AFRICA/CHAD - Tension in Chad still high: fear for presidential elections in May

N’Djamena (Fides Service)- “Despite the present situation of calm, civilians fear fighting may start again at any time” say local Church sources in N’Djamena capital of Chad. On 13 April in N'Djamena and in Adré there were clashes between the army and United Front for Change rebels in which 70 civilians and at least 40 military were killed. The president of Chad Idriss Deby announced that 60 civilians were killed in N'Djamena and at Adré about 12 were killed and 17 injured.
“People are worried about presidential elections on 3 May fearing the rebels may try to take the capital by force” our sources say. “The rebels say this is the only way to change the political situation and they accuse Deby of using electoral fraud and violence to stay in power since 1990”.
For his part President Deby says Chad will plunge into civil war unless presidential elections in which he is also a candidate are held as planned on 3 May. “If there is no election on 3 May... there will be a constitutional void and widespread civil war cannot be excluded '', Deby said in an interview. He also said his government would not come to a compromise in the dispute with the World Bank which has frozen Chad’s oil royalties. Chad threatened to stop producing oil unless the World Bank lifts the freeze on the royalties before the end of this month.
The World Bank accuses the Chad government of not respecting an agreement on investment of oil revenues in civil projects. The World Bank gave Chad special loans to build a pipeline to the Atlantic to export its oil. In exchange the Chad government promised to invest oil revenues in long term development programmes.
Chad began to exploit its black gold in 2003 thanks to funding by a consortium of oil companies and the World Bank, which asked for 10% of royalties - 307 million dollars at the end of 2005 - to be put into an account “for future generations”. However in January Deby, needing money for his war against the rebels, stopped paying money into the account. The World Bank accused Deby of breaking the rules and suspended both payment of royalties and development programmes for Chad. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/4/2006 righe 37 parole 408)