By Pascal Fletcher DAKAR, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Chadian President Idriss Deby must open negotiations with his rebel and civilian opponents or face fresh attacks and instability in the landlocked African oil producer, a leading think-tank said on Wednesday. "Chad's crisis cannot and should not be reduced to a simple consequence of the war in (Sudan's) Darfur," the International Crisis Group (ICG) said, adding that while meddling by neighbour Sudan worsened Chad's problems, it was not the principal cause. In a report on Chad, Brussels-based ICG suggested a three-track process of dialogue that would engage Deby's government with the civilian opposition, armed rebel opponents and the Sudanese government, all under United Nations mediation. The process envisaged talks on a permanent ceasefire with eastern rebel groups which have twice attacked the capital N'Djamena in two years. Rebels who signed up for such a deal would then be able to join a wider national political dialogue. "Without negotiations, they will continue to threaten the Deby regime," the ICG report said. It criticised Deby's refusal up to now to accept an all-inclusive political dialogue with his armed and non-armed foes as "disconnected from reality and counter-productive". "Holed up in N'Djamena, the Chadian presidency cannot hope to run the country eternally through arresting or co-opting opponents and through 'in extremis' military solutions," the report said, urging him to make concessions to his critics. Deby, a French-trained former pilot who himself seized power in an eastern revolt in 1990, won a third term in office in 2006 elections after removing a constitutional two-term cap. The main opposition boycotted the 2006 vote as unfair and one-sided. Condemned by his critics as corrupt and dictatorial, Deby survived an assault by anti-government rebels on N'Djamena in February, thanks largely to logistical and intelligence support from France. ICG said that neither the return to multi-party politics in 1990, enhanced government revenues from newly exploited oil reserves since 2004, nor elections backed by Chad's Western allies had brought democracy or improved governance. "Power has been monopolised by a Zaghawa military clan with President Idriss Deby at the top since 1990, leading to increased violence in political and social relations, ethnic tensions and distribution of the spoils of government on the basis of clan favouritism," the report said. ICG said that while Sudan's attacks against refugee camps and Darfur rebels in Chad had worsened the crisis, "Deby found a new lease of life in portraying himself as a key asset in the West's strategy of containment against the Khartoum regime". For his own political survival, Deby moved to back Darfuri rebels in their fight against Khartoum, the report said. ICG urged the United Nations to name a prominent African figure to mediate in the proposed linked negotiations between Deby and his armed and non-armed foes. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
Sudan's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun talks during a Reuters interview in Khartoum September 16, 2008. Trying to arrest Sudan's president for war crimes in Darfur could prolong and complicate ...
