Mitterrand Defends French Role in Chad Conflict

Mitterrand Defends French Role in Chad Conflict

• Suggests North-South Federation
• U.S. Withdraws AWACS from Sudan
• Zairian Leader Visits Habre

Suggests North-South Federation

President Francois Mitterrand of France, in a major policy statement Aug. 25, called for a negotiated settlement of Chad's civil war, but warned that French troops stationed in Chad were prepared to respond with force to provocation by Libyan-backed rebels opposing the government of President Hissene Habre. [See 1983 French Deployment in Chad Halts Libyan Advance; Qaddafi Rejects Peace Talks]

Mitterrand's views were published in an interview in the Paris daily Le Monde. According to knowledgeable sources, Mitterrand had edited the interview heavily before approving the final version. A previous Le Monde article based on an earlier interview had sparked controversy by highlighting tensions between France and the U.S. over the conduct of the war in Chad.

In the Aug. 25 interview, Mitterrand confirmed that the French presence in Chad had been responsible for a virtual halt in the fighting since the establishment Aug. 13-14 of an east-west defense line impeding the rebel advance. He defended the timing of the French deployment against criticisms by the U.S. and French opposition politicians that he had moved too slowly. "If we had acted any other way, either France would have been at war with Libya for several weeks already, or the Libyan army would be at [the Chadian capital of] Ndjamena," Mitterrand declared. "Instead, the civil war is temporarily in abeyance. Libya, faced with restraining reality, has to reconsider its actions, and the shooting has stopped."

French troops in Chad were ready to respond "militarily and quickly to a new offensive," Mitterrand said. "If threatened, our troops will riposte, and in order to defend themselves better, they will not limit their responses to defensive measures alone." However, Mitterrand appeared to reject previous appeals by the Habre government for French help in retaking the northern part of Chad, which was currently occupied by rebel forces. "Our troops cannot be regarded as an auxiliary force subject to a strategy in whose determination they have not taken part," Mitterrand said. "France will not allow itself to go where it does not want to go."

Mitterrand suggested that Chad's 18-year civil war could best be resolved through a federation of the poor Christian and animist south and the rebel-occupied and poorer Moslem north. Both Habre, who opposed a federation, and his challenger, former President Goukouni Oueddei, were Moslems from the north.

"Negotiations must have as their final aim the integrity of Chad's territory and the respect of this country's sovereignty," Mitterrand said. "Federation is often closer to reality than a formal unity that is perpetually broken. But it isn't up to France to decide--and nothing can be concluded without the agreement of the Chadians themselves." Partition of the war-torn nation, an eventuality feared by the Habre government, "would be contrary to law and would plunge not only Chad, but all of Africa, into a tragic period of general instability," according to Mitterrand.

The French president reiterated his earlier assertion that France had not asked the U.S. to send Airborne Warning and Control System reconnaissance planes to central Africa. However, Mitterrand confirmed that he had met with U.S. ambassador-at-large Vernon Walters on Aug. 6 and 7, when the U.S. dispatched two AWACS to the Sudan. [See 1983 Chadian Forces Flee Key Town Under Libyan Assault; French Intervention Urged]

"Let's say that we did not ignore the Americans, and they were very concerned with us, yes, a lot," Mitterrand said. However, he went on to dismiss reports of continued tension between France and the U.S. "I think everything is back in order now," he said.

Chadian Information Minister Mahamat Soumalia Aug. 25 declined to comment on the Le Monde interview until he had received the full text. However, Soumalia characterized France's conception of its military role in Chad as "too restrictive," adding that "it does not satisfy us or comply with our expectations." Soumalia also declined comment on the arrival that day in Ndjamena of French Defense Minister Charles Hernu. According to French officials, Hernu had been sent "to inspect the French forces."

In its efforts to achieve a negotiated peace in the region, France Aug. 23 dispatched a presidential envoy to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to meet with head of state Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam, chairman of the Organization of African Unity. French officials said the envoy, Maurice Faure, president of the National Assembly's foreign affairs commission, would seek to persuade the OAU to take an active role in mediating the Chad conflict.

U.S. Withdraws AWACS from Sudan

The U.S. Aug. 23 announced it was withdrawing two AWACS and eight F-15 fighter planes from the Sudan because the aircraft were no longer needed to monitor fighting in neighboring Chad.

"Our assessment of the current situation is that, for the immediate future, we need not keep our air force assets deployed in Sudan," according to State Department spokesman Alan Romberg. "After consultations with the concerned governments, the United States has therefore decided to begin redeploying the aircraft and personnel to the United States."

The speed of the AWACS deployment Aug. 6 had demonstrated that "appropriate assets can be rapidly moved to the area should the situation warrant," Romberg said. "We believe the deployment clearly demonstrated U.S. concern over the events in Chad."

Romberg linked the withdrawal of the U.S. planes and more than 600 support personnel from the Sudan to the deployment in Chad Aug. 21 of eight French Jaguar and Mirage combat jets. French officials said the aircraft would be used only to protect an estimated 3,000 French paratroopers deployed in the "training mission" known as Operation Manta.

Zairian Leader Visits Habre

President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire Aug. 20 arrived in Ndjamena in a show of support for Chadian President Habre.

"I have come to show that Chad does not stand alone," Mobutu said as he toured the Chadian capital with Habre. "Chad must not be isolated and must be assisted," Mobutu added.

The Zairian president's two-hour visit came as a surprise to Western observers. However, they noted that Mobutu had recently sent an estimated 2,500 troops to Chad in support of Habre's forces and had personally appealed to Presidents Reagan and Mitterrand to increase U.S. and French military aid to Chad. [See 1983 Chadian Forces Flee Key Town Under Libyan Assault; French Intervention Urged, 1983 U.S. Increases Aid to Chad, Charges Libyan Air Attacks; Reagan Sees Zairean President]