WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement related to events in Niger:
“We join the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States in condemning the military coup in Niger, and call upon those who seized power to stand down. Disputes in democratic countries cannot be settled by force. President Bazoum was duly elected by the people of Niger. Their will should not be subverted by those charged with protecting them.
“The deeply disturbing trend of military coups in the region cannot be tolerated. The United States must take swift action to hold anti-democratic forces accountable and send a clear signal that attacks on constitutional democracy will not be met with impunity."