ECOWAS, France and U.S.: Hands Off Niger!

Defend Niger against sanctions and military intervention! No political support for the junta of General Tiani! Expel all US/European troops from Niger!

Statement of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), jointly issued by the International Bureau and Revolutionary Socialist Vanguard (Nigeria), 1 August 2023, www.thecommunists.net and https://communism4africa.wordpress.com

 

1.           The pro-Western alliance ECOWAS as well as the European Union and the U.S. have imposed sanctions against Niger and threaten with military intervention if the new junta does not reinstate the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum within a week. When thousands of demonstrators marched to the French embassy and denounced any military intervention by the old colonial master, President Macron warned that he “will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests“. Paris also threatened: “Should anyone attack French nationals, the army, diplomats and French interests, they will see France respond in an immediate and intractable manner.” In preparation for such a military intervention, Paris has announced today that it will evacuate its nationals from Niger “very soon.”

2.           The background for this escalation is the coup in Niger on 26 July where the Presidential Guard, supported by the army, ousted President Bazoum and declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new leader. Bazoum and his party (“Parti nigérien pour la démocratie et le socialisme”) – which ruled the country since 2011 – had become highly unpopular because of its corruption, its failure to reduce poverty, its brutal oppression of protests and of oppositional forces (e.g. the arrest of Abdoulaye Seydou, the leader of the new social movement M62) as well as because of its subservient role as a lackey of French and U.S. imperialism.

3.           Niger was a French colony until 1960 when it became a capitalist semi-colony dominated by France and other Western powers. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. However, it has also some of the world’s largest uranium deposit – as well as other raw materials – which are controlled by French corporations. European leaders are highly interested to keep Niger under their control since France and other EU states get 15-30% of their uranium imports – essential for Europe’s nuclear energy industry – from that country. Furthermore, Niger is the last country in Northern and Central Africa where a sizeable number of Western troops (1,500 French and about 1,000 U.S. soldiers) is stationed – under the pretext of the imperialist “War on Terror”. In addition, the U.S. military runs a gigantic drone base in the northern region of Agadez from where it launches its bloody killing operations in the Sahel region. In short, “loosing” Niger would be a strategic setback for EU and U.S. imperialism since they already lost control over Mali and Burkina Faso in the last three years.

4.           For all these reasons, France, the EU and the U.S. are determined to keep Niger under control. For such purpose, they want to force the new rulers to reinstate their puppet Bazoum or to find an agreement with General Tiani to continue the pro-Western policy of his predecessor. If these plans are not successful within the next days, the Western imperialists plan to military intervene with the help of their foot soldiers of the Nigeria-dominated ECOWAS alliance.

5.           However, the aggression of ECOWAS, EU and U.S. face important obstacles. First, there exists strong popular resentment in Niger against France and its allies. Any military intervention by these foreign powers would provoke determined resistance not only by the new junta but also by the popular masses. Second, several countries in the region – which are formally also members of the ECOWAS alliance – have already denounced the sanctions and military threats against Niger. Guinea expressed its “disagreement with the sanctions recommended by ECOWAS, including military intervention“. And the governments of Burkina Faso and Mali said in a joint statement that they “refuse to apply” the “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane sanctions against the people and authorities of Niger“. They warned about the “disastrous consequences of a military intervention in Niger [which] could destabilise the entire region“. They even threatened: “Any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.” In other words, a military intervention by pro-Western troops could result in a war not only with Niger but also with Burkina Faso and Mali.

6.           Western leaders claim that their pressure against the new junta in Niger is motivated by its concern for “democracy”. Nothing could be further from truth! Just a few weeks ago, EU leaders signed off on a €1bn “anti-migration” deal with Tunisia – an authoritarian country ruled by Kais Saied who took power via a coup in July 2021. Another key ally of the EU and the U.S. is General Sisi in Egypt who took power via a military coup on 3 July 2013. In the following weeks he brutally crushed mass protests – most famously the horrible Rabaa massacre on 14 August when the army killed 2,600 demonstrators on a single day! To this we could add other “strategic allies” of Western powers like the absolutist monarchies in the Gulf states. Furthermore, everyone in Africa is well aware of the numerous intrigues and coups organised by the Elysee in Paris! No, the only reason why EU and U.S. leaders oppose the new junta in Niger is that they fear to lose control of that country.

7.           Likewise, the Tinubu government in Nigeria has no interest in democracy or the acclaimed “constitutional order“. It is a weak and unpopular government which fears for its own existence. First, the presidential tribunal where opposition parties challenge the results of the February elections is under pressure to order a re-run. Moreso, before his swearing on May 29 there were already calls for an interim government which ranged then from a caretaker government to an outright military coup. Now with the coup in Niger the likelihood of military coups especially in the West Africa region has increased. While the current conditions do not exactly give room for a coup in the near future it is clear that without the support of major brokers in other ruling class factions, the Tinubu regime is vulnerable. Finally, Tinubu has unleashed a deluge of pitiless austerity measures and reckless laissez-faire policies against the masses to which the labour unions are set to embark on a 7-day general strike on August 2. It is easy to see why the Tinubu administration views the coup in Niger as existential threat to its government.

