What's going on in Niger

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, the 18th of february, a coup (coup d'etat) occurred in Niger, resulting in the current president being imprisoned.
It's obviously a delicate situation but one that was somewhat expected by many, as the president Mamadou Tandja, who was elected democratically in 1999, refused to leave power after his mandate expired.

A day after the coup, the calm is back in the capital, some even said they feel relieved of such a change.
This is very fresh news and it is still early for conclusions. We hope this will lead to new elections in the country.

We expect to have more information in the next coming days. So far we have no reason to believe this could compromise our plantations in any way. Our local team already told us that "everything is fine here".
When one of our main objectives is fighting poverty, it is the kind of situation that we are prepared to face. Our will to help the country is unchanged and we will continue our activities as normally as we can.

The next coming days should tell us a lot about Niger's future and we will inform you as soon as we can.

Here is an extract of news from Reuters:
"
After months of political wrangling over Tandja's amending the constitution to extend his rule, which drew international sanctions and sparked demonstrations, there was a sense of relief and hope for change in the desert nation.

"Right now, I think we will be able to work normally without all the pressure from the street (demonstrations) and the private radio stations the politicians occupied," said Adiza Abdoulaye, a teacher in the west of the dusty capital.

The junta, calling itself the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSDR), on Thursday captured Tandja and his ministers in a four-hour gunbattle, before suspending the constitution and dissolving all state bodies.
the calm came back very quickly in the capital, Niamey.
"

I invite you to read the full article and don't hesitate to leave your comments below.
(some news in french too: cliquer ici)