Chadian president accuses Sudan of destabilization attempts

Chadian president accuses Sudan of destabilization attempts
318 words
20 December 2007
01:39 pm GMT
BBC Monitoring Africa
English

[Presenter] President Idriss Deby yesterday made a speech before representatives of the Islamic community on the occasion of the feast of Tabaski. In his speech, the head of state once again accused Sudan and its accomplices in the country of seeking to destabilize Chad.

Idriss Deby used the occasion to appeal to Chadians to stand behind the authorities. It is worth reminding that the president himself went to the front to direct his troops during intense fighting in eastern Chad between rebels and Chadian army in the past weeks. In this regard, let’s hear what he said:

[Deby] Where else in the world have you seen a head of state jump into a Toyota pick-up and head off to war? Do you think it is because I love power that I do it? Not at all, I went off because I do not want Chad to plunge back into civil war. The whole country must stand together behind its government. I am surprised to find today that the Chadian community harbours slaves for Sudan. Sudanese money circulates here. Everyone sees and knows they are recruiting people from our territory.

I paid dearly for democracy and freedom. I believe that time has come to make a fresh analysis. It is another way of seeing things. Too much liberty kills freedom. Too much freedom and we collapse into disorder. Too much democracy destroys society. By taking too much liberty, we kill the freedom of others. The time has now come for each individual to recognize the law and his duties. I have forgiven a lot. I have let lots of things go in the name of liberty. May things come back to normalcy.

Source: Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French 1230 gmt 20 Dec 07