Deby extends olive branch

2008-04-24 21:29

Ndjamena - Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno won praise on Thursday for inviting the opposition into his government months after a failed coup, raising hopes for lasting peace and political reconciliation.

"We hope that this will give a new impetus to the accord signed on August 13 last year by almost all political parties under the aegis of the European Union," French Foreign Affairs ministry spokesperson Pascale Andreani said.

Political figures in Chad warned that the president - nearly overthrown in an attempted coup in February - had succeeded in dividing the opposition, and that one senior opposition figure was still missing, possibly dead.

After months of political pressure, Deby granted four ministerial posts to the opposition Coordination of Political Parties for the Defence of the Constitution (CPDC) on Wednesday.

The move came a week after he sacked prime minister Delwa Kassire Coumakoye and replaced him with Youssouf Saleh Abbas, his diplomatic advisor.

Constructive spirit

Saleh hails from Ouaddai in the east of Chad where some of the rebel groupings hostile to the president are based, including the National Alliance led by General Mahamat Nouri.

France, Chad's colonial master until 1960, welcomed the move, expressing hope that it would see a return to a peace deal signed last year.

"In accepting a role in government, the opposition has demonstrated proof of a constructive spirit that the resolution of Chad's problems can come through political solutions," Andreani said.

That deal was intended to lead to democratic elections in 2009, but all contact had been broken off since the assault on the capital, Ndjamena, on February 2 and 3.

The two day rebel attack was eventually repulsed by government forces, but almost dislodged Deby, and three opposition leaders went missing during the fighting, reportedly taken from their homes by government troops.

Two later surfaced, but one, Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, has not been seen since and his fate remains unknown.

First test to come

Members of the European Parliament urged Chadian authorities to free Saleh, in a statement on Thursday saying they held the government responsible for his welfare.

Some opposition figures have criticised the party's move into government whilst Ibni is still officially missing.

In the new appointments, Wadal Abdelkader Kamougue got the defence portfolio and Jean Allingue became justice minister. Former CPDC spokesperson Hamit Mahamat Dahalob became planning minister and a fourth opposition figure, Naimbaye Lossimian, agriculture minister.

The first test of the new government will come in the next few days as it decides whether to resume participation in the committee overseeing the monitoring of the August 13 agreement.

- SAPA