Military coup praised in Niger

NIAMEY, Niger - It's politics, upside down.

The elected president of a uranium-rich nation morphs into a despot and refuses to relinquish power, prompting the army to stage a popular coup with guns blazing in the name of democracy.

In Niger, the military has assumed the bizarre yet vital role of safeguarding democratic institutions by force - most recently by blowing a hole through the front gate of the presidential palace last week and taking hostage an entire government.

The soldiers who overthrew Mamadou Tandja are vowing to restore civilian rule, a claim that's often proved hollow among Africa's myriad juntas. The difference in Niger, though, is profound: Most people here actually believe them.

"For democracy activists like us, it's difficult to applaud a coup d'etat," said Marou Amadou, a leading human rights worker who was jailed for a month and beaten by security forces during Tandja's regime. "But this had to happen and we are overjoyed. There was no other way."

Though officially condemned by governments worldwide, Tandja's ouster has been widely praised at home. The trust is so great, in fact, that the director of one Niamey newspaper was working protocol for the junta this week.

Tuesday, coup chief Maj. Salou Djibou appointed one-time Information Minister Mahamadou Dandah as civilian prime minister to lead the transitional government until elections are held.

One reason the educated public has placed so much trust in the military is because it has a track record. Several of the top military leaders engineered a similar coup in 1999, and went on to oversee free elections the same year that set the stage for a decade of democratic peace.

If they can do it again, it could show the armed forces in Niger at least, have evolved from an era in Africa when a military takeover inevitably meant the dawn of dictatorship.

Transparency International's Aissata Bagnan Fall said the junta appeared comprised of a new generation of soldiers better educated than their predecessors, some of whom could not read or write.

The junta has set no timetable for elections but says there will eventually be a referendum on a new constitution adopted by national consensus.

Some residents go so far as saying they don't even want a return to civilian rule.

"We've tried Western-style democracy, and it didn't work," said Amadou Madi, a 27-year-old electrician. "Elections brought us dictatorship and corruption. What we need is a strong military to lay down the law."