As part of our campaign for democracy and human rights in Chad, Tournons la Page and Agir ensemble pour les droits humains are offering a series of articles aimed at better understanding the mechanisms by which a military oligarchy has seized power, from independence to the present. The first part is devoted to the army, an intrinsic component of political life.

Interview with Dr. Sali Bakari, a teacher-researcher in the History Department of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in N'Djamena and a specialist in security issues in the Lake Chad region.

Questions answered in the article: 

• Question 1 : How and when did the army become an intrinsic component of Chad's political life?
• Question 2 : What are the characteristics of these links between civilian and military power in Chad?
• Question 3 : Why is there an imbalance between the DGSSIE and the regular army? What are the consequences?
• Question 4 : What do you think this financial arbitration reveals? And what are the consequences on the societal level?
• Question 5 : Has the Déby regime relied on the paradoxes of the army to preserve its survival?
• Question 6 : Why has Idriss Déby failed to make the army national, meritocratic, and representative of regional and ethnic diversity, despite his announcements?
• Question 7 : What benefits did Idriss Déby gain from this military diplomacy?
• Question 8 : In the name of the fight against jihadism in the region, have France and the United States turned a blind eye to the dysfunctions of this army, which is marked by abuses, human rights violations and corruption?
• Question 9 : Doesn't this mode of governance and this choice of semantics suggest a continued intertwining of military and civilian power?
• Question 10 : Beyond the transition and the national dialogue, what are the future challenges in the military field?

Read the interview here.