Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-263"
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"en.20080312.20.3-263"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on my return from the mission to Chad from 20 to 22 January 2008, I had already stated that Chad ought to be an EU priority. The attempted coup at the beginning of February by armed rebel movements and ensuing events have served to reinforce this conviction.
I am still convinced that lasting stability in Chad depends on a political opening to all its internal components. That is the task the European Commission took on last year by facilitating and backing the political dialogue, which, as you know, produced the inter-Chadian agreement of 13 August 2007. I strongly believe that it is only this dialogue that can create the political perspective needed to guarantee stability in Chad and consolidate democracy. It must result in a reliable census and a review of the electoral system leading to free and transparent legislative elections in 2009.
I conveyed this message with some force to President Déby; this process had already begun through the monitoring committee. Recent events in N'Djamena caused setbacks to this process. Even though there was an attempted coup against the government, the extrajudicial arrest of a number of opposition leaders, civilians and people working in the media is completely regrettable and unacceptable. As a facilitator and observer of implementation of the inter-Chadian political agreement of 13 August, I was the first to voice my concerns on the subject to President Déby during my last visit to Chad on 27 February.
During the mission I urged President Déby and the political representatives of the presidential majority and the democratic opposition, that is, all responsible politicians in Chad, to relaunch the dynamics of political dialogue by restoring confidence among the various parties. This requires commitment by all the political players concerned, including President Déby of course, who confirmed his desire to continue as the guarantor of implementation of this political agreement. I was assured that the state of emergency declared in mid-February would come to an end in the terms laid down in the Constitution, i.e. in mid-March.
On the same occasion we requested and obtained from President Déby the release of Mr Lol Mahamat Choua, President of the Coordination of Political Parties for the Defence of the Constitution. Bernard Kouchner and I requested a meeting with him. We met him in person and he was thus released the following day. I am also particularly pleased to learn that Mr Ngarlejy Yorongar is in Strasbourg at the moment and may have met some of you, but I am obviously still concerned about the fate of Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, who is still missing. This is why we successfully requested that President Déby establish an extended committee of inquiry with a substantial international presence, including representatives of the European Union, the OIF and the African Union. This committee must shed light on the arrests and disappearances. This will be an important initial step in restoring confidence and ensuring a return to normality in Chad.
The same message was also sent to members of the opposition. The solution lies in joint responsibility on the part of the government, the presidential majority and the opposition. I wish to conclude with a brief explanation of the regional context: the coup bid in Chad was largely the direct consequence of a deterioration in relations between Chad and Sudan. It is extremely difficult not to see the influence of the Khartoum authorities on the attempted coup.
It is therefore essential to put an end to the cross-contamination of the situations in Darfur and Chad. I welcome optimistically the regional initiatives for mediation between Chad and Sudan, which regional Heads of State or Government are now implementing, notably President Wade. The present situation proves, were any proof still required, that European military and civil forces must be urgently and rapidly deployed.
I now wish to mention the MINURCAT Mission in accordance with UN Resolution 1778 of 2007. The
of this military operation has been ascertained as never before. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are forced to live in extremely vulnerable conditions in eastern Chad, impatiently awaiting EUFOR deployment. The Commission will continue to mobilise all political instruments for humanitarian assistance and cooperation in response to the situation in Chad. I am awaiting the results of the mediation led by President Wade in order to determine or at least define when I will return, not only to Chad, but also to Khartoum. It is vital that we carry out mediation and reconciliation work between N'Djamena and Khartoum, since the tense interaction of a complete breakdown in relations between Chad and Sudan is obviously palpable."@en1
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