Drought for Democracy

Only last month United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim returned from a tour of drought-stricken African states and declared that several of the six nations of the Sahelian strip just beneath the Sahara could literally disappear as a result of the devastation spread by a six-year dry spell. Last week, in landlocked Niger, a military coup toppled the democratic government that President Hamani Diori, 57, had conscientiously administered since he led his people to independence from France in 1960. Though the coup was largely bloodless, three people were reported killed, including Diori's wife, who was shot while she was said to be resisting arrest at the Presidential Palace.

The new strongman, Lieut. Colonel Seyni Kountie, 43, a former officer in the French army, publicly claimed it was the drought that did in Niger's democracy. He charged that the popularly elected government "lacked organization and initiative when confronted with the crisis." Kountie put President Diori under house arrest, dissolved the National Assembly, and banned all political activity. It was black Africa's 32nd coup.

With as much as 80% of the nation's 4 million cattle dead and tens of thousands of its 4.3 million people dying of starvation, Niger seems to fit the ominous pattern Waldheim described in his warning. But diplomats insisted that more than the drought was involved in the coup. They speculated that France had capitalized on the discontent caused by the drought and encouraged the overthrow. A prime reason: Niger has plenty of high-grade uranium, valued at not less than $1 billion.

The uranium mines traditionally had been controlled by French interests, including France's atomic energy commission and two private companies. Early last year Diori decided to break France's monopoly and awarded the lucrative exploration contract to Pan Ocean Oil, Ltd., a Canadian firm. Last week, shortly after he grabbed power, Kountie said he would reopen uranium negotiations with the French.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.