Deutsche Welle (DW) has published a must read opinion that argues that France is maintaining Chad’s despotic and long-stay ruler, Idriss Deby, in power. Here is an excerpt:

With the help of France, on December 1, 1990, Idriss Deby successfully toppled the government of Chadian President Hissene Habre, to whom he had long been loyal. The coup ended one of the bloodiest dictatorships on the African continent. 

That day, Deby told the people of Chad, who had been yearning for justice, freedom and prosperity, that he would bring them not gold or silver but freedom and democracy. On April 11, Deby will be vying for a sixth term as president, with neither gold nor silver, nor democracy for that matter, in sight.  

When Deby made his promise back in 1990, the world was undergoing significant political shifts. In Europe, for example, Communist dictatorships were falling swept away. And the people of Chad, whose freedoms had been trampled upon by the previous regime, were hungry for democratic reforms. 

Read the full opinion here.