schema:articleBody
| - Chad on Friday issued a new ban on anti-government protests ahead of an April presidential vote where 30-year incumbent Idris Deby Itno is expected to be re-elected. In a decree, Justice Minister Djimet Arabi said marches and sit-ins scheduled for 13, 15 and 16 February in capital N'Djamena and the provinces are "strictly forbidden" as "they are likely to trigger disturbances to public order." The opposition is demanding greater social justice and curbs on presidential terms to allow for regular change in leadership. Several opposition parties, including the UNDR led by Saleh Kebzabo, the runner up in the 2016 presidential election with 12.8 percent of the vote, have called for protests on Saturday. Last Saturday, the day Deby was declared his party's candidate for president, police forcefully broke up rallies that were forming, citing a protest ban. Several people were arrested, including leading activist Mahamat Nour Ahmed Ibedou, the secretary general of Chad human rights group CTDDH and fierce government critic. Apart from Ibedou, 13 other people in custody went on trial Friday for allegedly disrupting public order, deliberately hurting people and destroying property. Amnesty International said earlier this week that government bans over the last three months on protests were "unnecessary and disproportionate" restrictions on the right to protest peacefully. Abdoulaye Diarra, Amnesty's Central Africa researcher, denounced what he called arbitrary arrests during this period. "The situation confirms the rapidly shrinking civic space in Chad as elections approach despite the Constitution and international law guaranteeing every citizen the right to freedom of association and demonstration," he said, calling on the government to release all those arrested simply for protesting peacefully. The presidential contest will take place on April 11 and legislative elections, frequently postponed for the last five years, have been set for October 24. Fifteen parties in Chad's fragmented opposition said on Tuesday that they had named a single candidate, political newcomer Theophile Bebzoune Bongoro, to contest the presidential elections. During his long rule, Deby has been accused of authoritarianism and nepotism as well as failing to address the poverty that afflicts many of Chad's 13 million people. Despite oil wealth, the country ranks 187th out of 189 in the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). yas-amt/lc/tgb
|