CHAD: PRESIDENT'S CALL FOR "DIALOGUE" REJECTED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000828

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SUBJECT: CHAD: PRESIDENT'S CALL FOR "DIALOGUE" REJECTED

REF: NDJAMENA 826

SUMMARY:
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1. (SBU) The Chadian President has instructed his Council of
Ministers to take the initiative for a "Chado-Chadian,
internal political dialogue" to allow Chadians -- not
foreigners -- to take control of the political development of
the country. The political opposition publicly rejected any
proposals that would be directed or controlled by President
Deby's GOC. At least one armed opposition group seconded the
rejection in a press release. Set next to the opposition's
pie-in-the-sky proposals for internationally supervised
dismantlement of the Deby State (reftel),it seems that at
least one dialogue is now under way -- a dialogue of the
deaf. END SUMMARY.

DIALOGUE -- BUT WITH LIMITS
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2. (SBU) Chad's President Idriss Deby Itno announced to the
press on June 8 (through his spokesman) that he had
instructed his Council of Ministers to take the initiative
for a "Chado-Chadian, internal political dialogue".
Presiding over the Council for the first time since his
re-election on May 3, Deby stated that the objective of the
dialogue would be to allow Chadians -- not foreigners -- to
take control of the political development of the country.
However, such a dialogue would take as its point of departure
the existing institutional framework and "democratic
structures".


3. (SBU) The President's spokesman, Minister for
Communication and Culture Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor, stated to
the press that the GOC was to put into place a team charged
with preparing the dialogue, with all legal political parties
participating. He emphasized that while the dialogue would
address "all the questions preoccupying the Republic," there
would be no room for calling into question Chad's democratic
institutions as they currently exist. He noted that it
appeared the opposition party umbrella group, Coordination of
the Political Parties for the Defense of the Constitution
(CPDC),sought to put aside the country's institutions, in a
sort of leap into the unknown.


4. (SBU) The Council of Ministers was reported to have noted
that while Chad's foreign partners could be solicited for
financial, material and intellectual contributions, there
should be no question of them doing for Chad what Chadians
can and should do for themselves.

CPDC, FAR -- REJECTION
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5. (SBU) CPDC spokesman Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh (PLD),
issued a statement on June 10 rejecting Deby's conception of
dialogue. He characterized the proposal as a clear
indication to the international community that no true
political dialogue would be possible with a regime that is
incarnated by one man alone. "We seek national political
dialogue with the support and guarantee of the international
community." Ngaralejy Yorongar of the non-CPDC member party
Federation Action pour la Republique (FAR) joined the CPDC in
refusing the President's proposal. He pointed out in his
statement to the press that, given Deby's rejection of any
genuine political dialogue before the recent election, he saw
no reason to accept the President's proposals now. "It's
only because of international interest in Chad's conflicts
that he (Deby) is offering dialogue."

FUCD -- BACKING THE
POLITICAL OPPOSITION
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6. (SBU) The armed opposition group Front Uni pour le
Changement Democratique (FUCD) issued a press statement, also

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on June 10, congratulating the CPDC and FAR for their "highly
patriotic positions vis-a-vis Deby Itno's fallacious offer of
dialogue..." The FUCD called on Chadians in general, and
internal political parties in particular, to actively support
the CPDC and FAR in their refusal of the President's
proposal, calling the rejection a "definitive turning of the
page."

COMMENT:
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7. (SBU) This public exchange of rejections -- the
President's of the CPDC's "leap into unknown", and the
CPDC/FAR's of the President's "one-man regime" -- does not
seem designed to begin filling the gulf in confidence between
the main opposition grouping and the GOC. We expect the
President to continue to make announcements of dialogue
planning, and the parties allied to his ruling MPS to add
their voices. As an example, a hitherto unknown group of 38
parties, calling itself Political Parties of the Alliance,
held a press conference June 12 to state their support for
the Deby initiative, and to call on the international
community to treat them in the same manner as the CPDC. The
absence of any GOC attempt to bridge the gap with the
political opposition, while creating the impression of
"dialogue-like" momentum, may increase pressures on the CPDC
members and FAR to simply ally with the armed opposition.
The FUCD press statement would give the image that this is
already coming together. Far from defusing the political
crisis, the move toward dialogue a la Deby seems to have the
potential of further alienating the internal political
opposition. END COMMENT.


8. (U) Tripoli Minimize Considered.
WALL