In Chad, the Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue (DNIS) is due to open on Saturday at the January 15 Palace in Ndjamena. A look back at the program for this long-awaited major dialogue.
From our special envoy to Ndjamena,
Tomorrow will be entirely devoted to the opening ceremony of the DNIS. The event will begin at 10 a.m. local time with the arrival of the President of the Transitional Military Council, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno. Shortly after, the inauguration of the statue of Peace, Pardon and Reconciliation, already installed on the esplanade of the palace and currently covered with a blue tarpaulin, should take place.
Then will follow official speeches. According to the president of the technical committee of the Organizing Committee of the dialogue, Njelgotar Armand, interventions by the mayor of Ndjamena, Ali Haroun, and the president of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, are not excluded. Finally, it is the Head of State, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who should conclude this first part with his speech. All this in the presence of representatives of regional bodies, including CEMAC, the African Development Bank and the Bank of Central African States. The afternoon will be mainly dedicated to shows, to present the cultural diversity of Chad.
The organizers will then use Sunday to prepare the great hall of the palace for the actual start of the dialogue on Monday. Rules of procedure will be adopted, necessary for the establishment of a presidium.
Between 21 and 30 days of dialogue
The duration of the dialogue is fixed at 21 days, 30 days maximum according to the organizers, during which the Chadian authorities to speak openly with the politico-military groups. Several leaders of these groups have arrived in Ndjamena in recent days. They are dozens of leaders, all signatories of the peace agreement concluded at the beginning of last week in Doha, Qatar. Among them, we can especially note the presence of Mahamat Nouri, leader of the UFDD, and Timan Erdimi of the UFR. The two figures of the Chadian rebellion returned to Ndjamena on Thursday after more than 15 years in exile. They were greeted at the airport by a crowd of relatives and supporters. Both call for a real dialogue that will definitively establish peace in the country.
Despite everything, not everyone welcomes the holding of this national dialogue. Twenty rebel movements did not sign the Doha agreement, in particular the Factwhich launched an offensive that led to the death of former President Idriss Déby Itno in 2021.
Civil society organizations and opposition parties also denounce the configuration of the dialogue. The Wakit Tama platform describes it as non-inclusive, with a number of participants mostly loyal to the ruling junta. Wakit Tama had also called to demonstrate today. A mobilization prohibited by the authorities and which was limited to a few sporadic actions and burnt tires in the capital.