Brazzaville conference in Chad
Ben Mensah
A negotiated solution to the Chadian crisis is always preferable to the temporary peace brought about by the presence of the French troops to halt the advance of Libyan soldiers to the south of the country. Hence the persistence of the Congolese President to host a reconciliation conference. BEN MENSAH looks into the behind the scenes moves.While the French troops in Chad continue their withdrawal and, in the words of the Libyan Foreign Liaison Secretary, Ali Turayki, the departure of Libyan troops also gets under way, Brazzaville, the capital of The Congo, has emerged as the venue for negotiations aimed at reconciling and bringing peace to the war ravaged country.
The Congolese Head of State, Colonel Sassou-Nguesso has in the past few days received the special envoys of Hissen Habre and Goukouni Oueddei, the two major characters in the Chad conflict. Mr Ali Salim, special advisor and envoy of Habre said he had come to deliver a written message to Col. Dennis Sassou-Nguesso and to affirm the readiness of the Habre government to participate in the Brazzaville conference on Chad with all factions without any exception.
Mr Yacoub, the man in charge of External Affairs for Goukounni Oueddei, also expressed the hope that priority at the talks in Brazzaville will be given to ways and means of resolving the crisis. He said his group had no conditions to lay down for their participation in the conference.
A negotiated solution to the Chadian crisis is always preferable to the temporary peace brought about by the presence of the French troops to halt the advance of Libyan soldiers to the south of the country. Hence the persistence of the Congolese President to host a reconciliation conference ought to be given every encouragement by all other African leaders.
For the people of Chad who have suffered greatly as a result of the personal ambitions of two men, each of whom is determined to enjoy political power, the Brazzaville conference offers an opportunity for the restoration of lasting peace instead of the temporary peace brought by the French troops who in another sense, were regarded as an occupation force sharing the scant resources of Chad with the indigenous people.
Both Hissen Habre and Goukouni Ouedei started their current struggle for power in the early sixties when as advocates for the rights of northern Chadians waged a relentless campaign against the government of the Southerner President Tombalbaye.
After the northerners had gained the upper hand against the southerners, these two illustrious sons of the north then started on the long and dangerous path of excluding the other from power. At one time or the other, each was an ally of the French, Libya, Nigeria or the OAU against the other.
Since several conferences in the past have failed to reconcile them the impending conference in Brazzaville, should look beyond reconciling them and encourage a third candidate to oust the two selfish leaders who for nearly twenty years have subjected their people to unnecessary suffering.
Since Col. Gaddafi has spent a lot of time and resources to carefully build his image as a radical leader involved in an international crusade to liberate the "wretched of the earth", it is inconceivable that he will permit the current trend in the Chadian situation to continue and eventually dent that image.
Such is the expectation put on the Brazzaville conference by all who genuinely want peace in Chad that it dare not fail. The run down to this conference has, however, witnessed a series of developments which must be carefully noted if the talks are not to be regarded as an exercise in futility.
These developments relate to the role played by King Hassan of Morocco in the negotiations leading to the with- drawal of the French and Libyan troops from Chad and also the accept- ance by Col. Gaddafi to withdraw his troops when previously he had said he had no troops in Chad. King Hassan of Morocco who is currently engaged in a war with forces from the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) suddenly finds it necessary, close to the holding of a summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), to enter into some kind of agreement with Libya's Col. Gaddafi, a known supporter of SADR.
He then uses this arrangement to get Col. Gaddafi to agree to a simultane- ous troops withdrawal from Chad with the French. And it is obvious that King Hassan has scooped the biggest diplo- matic coup by winning over to his side Col. Gaddafi in the war against the SADR and also won respectability from the French for his role in the agreement leading to the troops withdrawal from Chad.
For the French the 'Operation Manta' troops withdrawal from Chad has not only brought an end to their fifteen years of military involvement in that country but also saved them the £250,000 spent daily on their 3,000 soldiers in the Chad.
Col. Gaddafi's interest does not only lie in controlling a neighbouring country where his Green Book ideas could be practised. He, in fact, claims that a large chunk of Chad soil, Aozou strip which Libya occupied in 1963, is an integral part of Libya. Above all, Col. Gaddafi would not relish a reversal of a situation which has allowed him to organise a faction of the Chadians to destabilize their country and keep the government in such a weak position that it cannot fight for the liberation of the Aozou strip from Libyan occupation.
Col. Gaddafi knows patently well that if there is peace and a stable government in Chad, the Chadians will invite the attention of the international community to Libya's annexation of a portion of their country. In such circumstances, far from being regarded as the champion of the countries fighting against imperialism and colonialism, Libya is likely to be castigated at OAU and other international meetings as an aggressor and coloniser.
Since Col. Gaddafi has spent a lot of time and resources to carefully build his image as a radical leader involved in an international crusade to liberate the 'wretched of the earth' it is inconceiv- able that he will permit the current trend in the Chadian situation to continue and eventually dent that image.
This is why despite the assurances of Libyan troop withdrawal from the Chad, and the presence of international observers to oversee the exercise there are still lingering doubts about Col. Gaddafi's intentions over Chad.
Up till now, even though the phased withdrawal of French troops is widely reported to be taking place, there is no report anywhere of Libyan troop with- drawal despite their Foreign Secretary's remark that theirs also is getting underway.
My personal view of the whole arrangement is that Col. Gaddafi may, after all, not withdraw his troops from Chad. But if he does so in accordance with the arrangement with the French, his troops will immediately return to swell the forces of Goukouni Ouedei for the civil war to resume.
This phase of the civil war will be more ferocious than previously with each side determined to completely annihilate the other and the eventual losers being the ordinary and innocent sons and daughters of Chad. This is why the proposed Brazzaville conference on Chad should be accorded the required international recognition and support so that it succeeds to bring a negotiated settlement to the Chad crisis before the civil war resumes.
