VZCZCXRO4255
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHNM #0511/01 1911212
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101212Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5184
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MCC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000511 
 
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:  Dinner with KEY OPPOSITION LEADER 
 
NIAMEY 00000511  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Introduction and Summary:  On July 7, Ambassador Allen 
hosted Sanoussi Tambari Jackou, President of the opposition Nigerien 
Party for Self-Reliance (PNA), and other senior party officials for 
a dinner..  Jackou criticized the non-interactive introduction of 
the draft constitution he believes would further consolidate 
President Tandja's power.  He regarded President Tandja as having 
usurped power and said  the dismissal of the National Assembly was 
based on a pretext designed to end efforts to check his quest for 
power.  Jackou disagreed with opposition political party 
resignations from the elections commission, arguing that remaining 
within the body to ensure subsequent elections were administered 
properly was more important than demonstrating pique.  Finally, the 
conversation included calls for increased pressure from the 
international community mixed with the assertion that Nigeriens 
themselves needed to stand up to the current, untenable political 
situation.  End introduction and summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
New Constitution Requires Brains, Time, and Popular Support 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶2. (SBU) Jackou was critical of President Tandja, stating that he 
was careless in the way he drafted the proposed constitution. 
Jackou described the year-long process that was undertaken by 
Nigeriens in 1987, when they drafted a National Charter that laid 
the foundation for the 1989 constitution.  He described how the 
documents were disseminated throughout the country, presented and 
discussed in all national languages, amended from the village to the 
district level, then finalized at the national level before their 
adoption by referendum as the law of the land.  Jackou concluded 
that President Tandja's motive behind the constitutional referendum 
was not to strengthen democratic principles, but rather to remain in 
power for life. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Jackou viewed the draft constitution's provision of a 
second legislative body, a senate composed of 60 members, of whom 20 
would be appointed by the president and 40 selected through district 
councils, was a bad idea.  President Tandja, he thought, favored two 
houses to provide additional government mechanisms through which to 
apply pressure to move decisions through the political process. 
Under the new constitution, which called for a presidential system 
rather than the current semi-presidential one, the president would 
become head of state and head of government, functions that now are 
split with the prime minister.  Finally, Jackou observed that Tandja 
had come to power through a previous coup as a colonel in the armed 
forces, rather than rising through political party ranks, 
emphasizing Tandja's Mauritanian roots on his father's side. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Justification for Emergency Powers Does Not Hold Water 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶4. (SBU) According to Jackou, President Tandja's argument that the 
country's independence and institutions were threatened was 
fallacious.  He explained that Niger is not in a state of war or 
facing any foreign threats, and that all government institutions are 
functioning as normal.  He went on to say that Tandja's decision to 
evoke Article 53, ruling by presidential decree, was not justified. 
He added that under the current circumstances, with the absence of 
the National Assembly to determine the duration of the decree and 
monitor reasonable adherence by the executive, there is no legal 
mechanism to permit the constitution's intent to be followed. 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Opposition Group Plans to Boycott CENI 
-------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) On July 3, the Independent National Electoral Commission 
(CENI) president informed the body's plenary that he would organize 
the constitutional referendum as requested by the government.  The 
Front for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), a group of political 
parties, labor unions, and civil society organizations, challenged 
the decision and stated that they would pull their members out of 
CENI to deny legitimacy to the referendum.  Asked if his party would 
follow FDD, Jackou responded that his party would not resign from 
the CENI; he saw the FDD's decision as a bad move that would give a 
blank check to the government to proceed as it wishes. Jackou 
thought to block the referendum the opposition should stay within 
CENI to play the role of inside opposition while ensuring upcoming 
legislative and local elections are administered properly. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Tandja's Maneuvers Against Ousted Parliament 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) Jackou criticized recent moves by President Tandja to have 
 
NIAMEY 00000511  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
former National Assembly members pay back excess allowances that the 
Constitutional Court had ruled improper.  According to Jackou, 
President Tandja was upset that deputies had appealed directly to 
the Constitutional Court for advice regarding how they could stop 
the president from organizing the constitutional referendum.  In 
addition, Tandja did not appreciate the National Assembly's move 
last January to create an investigative commission on the allocation 
of mining permits and management of revenues deriving from Chinese 
mineral concessions.  According to Jackou, President Tandja feared 
some deputies intended to investigate his family and friends who 
were beneficiaries of such permits.  (Note:  Jackou was among many 
former National Assembly members who were summoned by the Ministry 
of Justice through the gendarmerie to reimburse unduly received 
allowances.  He noted that the Treasury had not deducted the amounts 
from their salaries, as it could have, in part to have something to 
use as a pretext to dismiss the body.   End note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
International Community Should Increase Pressure 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶7. (SBU) The PNA Deputy Secretary General expressed her concern over 
the current political situation in Niger.   She stated to preserve 
democratic principles and the rule of law, the international 
community should pressure the government to back down.  Jackou added 
that it was up to all Nigeriens to step up their action.  He wryly 
noted, "How could we continue fighting on legal grounds while the 
government clearly acts outside the legal framework." 
ALLEN