Niger's opposition parties aredemanding an end to what they describe as government harassment aimed atstifling dissent.
Security agents interrogated former opposition legislatorsafter they attended a meeting last week in defiance of President MamadouTandja's decree.
Tandja dissolved parliament and assumed emergency powers afterlegislators opposed a referendum to change the constitution and give PresidentTandja three additional years in office.
His current term expires on December22.
Abdul Kamardine, a human rights activist said that the arrest of several opposition leaders has escalatedtensions in the capital, Niamey.
"Tandja'speople are harassing the opposition? like the former members ofParliament. Last week they tried torecall all the members of the national assembly. So they did it symbolically infront of a party headquarters and then the government sent policemen on themand they were beaten," Kamardine said.
Hesaid the legislators who participated in the opposition meeting are still beingheld without bail.
"Nowthose former parliamentarians are in police custody. And the latest I heard isthat some of them have been arrested, some like Bazoum (Mohammed, deputy president of the opposition NigerienParty for Democracy and Socialism? (PNDS)," he said.
Kamardinesaid the former legislators are refusing to recognize the controversial new constitutionthat extends President Tandja's term.
"Accordingto the fifth constitution not that new dramatic constitution? under it thosepeople were elected parliamentarians (and) under it? a parliament member cannotbe harassed for something he did during his tenure as members of the House ofAssembly? so it is really a political harassment," Kamardine said.
Hesaid the government is clamping down on the opposition.
"Itis really a political harassment just because they are still against his(Tandja) referendum. That is why he is trying to harass them to shut them up,"he said.
Meanwhile,both local and international communities have condemned the recent politicaldevelopments describing them as a step back in Niger's democracy.