Over 260 soldiers arrested in connection with mutiny

Order has been restored in Niger, following a recent mutiny in connection with which 268 members of the military have been arrested, Prime Minister Hama Amadou said on Wednesday in the capital, Niamey. At least four other soldiers were at large and were being actively sought, Hama said at a meeting with NGO, trade union and other civil society representatives. Those arrested include 235 from barracks in Ngourti, Nguigmi and the town of Diffa - all in the southeastern region of Diffa - where the mutiny took place. Another 33 were from the garrison in Niamey, where there was an aborted mutiny on the night of 4-5 August, according to the authorities. Hama deplored the death of two soldiers - one on each side - who were killed during clashes in Diffa between mutineers and loyalist troops dispatched from Niamey to put down the uprising. The mutiny began on 31 July, with the mutineers taking military and civilian officials hostage. They demanded the dismissal of the chief of general staff of the armed forces, Col Moumouni Boureima, and called for Hama to go to Diffa. The prime minister said it had been nothing less than an attempt to destabilise Niger's democratic institutions. The government, he added, was persuaded that the action of the mutineers was "just the tip of the iceberg", a "sort of tactical diversion" aimed at distracting attention from Niamey. The attempt at an insurrection in the capital was thwarted as a result of precautions taken by the government, he said, adding that the mutineers had wanted to free officers arrested in connection with the events in Diffa and put them in charge of operations. This, Hama said, showed that the "legitimacy of democratic institutions was being questioned". At least four officers had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the mutiny. They had earlier been charged with the abduction in June 2000 of Commander Djibrilla Hima, former spokesman of the military junta that took over in April 1999 after the assassination of President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara. The abductors had been associates of the late president. They too had demanded the dismissal of Col Boureima from the post of chief of general staff. Hama said the mutineers and their accomplices would not be court-martialled. "Martial court exists in our laws but we shall not make them appear before it and for us there is no question of cutting off anyone's head, because we are democrats and, personally, I am against the death penalty," he added. He said provisions regarding military justice were being drawn up by a committee of officials from the ministries of justice and defence and as soon as they were finalised, they would be submitted to parliament for adoption. He said the committee was basing its work on texts that already exist in France, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire. Pro-government parties had called for the mutineers to be court-martialled, while this had been opposed by human rights groups, which had called for an international investigation. Hama said the gendarmerie was conducting an investigation into the events of 31 July-9 August. He added that he was against any outside involvement. "In a military matter, the justice system only takes into consideration an investigation by the gendarmerie," he said, "so let no one talk to us about an international inquiry, and let's leave the gendarmerie to do its work without any political or other interference because we should have faith in it."