AFRICA/CHAD - Catholic Bishops voice seriously concern for fast deteriorating social and political situation in Chad and surrounding region and call on political leaders to “save Chad from a foreseeable tragedy

Moundou (Fides Service) - “For some time we have noted a growing degradation of the socio-political conditions in Chad, aggravated by tension between countries in this region” the Catholic Bishops of Chad write in a Message sent to Fides at the end of a Meeting of the Bishops’ Conference in Moundou. The Bishops are most concerned by the flow of refugees from Sudan fleeing fighting in the Darfur region. This flow of people “could provoke insecurity in many forms and the instability we see beyond the frontiers could enflame the entire region”, they say calling on national and international political authorities to find a solution to this tragedy “a solution which must be political, for the good of the country and the region”.
The Catholic Church in Chad, besides striving to offer assistance to the refugees also faces a serious national situation: killings in the east and the south; pressure from nomad animal breeders on sedentary peoples is concerning and creates fear, diffidence, rejection of others; unjust interventions by local authorities give rise to sentiments of oppression and malcontent; the social climate is ever less healthy; corruption affects all state institutions; wages are paid late. These social problems disorient people and generate violence, the Bishops say, lamenting “an unprecedented moral and civil crisis has befallen our youth ”. Demoralised by the absence of a political and social programme to guarantee their future, young people in Chad are in danger of being an easy prey for extremism of any kind.
The Bishops ask if in such a condition it is right to proceed with a revision of the Constitution: "If the President and the National Assembly have the right to change the Constitution, they also have the grave responsibility to explain the motives for doing so". Lastly the Bishops urge political leaders to put aside personal interests and “work resolutely for dialogue in order to save the country from a foreseeable tragedy. The people will be grateful to them”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 5/5/2004; Righe 26; Parole 372)