Chad Ambassador Recalled After Criticizing President for Trying to Prolong His Power by Michael Coleman Former Ambassador of Chad Ahmat Soubiane Hassaballah values old friendships, but he values his homeland even more. Soubiane served as Chadís ambassador to the United States from November 1998 until March 4. The appointment was bestowed on himóand taken awayóby Chadian President Idriss Deby, his old college friend who helped bring democracy to the impoverished country during a revolution more than a decade ago. In December, Deby asked for Soubianeís resignation after the ambassador wrote a letter urging the president to honor the countryís constitution and step down from office at the end of his second five-year term in 2006. The letter, addressed to Deby and the Chad National Assembly, urged Deby to walk away from office peacefully. The president responded by stripping Soubiane of his job. Deby has made it clear that he wants to remain Chadís president, and he has been lobbying Chadian lawmakers to amend the constitution to allow him to be re-elected again and again for an indefinite number of terms. During an interview in early March in a sun-splashed meeting room at the Chad Embassy just off Dupont Circle, Soubiane explained why he thinks his old friend is making a dire mistake. ìWhen a country has a president who wants to be president for life, [it] creates destabilization,î explained the impeccably dressed Soubiane, whose native tongue is French. ìIf the president doesnít accept and respect the constitution and leave peacefully, it will be a mess.î As Soubiane contemplates his next move, the embassyís first counselor, Abdoulaye Beri, is standing in as the nationís ambassador to the United States. Soubianeís interview with The Washington Diplomat came just as Haiti was erupting with violent clashes between rebels and supporters of now-exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Soubiane said he feared similar uprisings and violence if Deby continues his pursuit of prolonged power. ìI am worried that it is possible to have a new Haiti in Chad,î Soubiane said. The former ambassador said Chad is at a major crossroads in its ancient existence. The North African country of 9 million, which has been traumatized by war and poverty for centuries, began in 1991 to operate under a new democratic government for the first time in its history. Soubiane and Deby were instrumental in ushering in the new democracy as leaders of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. The rebel movement, founded by Deby, overthrew the regime of military leader Hissein Habre. ìFor the first time we opened the government to society,î said Soubiane, whose first job in the new government was as minister of the interior. Deby assumed the presidency in 1990, and his new government legalized the existence of political parties for the first time since 1963. In 1996, the party produced a constitution that called for presidential term limits of two five-year terms. Debyís second full term is set to expire in 2006. Debyís second election in 2001 was viewed as flawed, however. Six opposition leaders were arrested, and one opposition party activist was killed following the announcement of election results. Soubiane said he has received many calls and letters of encouragement since he publicly challenged Deby to leave office. He said he plans to return to Chad in the near future, although he couldnít say when with any certainty. ìI am going backóabsolutely,î Soubiane said. ìThis is a fight for liberty and democracy.î But he has also been warned that it might not be safe for him, his wife and three daughters to return. Soubiane, recognizing the potential danger, said he is waiting until a safe return to his homeland is possible. ìI have received a lot of calls from people telling me itís dangerous to be there,î he said. Soubiane has been in jail before and would prefer not to return. In the 1980s, when he was a member of another opposition group, he was punished for taking a stand against its political direction. According to published reports, the group threw him in jail, and he spent a year shackled to another inmate, surviving on corn paste and tomato concentrate. Soubiane said he is now working to build a coalition of support in Chad. He did not deny that he might have designs on the presidency himself but cautioned that it is too soon to discuss the matter in detail. ìItís very early to talk about it,î Soubiane said with a smile. For now, he is waiting to see how the political mood in Chad shapes up. He said he is encouraged that his letter seemed to have fortified some public resolve to retain term limits for the presidency. ìThe people are beginning to understand the concept of intransigence, or being fearless,î Soubiane said. ìThey are beginning to understand the need to alternate [presidents] for the sake of democracy.î It appears Soubiane was not exaggerating when he discussed the groundswell of support he has received from native Chadians. Armel Ramadji Doumnande, a Chadian Fulbright scholar at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, has created a Web site that he uses to discuss myriad subjects, including the political situation in his home country. Ramadji viewed Soubianeís letter to Deby and the Parliament as an act of supreme braveryóespecially for a man who was an insider in the Deby administration and could have enjoyed all of the perks that came with friendship and loyalty to the president. ìI was stunned to read his letteróI could not believe my eyes,î Ramadji wrote on his Web site at www.ramadji.com. ìHowever, I was glad to see a man like [Soubiane] change and decide to embrace the struggle for the good of all Chadians, not that of Deby.î Ramadji urges public support for the former ambassador of his country. He said he understands people fear for their safety if they speak out against Debyís plan, but he preached strength in numbers. ìWeóChadians of all horizonsówho long for peace, justice, real democracy and freedom must use this opportunity to speak out and lobby for the departure of this thug Deby and his crew of murderers,î Ramadji wrote. Soubiane said that this moment is an especially important time for his country to project stability to the outside world, pointing to the fact that democracy has led companies and countries to finally consider Chad as a place in which to invest. U.S.-based ExxonMobil launched a project in 2000óthe Chad-Cameroon Pipelineóthat is based on innovative agreements between the World Bank, the private sector and several governments. The project is widely viewed as the most significant economic development project in the countryís history, as the profits are to be used to alleviate poverty and improve living conditions for Chadís people. ìThe oil is flowing and itís a very model project. Itís the first time the country has worked with public investment,î Soubiane said. ìWe are working with public controls, and we have a way to administer the profits of the oil to fight poverty. îItís a very special project, and itís very important to protect the political stability,î Soubiane continued. ìIf this development is not accompanied by democracy, it will be a big mess.î Soubiane said Deby is working to influence tribal leaders in Africa who hold great sway over public opinion, accusing his old friend of cajoling support with promises of largesse or with threats. He said people fear government authorities ìcoming in the nightî and apprehending them, or even killing them. But Soubiane said he is hopeful that his old friend will hear a growing drumbeat of opposition to his plan to stay in office. ìI donít know if he will understand this message,î he said. ìBut it has a lot of support.î Michael Coleman is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.