RAW NIGER DEMONSTRATION COUP VIDI33QH7P2
Metadata
- RAW NIGER DEMONSTRATION COUP VIDI33QH7P2
- August 3, 2023
- Hundreds of people demonstrate peacefully in Niamey in support of the coup d'état in Niger that overthrew the elected president Mohamed Bazoum. "No to ECOWAS and UEMOA, no to any force that wants to destabilise our country," says Sanoussi Mahaman, one of the organisers of the demonstration. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES
- Language English
- Transcript/Script TITLE: RAW NIGER DEMONSTRATION COUP VIDI33QH7P2 HEADLINE: 'No to ECOWAS': pro-coup supporters demonstrate in Niamey COMMENT: - Sanoussi Mahaman, event organiser - Jalima Daouda, demonstrator - Cheick Barham Kiota, demonstrator - Hadjia Saadia, demonstrator KEYWORDS: Mohamed Bazoum, Bola Tinubu, Sanoussi Mahaman, Jalima Daouda, Cheick Barham Kiota, Hadjia Saadia, NER, , Niamey DESCRIPTION: Hundreds of people demonstrate peacefully in Niamey in support of the coup d'état in Niger that overthrew the elected president Mohamed Bazoum. "No to ECOWAS and UEMOA, no to any force that wants to destabilise our country," says Sanoussi Mahaman, one of the organisers of the demonstration. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES =====SCRIPT TEXT DATA===== SHOTLIST NIAMEY, NIGER AUGUST 3, 2023 SOURCE: AFPTV IMAGES (01:02) 1. Mid shot demonstrators in cars shout slogans against Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and hold up his portraits 2. Mid shot demonstrators at the Place de la Concertation in Niamey 3. Mid shot demonstrators at the Place de la Concertation in Niamey, including one holding a placard reading "France must go" 4. Mid shot demonstrators at the Place de la Concertation in Niamey 5. Mid shot demonstrators perched on the National Assembly 6. Mid shot demonstrators on the Place de la Concertation in Niamey, one holding a placard reading "Long live Russia, long live Niger, long live the people of Niger" 7. Mid shot a religious leader on the podium of the demonstration at the Place de la Concertation in Niamey 8. Mid shot demonstrators in the Place de la Concertation in Niamey, including two waving Russian flags 9. Mid shot a demonstrator holding up portraits of the Niger soldiers who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum 10. Close-up a demonstrator wearing a T-shirt with a photo of General Abdourahamane Tchiani 11. Mid shot demonstrators at the Place de la Concertation in Niamey 12. Close-up a demonstrator at the Place de la Concertation in Niamey 13. SOUNDBITE 1 - Sanoussi Mahaman, event organiser (male, French, 32 sec): "No to ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union), no to any force that wants to destabilise our country, we want our country to take the path of its sovereignty and the dignity of its people. We sincerely thank the authorities of Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Algeria, Mauritania and all the African authorities who have shown their solidarity with our country." "Non à la Cédéao (Communauté économique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, ndlr.) et à l'UEMOA (Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine, ndlr.), non à toute force qui veut déstabiliser notre pays, nous voulons que notre pays s'engage dans la voie de sa souveraineté et de la dignité de son peuple. Nous remercions vivement les autorités maliennes, burkinabè, guinéennees, algériennes, mauritaniennes, toutes les autorités africaines qui ont manifesté leur solidarité agissante vis-à-vis de notre pays." 14. SOUNDBITE 2 - Jalima Daouda, demonstrator (female, French, 12 sec): "I'm waiting for that day, I'm here for my country and I'm ready to die for my country. Because I'm not a politician, I'm here for my country and I'm here for the nation and for peace." "J'attends ce jour-là, je suis là pour mon pays et je suis prête à mourir pour mon pays. Parce que moi je ne suis pas une politicienne, je suis là pour mon pays et je suis là pour la nation et pour la paix." 15. SOUNDBITE 3 - Cheick Barham Kiota, demonstrator (male, French, 21 sec): "Today, the primary aggressor against our countries is ECOWAS, so this is truly shameful and unacceptable. We cannot accept it, we cannot admit it, and we call on all the other ECOWAS countries to really support Niger and not to allow yet another aggression against a ECOWAS country." "Aujourd'hui le premier agresseur de nos pays c'est la Cédéao donc vraiment c'est une honte et c'est inacceptable, nous ne pouvons pas l'accepter, nous ne pouvons pas l'admettre et nous en appelons vraiment à tous les autres pays de la Cédéao vraiment de soutenir le Niger, de ne pas permettre une énième agression contre un pays de la Cédéao." 