NAIROBI, Kenya – Amnesty International has accused the Chadian Government of persecuting political opposition members under the guise of a state of emergency. The state of emergency was declared February 14th by President Idriss Deby after a long standing armed opposition movement launched a major offensive on the capital city of N’Djamena. This movement has led low level insurgencies on towns since 2000. The latest offensive saw the rebels lay siege to the capital for three days, before government forces drove them out of the city. President Deby’s state of emergency gave provincial governors increased powers, instituted media controls, and imposed an overnight curfew.
Amnesty believes the government issued the state of emergency solely to flush out its political opposition. In the wake of the rebel attacks at least one opposition leader was arrested, and at least two others have disappeared. Amnesty International believes the government has used the state of emergency to “flush out and arrest supporters – actual or perceived – of political opposition parties.” The London-based organization is very concerned about the missing political members, and has urged Chad to either charge or release the detainee’s. It has also reached out to France, the former colonial occupant of Chad, to reveal any information it may possess with regards to the opposition leaders’ disappearance. French authorities claim to be prioritizing the fate of the prisoners, but emerging information seems to point to the conclusion that the French Government knew about the arrests.
For more information, please see:
Yahoo! News – Amnesty: Chadian opposition persecuted – 21 February 2008
allAfrica.com – Chad: Human Rights Crisis Brewing in Aftermath of Attack on N’Djamena – 20 February 2008
