The following information was provided in its entirety by the president of the Conseil national de redressement du Tchad (National Council of Chadian Recovery, CNR) in two telephone interviews that took place on 30 November and 5 December 2005.

The CNR is a politico-military organization that was created on 21 June 1992 by opponents of the Idriss Deby-current president of Chad-regime. Colonel Abbas Koy Yacoub, who died in 1993, led the organization. The main objective of the CNR is to overthrow the existing Chadian regime by all available means, particularly political, diplomatic and military means. However, as a result of lacking resources, the CNR has not participated in armed conflict since 1997.

The CNR is organized locally in cells (zones, centres and neighbourhoods), in sections (cities and regions) and committees (national level). Its higher authority is made up of the congress, which meets every four years and which determines general policy; the central committee, which is responsible for applying the congress' decisions; and the political office (15 members), which is the permanent body in charge of applying the central office's decisions.

The CNR has cells and committees in a number of countries, notably Canada (the president lives in Gatineau), France, England, Algeria and Sudan. In Chad, where the CNR has been deemed illegal, the organization works in secret. The main activity of CNR members and sympathizers in Chad is researching information that they then transmit to higher authorities outside the country. There are CNR members from all ethnic groups, but most are Zagawas.

The president of the CNR, speaking about the treatment of the organization's members, stated that he did not know of any recent cases where a member or sympathizer was singled out by government authorities. He explained that the members who are in Chad are very careful to go undetected. He added that the most recent arrests of CNR members were in June 2004, when three members were caught carrying excerpts from an interview with the president of the CNR from ialtchad.com, an Internet site based out of Canada. According to the president of the CNR, the three members were arrested, but, with the help of other CNR members who had infiltrated the Chadian regime, they were able to leave the country and go to France where they claimed refugee protection.

No corroborating information for the statements made by the president of the CNR could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

President, Conseil national de redressement du Tchad (CNR). 5 December 2005. Telephone interview.

_____. 30 November. Telephone interview.

Additional Sources Consulted

Publications: Africa Confidential, Africa Research Bulletin, dossier de pays du Centre des ressources, Jeune Afrique / L'Intelligent, Keesing's Record of World Events;

West Africa

Intenet sites, including: AllAfrica, Amnesty International, BBC Africa, Europa, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI.net), Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Crisis Group (ICG), International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH),MISNA, Les Nouveaux mondes rebelles, Political Parties of the World, ReliefWeb, United States Department of State