16. SOUNDBITE 4 - Hadjia Saadia, demonstrator (female, French, 29 sec): "The world must understand that Africa's misfortune is France, the authorities, because the French are citizens like us, so we can't hate them, but we hate their authorities because they've done too much harm to our country, and really, enough is enough." "Le monde doit comprendre que le malheur de l'Afrique c'est la France, les autorités, parce que les Français c'est des citoyens comme nous, donc on ne peut pas les détester, mais leurs autorités on les déteste parce que ils ont fait trop de mal à notre pays et vraiment vraiment trop c'est trop." /// ----------------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: newseries Coup backers rally in Niger as security worries grow By Boureima Hama with Delphine Touitou in Paris =(Picture+Video+File Picture+Graphic)= ATTENTION - ADDS Senegal supporting military intervention /// Niamey, Aug 3, 2023 (AFP) - Thousands of people rallied Thursday in Niger's capital in support of the coup that toppled the democratically elected government, as security concerns mounted among Western nations. Demonstrators in the heart of Niamey, some brandishing giant Russian flags, chanted anti-French slogans at the rally called to mark the anniversary of the west African nation's 1960 independence from France. Issiaka Hamadou, one of the protesters, said that it was "only security that interests us", irrespective of whether it came from "Russia, China, Turkey, if they want to help us". "We just don't want the French, who have been looting us since 1960 -- they've been there ever since and nothing has changed," he said. The crowd at the rally around him was shouting "Down with France", "Long live Russia, long live (Vladimir) Putin". A week after the toppling of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, European citizens have been evacuating from Niger, which has had a key role in French and Western strategies to combat a jihadist insurgency that has plagued the Sahel since 2012. The clock is ticking down on Sunday's ultimatum from West African regional bloc ECOWAS for the coup leaders to restore Bazoum to power within a week or face the possible "last resort" of military intervention. Niger is the fourth member of the group to undergo a putsch since 2020. Senegal said Thursday it would send soldiers to join ECOWAS if it decided to intervene militarily in Niger. "It is one coup too many," said Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall. Bazoum has been held by the coup plotters since July 26, prompting US President Joe Biden to call for his immediate release Thursday, urging the "preservation of Niger's hard-earned democracy". Britain and the United States have announced the pulling back of embassy personnel in Niger as a precaution. Paris -- which said Thursday it had completed its evacuation flights -- urged the junta led by General Abdourahamane Tiani to "fully guarantee" the safety of embassies in Niamey ahead of Thursday's protests. - Sanctions - Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders have imposed trade and financial sanctions, with Nigeria cutting off the electricity supplies that account for some 70 percent of Niger's grid. West African military chiefs were meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Thursday to discuss the possibility of military intervention if diplomatic negotiations fail. An official from the Nigerian defence ministry told AFP those talks were set to end Friday. As tensions rise across the region, an ECOWAS team headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar was also in Niger for talks. Nigeria, West Africa's pre-eminent military and economic power, is the current chair of ECOWAS. It has vowed a firm line against coups that have proliferated across the region since 2020. Junta-ruled Mali and Burkina Faso have that warned any military intervention in their neighbour would be tantamount to a "declaration of war" against them. Anti-French sentiment in the region has only continued to rise, often whipped up by Russia which over the last years has taken an increasingly prominent presence via the Wagner mercenary group. A French diplomatic source said there was "no evidence that Russia played a role in the coup" in Niger, but that it had an "opportunistic attitude" which meant it could seek to capitalise on events. Publicly, Russia has called for "urgent national dialogue" in Niger, warning that threats of intervention "will not help ease tensions". - 'Refuse to give in' - Bazoum, 63, was feted in 2021 after winning elections that ushered in Niger's first-ever peaceful transition of power. He took the helm of a country burdened by four previous coups since independence from France in 1960. But after surviving two attempted putsches, Bazoum was overthrown on July 26 when members of his own guard detained him at the presidency. Their commander, Tiani, has declared himself leader, but his claim has been condemned internationally. In a televised address Wednesday, Tiani rejected the international sanctions imposed and said he "refused to give in to any threat". France still has around 1,500 troops in Niger, where it refocused its anti-jihadist mission after pulling out of Mali and Burkina Faso last year. After joining a regional revolt in northern Mali, armed Islamists advanced into Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015 and now carry out sporadic attacks on fragile states on the Gulf of Guinea. Countless civilians, troops and police have been killed across the region, while around 2.2 million people in Burkina Faso alone have fled their homes. The impact has contributed to army takeovers in all three Sahel countries and devastated economies at the very bottom of the world's wealth table. France's anti-jihadist Burkina Faso mission had at its peak about 5,400 troops, supported by fighter jets, helicopters and drones. bur-rox/jj -------------------------------------------------------------
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
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- Network VOA
- Expiration Date September 2, 2023 11:08 EDT
- Embargo Date August 3, 2023 12:13 EDT
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America