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Niger's opposition1 coalition2 has agreed to hold mediated3 talks after months of refusing to participate. The group had previously4 said it would accept nothing less than a return to the political order before the August referendum that granted President Tandja a further three years in power.
Kate Thomas | Dakar 18 December 2009
Photo: AP
Niger President Mamadou Tandja (file photo)
Political opponents of Niger's President Mamadou Tandja have agreed to mediation5 talks to resolve the country's political crisis.
Niger's opposition coalition has agreed to hold mediated talks after months of refusing to participate. The group had previously said it would accept nothing less than a return to the political order before the August referendum that granted President Tandja a further three years in power.
When Niger's parliament and its constitutional court said that referendum was illegal, President Tandja dissolved parliament and ruled by decree. Opposition parties then boycotted6 the referendum.
Opposition member Abdul-Aziz Amadou said mediation talks would be held in the capital Niamey, not the Nigerian capital Abuja, which had been highlighted as a possible location for security reasons.
"It's [bout alternance, it's]about democracy, it's about giving somebody else a chance to become president, to do something better," he said.
Issoufou Assoumlane is another member of the opposition coalition. He said he is hopeful that the talks will go ahead in Niamey as planned.
Assoumlane also said that he and other members are not anticipating further setbacks and are looking forwards to starting the negotiations7.
The agreement comes on the 51st anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Niger.
Opposition protesters gathered in Niamey earlier this week to criticize President Tandja's failure to stand down. His five-year presidential term was originally due to expire December 22, before it was extended by the August referendum. He is now also eligible8 to run for another term in office three years from now.
Nouhou Arzika is the leader of the Patriotic9 Movement for the Defense10 of the Nation, a group that backed President Tandja's referendum. He said there is no need for change within the government.
President Tandja has said that he needs to stay in power to oversee11 mining developments, particularly in the uranium sector12.
The international community remains13 unconvinced.
The European Union has frozen funding to development projects in Niger and the country has been suspended from the Economic Community of West African States.
The U.S. Millennium14 Challenge Corporation has also frozen $20 million in aid in protest at the extended referendum.
1 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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2 coalition | |
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合 | |
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3 mediated | |
调停,调解,斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 ); 居间促成; 影响…的发生; 使…可能发生 | |
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4 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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5 mediation | |
n.调解 | |
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6 boycotted | |
抵制,拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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8 eligible | |
adj.有条件被选中的;(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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9 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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10 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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11 oversee | |
vt.监督,管理 | |
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12 sector | |
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形 | |
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13 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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14 millennium | |
n.一千年,千禧年;太平盛世 | |
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