Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – A turning point has come in relations between Chad and Sudan. The Chadian President Idriss Déby arrived yesterday, Feb. 8, in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for his first visit to Sudan after six years.
"We have come here like a dove... we came to show our will, our availability, our commitment to see peace, tranquillity and confidence return...we came and wish to leave with peace," said Chadian President on his arrival at the airport in Khartoum, where he was welcomed by his Sudanese counterpart, Omar el-Bashir.
Relations between Chad and Sudan had been tense since 2003, since the outbreak of the rebellion in the Darfur region of Sudan, bordering Chad. Since the first year of the rebellion in Darfur, Sudan and Chad have traded accusations of supporting rebel groups acting in their respective territories. Chad, like Sudan, is having to deal with a number of rebel groups operating in the region bordering Darfur in Sudan.
In January 2010, the two countries signed an agreement, "normalizing" their relationship and a protocol on border security, which calls for the deployment of 3,000 men along the border, divided into equal parts.
The improvement of relations between the two countries stems, various international observers say, primarily from the requirements of domestic politics. In Chad, legislative elections are scheduled to take place in November, followed by presidential elections in April 2011. In Sudan, in April there will be presidential and legislative elections while the referendum on southern Sudan is scheduled for January 2011.
The normalization of relations between Sudan and Chad should ultimately facilitate the achievement of an agreement between Khartoum and rebel groups in Darfur, who are losing their foothold in the territory of Chad. The Chadian president also has family and tribal ties with at least one of the leaders of the Darfur rebels and could offer to facilitate negotiations between the rebels and the government of Sudan which is being held in Doha (Qatar).
The return of peace in Darfur is an important element in the strategy of Sudanese President Bashir, on whose head hangs an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court for crimes committed in the suppression of the rebellion in the Sudanese region. Sudan has not acceded to the International Criminal Court and has so far ignored the arrest warrant, but President Bashir is forced to restrict his movement outside the country, for fear of being arrested. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 9/2/2010)
