Niger lawyers strike in referendum row
* Protest over dissolution of constitutional court
* EU delays 6.1 million euros of aid
By Abdoulaye Massalatchi
NIAMEY, July 13 (Reuters) - Opposition in Niger to President Mamadou Tandja's plan to hold a referendum on extending his time in power escalated on Monday when the country's 114 lawyers went on strike in support of the dissolved constitutional court.
Domestic and international denunciations of Tandja's bid to rule the uranium-mining country beyond a second term due to end this year have intensified since he dissolved the constitutional court after it ruled the planned plebiscite unlawful.
"The dissolution of the Court is unconstitutional. These judges cannot be removed, and we say that President Tandja has violated his oath," said Coulibaly Moussa, president of the bar in Niger. "His project must not succeed."
Since late June, former colonial power France, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States have criticised the actions taken by Tandja with a view to extending his tenure.
The EU has suspended a tranche of 6.1 million euros ($8.49 million) of budgetary aid to Niger, aid and development spokesman John Clancy said on Monday, after an official told Reuters at the weekend that the body was delaying an aid payment as a result of the row. [ID:nLC45908]
Tandja says he is holding the referendum, scheduled for Aug. 4, to change the constitution in order to allow him to stay in power for another three years to oversee huge industrial and infrastructure projects.
These include a $5 billion oil deal with China, criticised for lack of clarity over the purpose of a multimillion-dollar signature bonus, a dam and a 1.2 billion euro uranium mine, which when completed would be Africa's biggest.
The constitutional crisis in Niger is the latest setback for democracy in West Africa, where coups in Mauritania and Guinea, and political violence in Guinea-Bissau have drawn international criticism.
Visiting sub-Saharan Africa for the first time as head of state at the weekend, U.S. President Barack Obama stressed the importance of democracy and good governance as bedrocks of peace and prosperity, and urged Africans to hold their leaders accountable. (Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Brussels; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
* EU delays 6.1 million euros of aid
By Abdoulaye Massalatchi
NIAMEY, July 13 (Reuters) - Opposition in Niger to President Mamadou Tandja's plan to hold a referendum on extending his time in power escalated on Monday when the country's 114 lawyers went on strike in support of the dissolved constitutional court.
Domestic and international denunciations of Tandja's bid to rule the uranium-mining country beyond a second term due to end this year have intensified since he dissolved the constitutional court after it ruled the planned plebiscite unlawful.
"The dissolution of the Court is unconstitutional. These judges cannot be removed, and we say that President Tandja has violated his oath," said Coulibaly Moussa, president of the bar in Niger. "His project must not succeed."
Since late June, former colonial power France, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States have criticised the actions taken by Tandja with a view to extending his tenure.
The EU has suspended a tranche of 6.1 million euros ($8.49 million) of budgetary aid to Niger, aid and development spokesman John Clancy said on Monday, after an official told Reuters at the weekend that the body was delaying an aid payment as a result of the row. [ID:nLC45908]
Tandja says he is holding the referendum, scheduled for Aug. 4, to change the constitution in order to allow him to stay in power for another three years to oversee huge industrial and infrastructure projects.
These include a $5 billion oil deal with China, criticised for lack of clarity over the purpose of a multimillion-dollar signature bonus, a dam and a 1.2 billion euro uranium mine, which when completed would be Africa's biggest.
The constitutional crisis in Niger is the latest setback for democracy in West Africa, where coups in Mauritania and Guinea, and political violence in Guinea-Bissau have drawn international criticism.
Visiting sub-Saharan Africa for the first time as head of state at the weekend, U.S. President Barack Obama stressed the importance of democracy and good governance as bedrocks of peace and prosperity, and urged Africans to hold their leaders accountable. (Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Brussels; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
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