Niger: Army and National Police Conduct Door-to-Door

UNCLAS NIAMEY 000413 DEPT FOR AF/W AND AF/RSA PLS PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/W ACCRA ALSO FOR USAID/WA PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI NG SUBJECT: Niger: Army and National Police Conduct Door-to-Door Search for Alleged Inciters of the June 1 Clash Ref: a) Niamey 406 b) Niamey 391 c) Niamey 407 ¶1. (U) On June 2, the Nigerien Minister of the Interior Albade Abouba visited Dosso (about 80 miles southeast of Niamey),scene of the June 1 clash (ref a) between proponents and antagonists of President Tandja's planned referendum (ref b). Embassy received reports that the Nigerien army, national police and gendarmerie closed off entrances to and from Dosso, Niger's Zarma (ethnic group) center. ¶2. (SBU) Security forces were reported to have conducted door-to-door searches to look for alleged inciters of the June 1 incident at a pro-"tazarche" rally. (Note: Tazarche is Hausa language word meaning "let it continue". End note.) Local contacts in Dosso reported that the June 2 security operation began around 5:00 a.m. and lasted most of the day. According to a non-governmental organization employee, the security forces were working from a list of suspects that reportedly were identified in local media (Station RTT) footage. In viewing the footage, Embassy Niamey officers observed that most of the injuries appeared to be caused by civilian-on-civilian fighting (including one person who lost an eye from being hit with a rock). Radio France International (RFI) reported 30 arrests were made, but Embassy Niamey has unconfirmed reports from contacts that over 100 people have been detained in Dosso, with six persons sent to prison in Gaya (city about 95 miles south of Dosso). ¶3. (U) Some members from a recently-formed, Niamey-based anti-"tazarche" consortium made up of political parties, unions and civil society groups, Force for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) (ref c),have complained in local media interviews that they have been questioned by government authorities about the incident in Dosso, despite their having been physically present in Niamey the entire day of June 1. President of the Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP),Moumouni Djermakoye, a former President of both the National Assembly and Supreme Court, as well as a former Nigerien Ambassador to the United States, in an interview on a private television station (Dounia TV),expressed concerns about potentially escalating violence if the government does not drop its constitutional referendum plan. We have not learned of any other reports of violence in other regions in Niger. The Dosso incident appears isolated, however, FDD has called for a simultaneous, nationwide anti-"tazarche" rally on Sunday, June 7. Embassy will report further developments on the Dosso incident and the announced June 7 rally, as information becomes available. Allen