VZCZCXRO4974
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHNM #0111 0581411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271411Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4875
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3482
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC UNCLAS NIAMEY 000111 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W AND AF/RSA 
PARIS FOR AF WATCHER 
PLS PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/W 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS:      
SUBJECT:  CIVIL SOCIETY PROTESTS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPENSATION 
MANUEVER 
 
Ref:  08 Niamey 00509 
 
 1. Arm-wrestling between the National Assembly and civil society 
continues.  On February 19, three umbrella groups of civil society 
organizations - the Citizen's Convergence (CC), the United Front for 
the Protection of Democratic Gains (FUSAD), and the Citizens' 
Movement for Peace, Democracy, and the Republic (MCPDR) - issued a 
bulletin denouncing the National Assembly's February 14 passage of a 
law intending to comply with a June 13, 2008, Constitutional Court 
ruling that declared anti-constitutional a National Assembly bill 
allocating a benefits package for its members through internal 
deliberations rather than via legislation (reftel). 
 
 2. On February 26, the three civil society groups organized a 
protest march and rally to denounce the National Assembly's 
"predation" of public resources via the new law.  The protest 
involved several thousand participants, according to media accounts. 
 Demonstrators contended that the new law was nothing but a 
legalization of the same benefits that sparked criticism in May 2008 
(reftel).  They believed that lawmakers had received undue 
compensation, and should each pay back roughly 40 million CFA 
($77,000) each.  During the rally, an unnamed civil society leader 
claimed that the parliamentarians had awarded themselves a total of 
4.2 billion CFA ($8.4 million) in bonuses and travel expenses in 
2008, despite Niger's economic hardship, scarce resources, and 
rising cost of living.  The police used tear gas to prevent students 
from crossing the JF Kennedy bridge from the main university campus 
to take part in the protest, although they made no arrests. 
 
 3. Comment:  In January, President Tandja refused to sign the GON's 
2009 budget law - in which more than eight billion CFA ($16 million) 
were allocated to National Assembly affairs - because it was not in 
keeping with the Constitutional Court's June 2008 ruling.  Many 
believe the Constitutional Court is also reviewing the February 14 
National Assembly bill for compliance with the constitution. 
 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
ALLEN