Chad

Landlocked country in central North Africa, bounded north by Libya, east by Sudan, south by the Central African Republic, and west by Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger.

Government

A transitional charter was adopted in 1993, as a prelude to full democracy. The charter provides for a 57-member interim legislature, the Higher Transitional Council, elected by delegates to a national conference.

History

Called Kanem when settled by Arabs in the 7th-13th centuries, the area later became known as Bornu and in the 19th century was conquered by Sudan. A French protectorate from 1900, it was incorporated into French Equatorial Africa in 1908, becoming a separate colony in 1920 and then in 1946 a constituent territory of French Equatorial Africa. Chad became an autonomous state within the French Community in 1958, with François Tombalbaye as prime minister.

Independence

Full independence was achieved in 1960, and Tombalbaye became president. He soon faced disagreements between the Arabs of the north, who saw Libya as an ally, and the black African Christians of the south, who felt more sympathy for Nigeria. In the north the Chadian National Liberation Front (Frolinat) revolted against the government. In 1975 Tombalbaye was killed in a coup led by former army Chief of Staff Félix Malloum, who became president of a supreme military council and appealed for national unity. Frolinat continued its opposition, however, supported by Libya, which held a strip of land in the north, believed to contain uranium.

Frolinat expansion

By 1978 Frolinat, led by Gen Goukouni Oueddi, had expanded its territory but was halted with French aid. Malloum tried to reach a settlement by making former Frolinat leader, Hissène Habré, prime minister, but disagreements developed between them. In 1979 fighting broke out again between government and Frolinat forces, and Malloum fled the country. Talks resulted in the formation of a provisional government (GUNT), with Goukouni holding the presidency with Libyan support. A proposed merger with Libya was rejected, and Libya withdrew most of its forces.

Civil war

The Organization for African Unity (OAU) set up a peacekeeping force, but civil war broke out and by 1981 Hissène Habré's Armed Forces of the North (FAN) controlled half the country. Goukouni fled and set up a ‘government in exile’. In 1983 a majority of OAU members agreed to recognize Habré's regime, but Goukouni, with Libyan support, fought on.

Ceasefire

After Libyan bombing, Habré appealed to France for help. Three thousand troops were sent as instructors, with orders to retaliate if attacked. Following a Franco-African summit in 1984, a ceasefire was agreed, with latitude 16°N dividing the opposing forces. Libyan president Col Khaddhafi's proposal of a simultaneous withdrawal of French and Libyan troops was accepted. By December 1984 all French troops had left, but Libya's withdrawal was doubtful. Habré dissolved the military arm of Frolinat in 1984 and formed a new party, the National Union for Independence and Revolution (UNIR), but opposition to his regime grew. In 1987 Goukouni was reported to be under house arrest in Tripoli. Meanwhile Libya intensified its military operations in northern Chad, Habré's government retaliated, and France renewed (if reluctantly) its support.

Fall of Habré

It was announced in March 1989 that France, Chad, and Libya had agreed to observe a ceasefire proposed by the OAU. A meeting in July 1989 between Habré and Khaddhafi reflected the improvement in relations between Chad and Libya. Habré was endorsed as president in December 1989 for a further seven-year term under a revised constitution, introduced in July 1990. In December 1990 the government fell to rebel opposition forces, Hissène Habré was reported killed, and the rebel leader Idriss Deby became president. Opposition groupings other than the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (PSM) were permitted from October 1991. Habré was indicted for torture and barbarity by a court in Senegal in February 2000. However, the charges were dropped in April, to the dismay of human rights activists, after the court ruled that since the crimes had not taken place in Senegal, it had no jurisdiction over Habré's case. He had been living in Senegal since he was overthrown in 1990, following his eight-year rule, during which he is accused of having responsibility for the torture and killing of tens of thousands of Chadians.

Towards democracy

Between October 1991 and January 1992, a number of anti-government coups were foiled, sometimes with the help of French troops. The new government moved nearer to multiparty politics when two opposition groups, the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and the Union for Democracy and Progress (UPDT), were approved in March 1992. A transitional charter was adopted early in 1993 pending the holding of multiparty elections, and a peace agreement was signed with the rebel Movement for Democracy and Development (MDD) in 1995. In April 1996 a new constitution with a dual executive, based on the French model, was finally approved, and Nassour Guelendouksia was appointed prime minister. In October 1997 it was confirmed that a national reconciliation agreement had been signed with all the main rebel forces. However, in 1998, the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJC), led by former defence minister, Youssouf Togoimi, began armed rebellion.

In December 1999, In May 2001, President Deby was re-elected with 67% of the vote. Several people were killed in election-related violence, and the six opposition candidates claimed electoral fraud, but international observers did not witness significant irregularities. The PSM again won parliamentary elections in April 2002, winning 112 of the 155 seats. Deby was re-elected for a third term in May 2006, although the main opposition parties, who had refused to put up candidates against a president they accused of corruption, rejected the result.

Chad (redirected from Chadians)