Chad’s transitional council delays national dialogue | News

Postponement comes after Qatar called for more time for rebel groups and government officials to reach a ‘peace agreement’.

Doha, Qatar – Chad’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) has postponed a national dialogue that was set to take place in the country’s capital, N’Djamena, on May 10.

The TMC announced the delay in a statement on Sunday.

The national dialogue will now take place “at a later date, which will be decided after consultations with the relevant institutions and political actors”, it said.

Mahamet Deby, the TMC chief, had called for inclusive talks last year in order to gather members of civil society, government representatives and rebel groups to establish a constitutional framework for elections to be held within two years.

Rebel groups had also been invited, but agreed to participate only if certain conditions were met before the talks. This led to the so-called “pre-dialogue” which has been taking place in Qatari capital, Doha.

The success of the pre-talks is seen as crucial for the national dialogue to be inclusive and effective. But the negotiations in Doha have moved at a snail’s pace, triggering growing calls for the event in N’Djamena to be delayed.

Earlier on Sunday, Qatar had called for a postponement of the national dialogue, saying it would “give the participating parties more time to reach a peace agreement”.

It added that the pre-dialogue was “making significant progress”.

The TMC’s decision makes it is the second time that the national dialogue has been delayed. The talks were originally planned for mid-February, but then moved over issues related to the organisation of the meeting in Doha.

Chad was thrown into turmoil following the death of longtime President Idriss Deby while fighting with his soldiers against rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) – one of the last remaining rebel groups with fighters on the ground.

His son was swiftly put in charge by the military with the promise of free elections within 18 months.

The pre-dialogue process began in Doha nearly two months ago, with some 300 delegates from 50 rebel groups and 24 representatives from the government holding negotiations in a five-star hotel in the Qatari capital.

The rebel groups have presented a series of demands, including guarantees of safety if they return to the country and the release of prisoners of war.

The government is keen to hand amnesty to those accused of acts of rebellion and to free all members of the rebel groups who will sign amnesty agreements, according to a document seen by Al Jazeera.

But there is disagreement concerning other demands of the rebels, such as banning members of the TMC from running in the next elections, army reforms and a constitutional revision.

Government representatives have made it clear that these issues should be scrutinised at the national dialogue in the capital N’Djamena, rather than at the Doha talks.