Danda, the former interim Communications Minister during the 1999 junta's interim rule. Danda has served the government since the 80s, and most recently as Sport Minister in 2000 (under Tandja). He was until now working for the Canadian Embassy, one of the nations most involved in uranium and gold mines. As interesting, Salou's new Personal Chief of Military Staff is Colonel Amadou Moussa Gros. Gros rose under Gen. Ali Saibou's military rule in the 80s, becoming Min. of Tourism. An old friend of Tandja's, he served the brief MNSD government of Hama Amadou in 1995 that was overthrown by Bare. Bare later reactivated him, and made him Chief of Staff. Of late he has been head of a military charitable group, the AAETN. To top this off, Salou went to visit Saibou himself to receive the blessing of the old President and his family.

Quite apart from the obvious conclusions about corruption and power, I was struck by the range – or lack of – in the discussion on the BBC today on the packing of the Afghan Electoral Commission in the run up to parliamentary elections. The removal of foreign elements from the commission was the center of concern with Karzai appointing all members of the body. First, foreign observers might be just as corrupted by Karzai, or his sponsors. But the debate never imagined any Afghan opposition or civil society taking part as a check on power. West Africa, following the civil society led wave of democratization in the 1990s, made truly independent electoral commissions (usually under the French acronym CENI) the cornerstone of electoral transparency in most nations, with wide membership of all forces in society. The current crisis in Cote d'Ivoire points to their continued importance, if imperfection. These experiences, sadly, seem ignored elsewhere.

Col. Hima "Pele" Hamadou told the press this weekend that (ex) President Tandja would be visited by the Red Cross to confirm his health. Pele says that Tandja is under house arrest with his family. MNSD-Nassara VP Ali Sabo (assistant to party president Seini Oumarou and chair Albadé Abouba, both high ranking ministers whose whereabouts are not public ) has told the press that Tandja is not allowed any visitors but his doctor, and is being held not at the military school south of town, but in the "Villa Verte": a luxurious house abutting the President Palace's compound, often used for state functions, official meetings, and as home of visiting heads of state. Former Mauritanian President Ould Taya, disposed by coup, spent the first days of his exile there in 2005. Not too shabby!