CHADIAN REBEL GROUP UFDD ESTABLISHES POLITBURO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 001343 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINR CD SUBJECT: CHADIAN REBEL GROUP UFDD ESTABLISHES POLITBURO REF: N'DJAMENA 1318 NDJAMENA 00001343 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. In a communique dated November 12, 2006, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) named its politburo. An informal translation follows: Quote Republic of Chad Political Military Opposition Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) After consultations among the former leaders of the founding movements in the UFDD (i.e., the CDR, the FUC, the RaFD, the RND, the RPJ and the UFPD),it has been decided to form an Executive Bureau of the UFDD as follows: ¶1. President: General Mahamat Nouri ¶2. Vice President: Acheikh Ibn Oumar ¶3. Secretary General: Abdalwahid Aboud Mackaye ¶4. Assistant Secretary General: Hissene Tahir Sougoumi ¶5. Commissioner for Foreign Relations: Kabbaro Hissene ¶6. Assistant Commissioner for Foreign Relations: Issa Moussa Tamboulet ¶7. Commissioner for Defense: Saleh Mahmoud Said ¶8. Assistant Commissioner for Defense: Dakou Abdarahim ¶9. Commissioner for Finance: Ali Kedellaye ¶10. Assistant Commissioner for Finance: Allamine Hidjazi Fazari ¶11. Commissioner for Mobilizing the Masses: Colonel Adoum Hassaballah Djadalrab ¶12. First Assistant Commissioner for Mobilizing the Masses: Moussa Hamadi ¶13. Second Assistant Commissioner for Mobilizing the Masses: Abdallah Ramadane Sossal ¶14. Commissioner for Information: Ali Moussa Izzo ¶15. Assistant Commissioner for Information: Ali Ahmad Aghbach ¶16. Commissioner for Security: Jean-Luis Vertu ¶17. Assistant Commissioner for Security: Abdalaziz Kizeme ¶18. Commissioner for Social Affairs and the Families of Martyrs: Ahmat Mahamat Yacoub ¶19. Assistant Commissioner for Social Affairs and the Families of Martyrs: Said Youssouf Mahamat ¶20. Commissioner for National Education: Hassan Mahamat Dahab ¶21. Assistant Commissioner for National Education: Mahamat Tahir Ahamad ¶22. Commissioner for Public Health: Dr. Mahamat Ibrahim Hassan ¶23. Assistant Commissioner for Public Health: Dr. Khidir Hissene ¶24. Commissioner for Promotion of Human Rights: (TBD) ¶25. Assistant Commissioner for Human Rights: Ousmane Hassaballah Done 12 November 2006 Vice President and Spokesman for the UFDD Acheikh Ibn Oumar End quote ¶2. Post records contain the following biographical information: --Mahamat Nouri: born in 1947 near Faya Largeau in northern Chad. A member of the Anakaza clan of the Gorane tribe, he held the rank of Major General in the National Chadian Army (ANT) and served as Minister of Health in 1993, Livestock in 2000, and Defense in 2003. He became President Deby's ambassador to Saudi Arabia in late 2004 and held the post until his defection to the rebel cause in April 2006. Embassy sources confirm that he has diabetes. He is characterized as thoughtful, cautious, and crafty. His defection in late Spring 2006 was considered to be a significant blow to the regime as he is believed to hold considerable sway among the Gorane. --Acheikh Ibn Oumar: born on July 13, 1951 in N'Djamena. An ethnic Arab, he served in the Habre government as Minister of Education, Defense, and Foreign Affairs. With Deby's assumption of power in 1990, he became Special Counselor to the President and served as Ambassador to the United States from 1992 to 1994. According to press reports in 2004, he characterized Deby's desire for a third presidential term as NDJAMENA 00001343 002.2 OF 002 an attempt to become "President for Life". He is a long-time opponent of Deby and has spent many years in self-imposed exile, but he has never led a robust military force. --Abdalwahid Aboud Mackaye: an ethnic Ouaddaien from the Abeche region, he was Secretary general of the FUC before leading a faction into the UFDD. In a January 2006 interview with Radio France International, he stated that the FUC had friendly relations with the Sudanese government and had met on Sudanese soil. Although he denied that the group received logistical support from the GOS, he was arrested by Sudanese authorities and held for several days. In September 2006, a FUC spokesman indicated that Abdelwahid tried to unilaterally depose the FUC's president, in violation of the organization's bylaws. (Nour's exact status vis-a-vis the FUC is unclear at this time.) In October 2006, Abdalwahid's faction joined the UFDD. --Issa Moussa Tamboulet: a member of the former rebel Movement for Democracy and Development, he was a member of Deby's circle by March 1999 and the Counselor in Charge of Mission in the Cabinet. In July 1999, he was named Assistant Prefect f Mayo Kebbi. In May of 2000, he was assigned as Prefect in Mbaibokoum in Mont de Lam region. By Fbruary 2004, he was Prefect in Kobe where he deat with the inital influx of Darfur refugees int his region. In September 2005, he became Prefet of Assoungha in the Ouaddai region. --Ali Kedelaye (AKA: Ali Kedelaye Goukouni): an ethnic Keda (subdivision of the Gorane). He was a Counselor on the Provisional Counsel of the Republic (CPR) after Deby took power in 1990. In August 1992, he was listed as Prefect for Kanem. In February 2003, he was assigned as Prefect in the Department of Chari; and in September 2004, he was assigned as Secretary General of the Kanem Region. ¶3. Comment. Despite the listing of FUC among the founding members of the UFDD, only a faction of the FUC led by its former Secretary General Abdalwahid Aboud Mackaye actually transferred allegiance. In regard to Erdimi's RaFD, the absence of Erdimi from the UFDD Executive Bureau list is telling; and it is unlikely that this group is an active member of the Union of Forces. End Comment. ¶4. Minimize Considered. WALL