By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Ngarlejy Yorongar has reappeared in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, after disappearing 3 February when armed uniformed men took him into custody at his residence. Yorongar is a deputy in the Chadian assembly and was a candidate in the 2001 presidential election running against the Chadian president.

The seizure of Yoronger occurred during a government crackdown when rebels tried unsuccessfully to take power of the country. Another politician, former Chadian President Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, is still missing. According to an e-mail received by Agence France Press (AFP) sent by a Chadian opposition representative in France, Yorongar said it would be a miracle if Ibni is alive after an alleged beating by the Chadian Presidential Guard.

Yoranger needed medical treatment upon his arrival in Cameroon according to Yorangar’s oldest son who spoke with Yoranger via telephone. The details of his release in Chad and his arrival in Cameroon are disputed at this time.

The Chadian government announced it would launch an investigation into the disappearance of the missing politicians and the coup attempt by the rebels. State run radio said it will create a commission “to investigate and produce information on people declared missing and into damage sustained by the state and the population in districts occupied by the forces of aggression.”  President Deby announced the creation of the international commission upon the termination of the visit of French president Nicholas Sarkozy. The commission will include representatives from the African Union, France, the European Union, and the organization of French-speaking nations. There is concern that the commission will not be neutral because it will be led by parliamentary speaker Nassour Ouaidou, a close aide to President Deby.

Chad will remain under a state of emergency until at least 15 March 2008. The state of emergency permits house to house searches and a crackdown on media outlets.

For more information, please see:

LeMonde.fr – Un des trois opposants tchadiens disparus réapparaît au Cameroun – 3 March 2008-03-03

AFP – Missing Chad opposition leader in Cameroon: sources – 3 February 2008

AFP – Chad opposition leader ‘safe abroad’; Ndjamena launches probe – 3 February 2008

Impunity Watch – Human Rights Groups Urge Chad to Release Suspected Prisoners – 27 February 2008

Yoranger.com – Biographie – accessed 3 March 2008