In the News: in Chad, the death of the "Marshal"
Audio 03:37
Former Chadian President Idriss Déby.
© Michael Tewelde / AFP
By: Sébastien Duhamel
9 mins
Publicity
His portrait is obviously in all the Chadian media.
"
President Idriss Déby is dead
",
soberly displays
Le
Journal du Tchad
.
"
The Marshal died in action at the age of 69
," relates the article.
He should be buried Friday "
in family privacy
", at his home in the cemetery of Amdjarass.
This is provided for in the official funeral program, already established by the protocol of the presidency and relayed
in detail by
Le journal du Tchad
.
Also on Friday, "
military honors will be given to the Place de la Nation
" in the capital Ndjamena.
The conditions of the transition already contested
The Chadian press also specifies the conditions of the transition which is beginning. It is "
a military transitional council
(CMT)" which is set up, headed by the son of the late president General Mahamat Idriss Deby,
explains Tacha
. And among the very first measures of this CMT,
presented by Tchad Infos
, there is the immediate dissolution of the government and the National Assembly.
"
A military transition already contested by political parties
",
tells us
Le Journal du Tchad
. “
Some ask that the texts of the republic be respected. For them, it is the President of the National Assembly who must ensure the transition,
”says the newspaper. An outcry within civil society as well. On Tchad Infos, we see that "
the coordination of citizen actions calls on the population to oppose a categorical refusal to seize power by force
".
The Country explains to us
that the NGO Action Humanitaire Africaine “
condemns an attempt at monarchical succession
”.
This death made the front page of Walf and 24h in Senegal for example or, in Ivory Coast, that of
L'Intelligent d'Abidjan
. In Burkina Faso,
L'Observateur Palgaa
introduces us to “
Super Déby
” as the Chadian president was nicknamed “
for his military qualities
”, “
by far the most valiant soldier in the G5 Sahel
”, estimates
L'Observateur
. But the newspaper portrays at the same time the portrait of an authoritarian president, and that of his son, Mahamat Idriss Déby in the process of reproducing the paternal model. “
Like the father
,”
Wakat Sera abounds
, “
the 38-year-old son comes into business!
"The Burkinabè newspaper then asks itself:"
Is history repeating itself in Chad
?
"
The gaze of the international press
There are also articles in the international press and some words are not tender.
"
Private France of Déby
", title
Liberation
.
Yes, "
with the death of the Chadian president, France is losing an ally in its war in the Sahel
", also believes
Le Figaro
.
Both newspapers feature Idriss Déby's photo in front page.
Liberation
evokes "
an indebted president
", "
a pure product of the French military administration
".
The editorial in
Le Figaro
even speaks
of
"
Africa
" and of a man who ruled "
with an iron fist
" for 30 years. Because he "
reigned by nepotism
", he was also "
a cumbersome ally
", rebounds
Liberation
. However, the two titles fear, words of Chadians in support, the chaos which could follow its disappearance.
In Britain,
the Guardian
also remembers "
an increasingly authoritarian regime
".
In the United States, the
New York Times
remembers Idriss Déby as "
one of Africa's most entrenched autocrats
."
A president "
who did not support any dissent
" but the newspaper, is also worried about the aftermath ... And then, as in Burkina Faso, the transition which is beginning calls out to the American daily, "
because it violates the constitution,
”he emphasizes.
And so that things are clear, he relays here the words of a specialist: "
In itself, it's a coup
," she says.
The obscure circumstances of this death
The
New York Times is also
questioning the circumstances of his death. They are "
very obscure,
" according to General Stephen Townsend's words. He heads the US Africa Command and testified before Congress in Washington on Tuesday. "
General Townsend said a combination of Chadian and French forces clashed with a rebel column, and as it appeared to be withdrawing, Mr. Déby was killed,
" reports The
New York Times
. No more details. A French diplomat testifies anonymously: “
We will never know if he was wounded by a rebel bullet or by simply falling from his command car.
"
In any case, this death is a loss for France, recognizes the
Times
, but it is perhaps a mistake that France has finally "
self-inflicted
", he analyzes.
Experts recall that "
not so long ago
" the rebels accused of having killed Idriss Déby were fighting in neighboring Libya.
They fought alongside Marshal Haftar, supported by Paris.
He was even given "
military and diplomatic support,
" underlines the
New York Times
.
And today, it is these same rebels who are returning from Libya, but trained and armed.
Like a backlash.
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