8.           The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) and the Revolutionary Socialist Vanguard (Nigerian Section of the RCIT) denounce the sanctions and military threats by ECOWAS, EU and U.S. imperialism! We call for an immediate end of sanctions. In case of a military intervention by ECOWAS troops (which will be directly or indirectly supported by Western powers), we call for the military defence of Niger and for the defeat of the pro-imperialist invaders. Likewise, socialists demand the expulsion of US/European troops from Niger.

9.           A military aggression of ECOWAS against Niger would represent an imperialist attack against a poor semi-colonial country. True, the member states of ECOWAS are not imperialist but rather capitalist semi-colonies (including its dominant state, Nigeria). However, in such an attack, ECOWAS would operate as a proxy of European and U.S. imperialism – similar to the African states in the France-dominated G5 Sahel alliance or the pro-U.S. AMISOM/ATMIS troops in Somalia. Hence, in such a situation, Niger’s resistance against ECOWAS troops would have the character of an anti-imperialist struggle of a semi-colonial country against a pro-imperialist alliance. One might object that Niger would be a puppet of Russian imperialism. However, while such a scenario can not be excluded in the future, this is presently not the case. Currently, Russia plays no relevant role in Niger whether economically, politically or militarily.

10.         Our defence of Niger against foreign aggression must not be confused with any political support for the new junta. As the Nigerian comrades of the RCIT said in their statement from 28 July: “Socialists oppose the coup; it is a fight between two equally reactionary wings of the Nigerien ruling class. It is an extension of the bonapartist shift of the ruling class following similar coups in Mali, Sudan, and Burkina Faso. While we oppose all forms of dictatorial governments, we give no support to the Bazoum government. Hence, we call socialists revolutionaries, progressives and activists to defend freedom of expression including protests and demonstrations.”

11.         We are aware that many brothers and sisters in Pan-Africanist circles are hopeful about the new junta in Niger. They sympathise with the regimes in Burkina Faso and Mali and consider Russia – whose Wagner mercenaries have replaced French troops – as a “progressive” force. We think that these comrades are deeply wrong! A foreign policy orientation towards Russia – instead of France (resp. other Western powers) – would not provide a way forward for the Nigerien people. This would only replace one Great Power with another – but the system of imperialist oppression and super-exploitation would continue. Think about Russia’s role as a brutal occupation power in Chechnya, Syria or the Ukraine. Think about its close relations with the arch-reactionary putschists in Sudan or with General Haftar in Libya. Hence, the RCIT calls for the expulsion not only of Western troops but also of all Wagner mercenaries from Africa!

12.         Authentic socialists have to oppose all imperialist Great Powers in East and West (U.S., China, Western Europe, Russia and Japan). Likewise, the way forward is not to replace one capitalist authoritarian regime with another. The workers and poor peasants in Niger need to organise themselves in councils of actions and popular militias. Such organs of the masses should constitute the basis for workers and poor peasant government which moves forward to expropriate the foreign corporations and to distribute the land to those who work on it. This could lay the foundation for the course of total decolonization, i.e. a truly free Niger independent of imperialist domination by any Great Power. As our Nigerian comrades stated, “we call for a free socialist Niger as part of a voluntary Confederation of West African Socialist Republics.”

13.         In case of a pro-imperialist military intervention against Niger, the RCIT and its Nigerian section call for the creation of action committees to organise protests. We call authentic socialists who agree with such an anti-imperialist program to join forces and to build a revolutionary party – nationally and internationally.

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We refer readers also to the following RCIT documents:

RSV: Niger: President Bazoum is Ousted in a Coup, 28th July, 2023, https://communism4africa.wordpress.com/2023/07/29/niger-president-bazoum-is-ousted-in-a-coup/

RCIT: Mali: The Imperialist Puppet Ruler Keita Has Fallen! Imperialist and African rulers protest against the end of the reactionary regime – but workers and oppressed must take power in their own hand! https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/mali-the-imperialist-puppet-ruler-keita-has-fallen/

RCIT: Expel French Imperialism from West Africa! Macron and his G5 Lackeys plan to intensify their colonialist “Operation Barkhane”, 15 January 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/expel-french-imperialism-from-west-africa/

Au Revoir, Français! Popular resistance is forcing French imperialism to reduce its troops in Africa’s Sahel 13 June 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/france-is-forced-to-reduce-its-troops-in-sahel/