INTERVIEW – Sudan’s militia cannot go unpunished : Deby

Sept 30, 2005 (PARIS) — Chadian President Idriss Deby accused the Sudan backed Arab militia of attacking Madayouna village -Ouaddai region of eastern Chad – at the border with Sudan.

Regarding the implication of the Sudanese government in this attack, Deby said he could not state at this stage. But he affirmed that Sudan still supporting Chanian rebels
and Chadian rebels are among the Sudanese militiamen.

The Following is the text of the interview of president deby by Radio France Internationale in French on Thursday 29 September 2005:

– Who attacked the Chadian region of Madayouna on 26 September?

Deby: We are now absolutely certain that it was the Janjaweed, who are behind the attack just like in the past, though we do not know the reason why. What is for sure is that the perpetrators cannot go unpunished.

– Do you think the Sudanese government was behind the attack?

Deby :It is still too early to say. However, these men were fully armed with new weapons, in uniform and were carrying so much ammunitions which cannot just be bought on the market. I do not know whether it is the Sudanese government, or somebody else, who supplied these to them but we will eventually know.

– Last Sunday (25 September) two days before the attack you reconciled with the Sudanese Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels, don’t you think that the Janjawid attack on the 26 September is a reprisal?

Deby: That is a strong word. It is not a reconciliation. We had some misunderstandings in relation to the Sudan rebellion, in particular with JEM, for the simple reason that we well understood that JEM was not willing to dialogue. That is why we asked that them to leave the negotiation table if they did not want to hold talks with the Sudanese government. And they left.

Currently, nobody has a right to put Chad in a pro-governmental, or pro-rebellion, position. I believe we played an essential role, without taking sides that is why at times we are accused by the government, and at other times by the rebels.

However, I do not think that the Sudanese government would have any reason to carry out such killings for the simple reason that we have brought back Khalil Ibrahim at the negotiation table. On the contrary, the Sudanese government needs to hail Chad for facilitating this. The Darfur crisis weighs heavily on Chad, therefore Chad is keen to see the international community, especially the African Union, deal with the crisis. Otherwise, I fear that if the Darfur crisis continues to be mismanaged it will bring about something similar to the situation in the Great Lakes.

– In May, you officially accused the Sudanese government of supporting 3,000 Chadian rebels in Darfur.

Deby: The situation still exists. However, I do not think that the people who attacked the civilians are Chadians. They are Janjaweed. As to whether there are Chadian rebels among the Sudanese militiamen is a thing that has been proven and that we are aware of.

(ST)