FEATURE: Crackdown shows Chad’s military council clinging to power

Opposition politicians have called the move a “coup” and followed by many Chadians rejecting the takeover, despite it being welcomed by the international community.

CAPE TOWN, May 11 (ANA) – A security force crackdown on the protests against military rule in Chad that led to at least nine deaths, several dozen injuries and numerous arrests, casts doubt on the Transitional Military Council’s (TMC) willingness to hold the inclusive dialogue needed to resolve the country’s political instability, according to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

Following the sudden death of President Idriss Déby in April, the TMC led by his 37-year-old son, Lieutenant General Mahamat Déby took control of Chad. Arguing an exceptional security situation, the TMC immediately suspended the constitution and all republican institutions, promising to conduct an 18-month transition.

The 68-year-old Déby died of injuries sustained while fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel. He had been in power for three decades and was looking to extend his three-decade rule despite mounting calls for political change.

Opposition politicians have called the move a “coup” and have been followed by many Chadians rejecting the takeover, despite it being welcomed by the international community.

On April 27, the public responded to calls for demonstrations by political parties and civil society organisations. The activists, mostly made up of the youth, marched peacefully in the cities of Sarh and Koumra in southern Chad on May 2, according to Africanews.

Several witnesses said security forces fired tear gas and that passing military vehicles fired live ammunition into the crowds.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International urged authorities to launch impartial and independent investigations into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The UN rights office, OHCHR, condemned the killings, saying it was deeply disturbed by security forces’ use of live ammunition during recent protests.

In a rare show of solidarity, opposition parties, civil society organisations and the country’s main trade union rejected the TMC and called for talks that include armed groups, according to ISS.

The Episcopal Conference of Chad has joined the appeal for a return to constitutional order. A group of dissident army generals has also reportedly taken a stand against the TMC. Key government appointments confirm the military’s desire to perpetuate Déby’s rule.

The social discontent and ensuing repression are a major blow to the TMC. It now faces more resistance, in addition to the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) rebellion in which the former president was killed, ISS said.

According to the institute, the TMC ignored the dialogue called for by many sections of Chadian society and made key appointments, including that of Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke.

Padacke chose a government which contains two important opposition parties but doesn’t reflect the broad inclusion that the opposition and civil society wanted. These appointments confirm the military’s desire to perpetuate the former president’s rule, based on family, clan, army and political allies.

“Inclusive national dialogue in Chad is vital. While it is true that the late Déby’s presidency brought relative stability to Chad, this was achieved through authoritarian, personal and militarised governance, which neglected diversifying the economy,” said Paul-Simon Handy, senior regional adviser and senior researcher, ISS.

Using an exorbitant defence budget, the late Déby secured power and diplomacy in the region.

The population hasn’t benefited much from Chad’s exploitation of oil since 2003. The third poorest country in the world, Chad is now ranked 187th out of 189 on the UN’s Human Development Index. Yet it has one of the highest defence budgets relative to GDP in Africa, Handy said.

In Mali, the junta that took power in August 2020 was forced, notably through sanctions from the Economic Community of West African States, to talk with certain sectors of Malian society and set up an inclusive transition.

By endorsing a coup, Chad’s many partners show little regard for democratic principles when security interests are at stake.

The AU, through its Peace and Security Council (PSC), was one of the few institutions to express concern about the TMC’s establishment. It called for a rapid return to constitutional order. An AU fact-finding mission to Chad will submit recommendations to the PSC. However, divisions among PSC members about the way forward might force the AU to maintain a wait-and-see position.

The instability caused by Déby’s sudden death shows that peace shouldn’t depend on personalised power, embodied by a leader, regardless of how charismatic they may be. Without dialogue, political parties, civil society organisations and even a section of the army could radicalise and plunge Chad back into a new cycle of violence, the ISS said.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay