Milwaukee, WI – On August 26, organizers with the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) and their supporters, numbering around 20 in total, gathered in downtown Milwaukee to protest the threats of the U.S. government at intervening in the internal politics of the west African country of Niger.

Remi Schueler, the emcee of the event, began by explaining the situation in Niger to the crowd that had gathered. A month before, a military government took power in Niger, led by the commander general of the presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiani. Tchiani quickly proclaimed that Niger would no longer be welcoming to former colonial powers and that the wealth of the country would no longer be freely accessible to them. Further, Tchiani moved to align with other recently established governments in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.

These decisions did not sit well with the U.S government and their European allies. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a Western-aligned organization that threatened combined military intervention if Tchiani and his new government do not step aside. Mass protests have occurred in Niger demonstrating support for the Tchiani leadership and their new anti-colonial outlook.

The crowd in Milwaukee stood in solidarity with the mass protests in Niger, chanting, “From Niger to the Philippines, end the U.S. war machine!” “Hands off Niger!” and “Got money for war? Feed the poor!”

The spirited group marched from their initial meet-up location of Red Arrow Park to City Hall, where they stopped to hear speeches from Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR), Students for a Democratic Society chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (SDS-UWM), and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Farzad Ghodsi, speaking for MAC, brought up the real reason that the U.S. is so interested in intervening in Niger, stating, “Democracy is clearly not under threat in Niger, so what possible reason do the U.S. and France have for this intervention? Perhaps what’s more important for the U.S. are the three, formerly four, active drone bases that give them the power to unilaterally kill anyone they see fit in the region in coordination with their AFRICOM bases.”

Offering perspectives from other areas of organizing, Alan Chavoya of MAARPR and Patricia Fish of SDS-UWM connected the events in Niger to the struggles of Black and brown people in the U.S. and the student movement respectively. They both stressed the Nigerien people’s right to self-determination and related it to the denial of rights at home. Fish said, “the U.S. doesn’t care about the people of other countries – they don’t even care about their own people. All that matters to the American government and military is resources, money, and power.”

Sam Charnon from FRSO followed them up by naming that the exploitation of Niger and other countries in Africa did not simply “happen.” He said, “When the billionaires and corporations find that their own countries are overripe from exploitation, their insatiable pursuit of profit turns them towards other parts of the world.”

After four rousing speeches, the group marched back to Red Arrow Park, with chants of “Hands off Niger! Hands off Africa!” filling the air.

#MilwaukeeWI #AntiwarMovement #Africa #Niger

New Orleans, LA- On August 12, New Orleans students and their supporters demonstrated during a 120-degree heat index against the potential U.S. intervention in the West African country of Niger. They gathered on the University of New Orleans campus with the group Students United UNO and chanted under a Nigerien flag and a banner reading “US: Hands off Africa.” Demonstrators passed information handouts to students as they returned to campus on move-in day.

The demonstration comes days after Nigerien leaders refused to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and pro-West military forces taking positions around Nigerien borders. Nuland had visited the country to threaten the new government with economic warfare such as sanctions and an end to humanitarian aid.

“Having troops on the border and saying that you want to talk peace is like putting a loaded gun on the table before starting a conversation,” said Loyola Young Democratic Socialists of America member Carson Cruse

Since the military overthrew the former Nigerien president in late July, it has moved to end French control over resources in the country. It has also demanded that France remove all troops from the territory of Niger, which France has refused. France exploited Niger as a colony until 1960 and has retained enormous economic power in the country until the recent coup.

“This is an issue that has more to do with dictating who has rights over the economic policies of a nation. Not some kind of farce about what America thinks that democracy should look like,” said Antonia Mar of New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police.

#NewOrleansLA #International #AntiwarMovement #Africa #Protest #Niger

The events were the result of decades-long discontent with the Bazoum government; poor conditions and societal breakdown in Niger resulting from economic stagnancy, high cost of living, periodic drought and desertification leading to poor agricultural yield, and the rise of religious extremism.

These conditions in Niger, however, did not arise out of the blue. Niger, despite having high percentages of uranium ore, gold and coal, remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The poverty and generally terrible conditions of Niger were the result of the country being for many decades compliant with Western countries, such as France and the United States.

France had a direct role in the arm twisting and manipulation of Niger's political system. Through the deployment of troops, in their so called “anti-jihadist” campaign, France was able to secure its material and resource interests from Niger. Despite independence from France in 1960, Niger and the larger Sahel region has seen resource exploitation by France.

About 48 to 51% of the uranium ore extracted from Niger is utilized in the nuclear power plants in France for electricity, while at the same time, 80% of the Nigeriens do not have access to electricity in their homes.

On July 29,  people came in large numbers outside of the French embassy in Niamey to defend the military takeover, calling out the decades long exploitation by France. After taking power, Abdourahamane Tchiani openly said Niger would immediately stop the export of uranium and gold to France.

The result of the curtailment on uranium exports resulted in the Biden administration putting out a statement saying they would halt financial aid to Niger. Abdourahamane Tchiani replied to this statement in a video saying that “Charity should begin at home,” and suggested the United States utilize this aid to feed the millions of homeless inside of the U.S.

The pro-Western allies of the African Union and a section of the ECOWAS group – Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Guinea Bissau – condemned the coup. This prompted a threat of military invasion from these countries.

On July 30, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Twitter, “I strongly welcome and support ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments to defend constitutional order in Niger” thereby urging intervention in Niger. Soon after, France decided to pull out French nationals from Niger.

However, during the Russia-Africa summit, Ibrahim Traore of the new government of Burkina Faso provided support to Niger. At the conference he said, “A slave that does not rebel does not deserve pity. The African Union must stop condemning Africans who decide to fight against their own puppet regimes of the West.”  Traore came to power in 2022 and immediately banned the export of uranium to France as well.

On July 31, Leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso put out a statement saying that they would declare war on the ECOWAS countries in the event that the new goverment was overturned in Niger. Algeria and later Guinea also provided support militarily to Niger.

The results of the coup are worth following and the next days will show the results and fallout of the event.

#Niger #Africa

Iosbaker, who is helping to organize a campaign against U.S. drone warfare, stated “A U.S. drone base in Niger is a terrible development. President Obama says the base will provide intelligence to support Western intervention in the war in Mali. The base is part of U.S. and French plans for recolonizing Africa.”

The government of Niger, a former French colony, is dominated by U.S. and France.

In a Feb. 22 letter to congress, Obama stated, “This deployment will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali and with other partners in the region. The total number of U.S. military personnel deployed to Niger is approximately 100.”

In January, 2013, France began a large scale military intervention in mineral-rich Mali, in an effort to defeat an anti-Western rebellion. The U.S., which had long been planning to use troops from western African counties for its own invasion of Mali, is currently providing military assistance to France.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #JoeIosbaker #USImperialism #colonialism #drones #Mali #France #Niger