With two days to go before the presidential election in Chad, Amnesty International has denounced the long Internet cuts, among other “obstacles to freedom of expression.”
According to the human rights NGO, the Chadian authorities have increased restrictions on civic expression in recent months, through long Internet blackouts, arbitrary arrests and attacks on the freedoms of demonstration and peaceful gathering.
“For several years now, they have been voluntarily restricting the Internet when critical voices are mobilised. Cumulatively, these would correspond, according to figures provided by various organizations, to two and a half years of cuts or disruptions of the Internet since 2016,” Amnesty said Friday in the statement.
According to Amnesty, organizations such as Netblocks, Internet Without Borders and Access Now, have recorded a cumulative figure of 911 days of intentional Internet disruptions between 2016, the year of the last presidential election in Chad, and 2021. These figures include total disruptions to internet access and restrictions on certain social networks.
“Over the past five years, there has been a concomitance between Internet access disruptions and moments of political contestation in Chad. These disruptions, which affect all users, undermine freedom of expression,” said Abdoulaye Diarra, a researcher on Central Africa at Amnesty International.
Between February and March 2021, Internet access, phone calls and text messages sent from one phone to another were disrupted for about 15 days. The internet was disrupted for 192 days in 2020, Amnesty also noted. “In the current political, economic and social context, the Chadian authorities must refrain from cutting off the internet and ensure freedom of opinion and expression before, during and after the election,” Diarra said.
“Access to the internet is inseparable from freedom of expression. The authorities must guarantee the rights of all to enjoy their freedoms in accordance with international law and the laws of the land,” he added.
In addition, Amnesty International has documented numerous abuses of freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful demonstration and gathering in Chad over the past year and into the current year.
Ten candidates are running for president in Chad, including incumbent Idriss Déby. Three of his opponents have already announced their withdrawal, bringing the list published on 3 March by the Supreme Court to seven candidates.
Déby, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1990, has proclaimed himself “Marshal” and is seeking a sixth term.
ODL/cgd/lb/abj/APA