CHAD IMPOSES STATE OF EMERGENCY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 001327

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF CD
SUBJECT: CHAD IMPOSES STATE OF EMERGENCY

REF: A. NDJAMENA 1276


B. NDJAMENA 1321

NDJAMENA 00001327 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: PolOff John O'Leary. Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) Summary. The Chadian Government has imposed a State
of Emergency on eastern, southern, and northern provinces,
reportedly to combat rebel activity and to quell inter-ethnic
violence. Two ministers were given extraordinary powers at
the regional level to control the GOC response to rebels and
communal violence. The declaration specifically includes
press censorship. The Prime Minister accused Sudan of
complicity in the communal violence and called for a robust
UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. He also expressed
"reservations" about the French Foreign Minister's proposal
to place an international force on the Chad-Sudan border.
N,Djamena is calm, and the Embassy is operating normally.
We have been told informally that diplomatic travel outside
of N'Djamena will require permission but have not seen any
official communication to this effect. End summary.


2. (U) Following a Council of Ministers meeting on November
13, the Chadian government announced the imposition of a
State of Emergency covering the provinces of Ouaddai,
Wadifira, Salamat, Moyen Chari, Mandoul, Hadjer Lamis,
Tibesti, Borkou, western Ennedi, and the city of N'Djamena.
The declaration follows growing and unprecedented
Arab-African communal violence along the frontier with Sudan.
According to the communique:

"(The) situation shows clearly that the current clashes are
part of an overall strategy designed and implemented by the
Sudanese government to destabilize Chad. In exporting its
Darfur conflict to Chad, Sudan wants to weaken Chad by
pitting Chadian communities against each other. This
prepares the ground for a large-scale war for which Chadians
need to be prepared."


3. (C) The communique also announced the imposition of
pre-publication press censorship, including both oral and
print media. According to French Ambassador Jean-Pierre
Bercot, the GOC included N'Djamena in the list of locations
covered by the State of Emergency in order to control press
coverage of both the rebellion and the communal conflict. A
DAO source confirmed that N'Djamena was included in order to
keep the press from inflaming hostile behavior in the
capital. The editor of independent newspaper "Notre Temps"
advised us this afternoon that GOC security agents had just
arrived at his residence and were in the process of searching
it. The editor of "Le Temps" (another independent newspaper
that has been openly critical of the GOC in the past)
reported that censorship had already gone into effect.
According to him, editors of the various papers may refuse to
publish for 15 days in order to protest censorship. He
believes that international press freedom groups may also
protest. The Prefet of Goz-Beida reportedly expelled a Radio
France International correspondent yesterday from the
prefecture.


4. (C) In conjunction with the State of Emergency, the
cabinet appointed two ministers to remain in the eastern
provinces to give enhanced direction to the GOC's efforts to
quell rebel movements and inter-communal violence. According
to a DAO source, the government was concerned that local
administrators did not have the authority and prestige
required to marshal military assets to meet emerging threats.
By putting ministers reporting directly to the Prime
Minister and the President in the field, the government hopes
to ensure a response to reports of trouble and to cut down
its response time. According to the same source, the
government has also distributed Thuraya satellite phones to
key villagers in the East to provide timely information to
Chadian authorities about communal violence. (The phones, no
doubt, will also be used to report on rebel movements.)


5. (U) Following yesterday's announcement of the State of
Emergency, Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji reportedly met
with various Chadian political, religious, and civil society
leaders and warned them to prepare for an expanded conflict
perpetrated by the government of Sudan.


6. (U) In an address to the diplomatic corps this afternoon
(10/14),the Prime Minister accused the Sudanese government
of complicity in the communal fighting: "The Sudanese
government...recruits, arms, and maintains mercenaries on its
payroll in order to destabilize our country (Chad)." He went
on to state: "The Chadian government will use all means to
guarantee the territorial integrity of Chad, its sovereignty
and its independence and to ensure the security of the
Chadian people."

NDJAMENA 00001327 002.2 OF 002




7. (U) The Prime Minister made the following appeal to the
diplomatic corps:

"The Chadian government calls one more time upon the
international community (United Nations, African Union,
CENSAD) to accept its responsibilities in the face of this
enterprise to destabilize Chad, by putting Blue Hats under
United Nations mandate into Darfur."

"We forcefully reaffirm this position because we remain
convinced that only the presence of United Nations forces can
permit the restoration of peace and security in Darfur and
allow the refugees to return to their country."


8. (U) The Prime Minister noted that the French Foreign
Minister yesterday in Sudan had proposed the deployment of an
international force on the Chad-Sudan border, as well as on
the CAR-Sudan border. The PM stated: "(The French) not
having discussed the details of this proposal (with the
Chadian government),the (Chadian) governmentexpresses its
most explicit reservations abou this subject."


9. (C) Yesterday, the Chadiangovernment refused to permit
the Ambassador to tke a day trip to Abeche, although it did
permit other official Americans to travel there. The foreign
ministry's director of protocol has now verbally informed us
that all diplomats are restricted to N'Djamena unless the
foreign ministry gives express authorization to travel.
Protocol stated that these restrictions are required in order
to assure the safety of the diplomatic community.


10. (C) RSO police sources indicate that they are concerned
about ethnic flare-ups in N'Djamena in response to the
communal fighting in the East. Increased military and police
patrols, as well as static checkpoints, are a possibility in
N'Djamena, although no apparent increase has yet been noted.


11. (C) N'Djamena remains quiet, and residents are going
about their business. The Embassy is operating normally but
held an EAC meeting in response to the State of Emergency
declaration (septel). The American and French schools remain
open.


12. (C) Comment. The Prime Minister explicitly called upon
the UN to place a military force in Sudan, but he made no
mention of placing one in Chad. This distinction is in line
with Foreign Minister Allam-mi's statement to the Ambassador
that the Chadians want only a UN civilian presence (e.g.,
gendarmes) on the Chadian side to protect the refugee camps
and to monitor the border with Sudan (reftel A). End comment.


13. (U) Tripoli minimize considered.
WALL