State's Zoellick Calls on All Parties To End Violence in Chad
13 April 2006
Deputy secretary of state says Sudanese refugees in Chad must be protected
By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick called for an immediate end to violence in Chad and for that country to adopt a "different political process" if it is to avoid further rebel unrest and attacks like the one launched April 13 against that country's capital, N'djamena.
In comments the same day to the Brookings Institution in Washington -- an independent policy research organization -- Zoellick said, "There is a dimension of this that relates to Sudan … [and] there is a dimension of this that is very much related to the internal workings of Chad." He said the regime of President Idriss Deby "has its own fragility."
Zoellick said elections in Chad were scheduled for early May, but added it has been reported that at least some of the rebel actions are being driven in part because the rebels do not view the upcoming election as being a free and fair process.
"Despite our efforts and that of the French and that of the African Union, there has not been a satisfactory coming together of the Deby regime and some of the opposition for either a fair election or some inclusive political process," Zoellick told his audience.
Zoellick, who was at Brookings to deliver a major speech on Sudan, said that in view of Chad's "turbulent history," the regime is going to have to implement a series of reforms.
He cautioned against underestimating the potential dangers of the situation, especially the possible overflow of the conflict. "We certainly don't want to do anything that creates further fuel for a fire of rebel actions or of desertion leading to rebel action," he said.
With regard to Sudan, Zoellick said it is essential to ensure that the people in the refugee camps are safe and that their basic needs are met. More than 200,000 refugees have fled into Chad to escape the violence in Sudan and now reside in those camps.
Zoellick said there are about 1,200 French forces in Chad. Their primary mission is the protection of those camps.
"So we are in touch with them and UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] in meeting the basic needs of the camps." Zoellick said the information he had on the camps is that the "situation is stable."
The deputy secretary called on all parties to stop the conflict. He also cited an urgent U.N. Security Council briefing held at the request of the United States and other nations. There is interest in trying to eliminate any possible outside intervention, and to call on the rebel groups to stop their violence and to stop the government's actions as well, Zoellick said.
STATE DEPARTMENT TERMS SITUATION IN CHAD “FLUID”
At the U.S. Department of State's midday briefing for reporters on April 13, spokesman Sean McCormack called the situation in Chad "fluid."
He added that the United States is "very much interested in seeing the political crisis in Chad resolved, and it is up to the people of Chad to resolve any political differences they may have within the confines of their law through dialogue and peaceful means, not through use of violence."
Certainly, he added, that principle also applies to the situation in Sudan and in Darfur. "We talked about that quite a bit, that we are doing everything that we can at the moment to address the immediate concerns of humanitarian aid as well as security issues, working with the international community. On the security front," he added, "that means working very closely with the AU [African Union] Mission and then pushing forward on a couple of different fronts, both with NATO as well as the U.N."
On the humanitarian side, he reiterated that the United States is at the forefront of providing humanitarian assistance to ameliorate the situation in Darfur, and that would include doing everything that can be done to address problems that now have come up along the border with Chad and Sudan.
"Ultimately, this has to be resolved on the political level. That's the long-term solution, not only for instability in Chad but also in Sudan. So we're trying to focus our efforts on all of these fronts, and we encourage the people of Chad to come together to resolve any differences they may have about their political situation and not resort to the use of violence."
The U.S. Department of State has established a task force on the situation to coordinate all State Department activities directed toward Chad.
For more information, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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