Chad: Kotoko ethnic group; relationship with and treatment by the Deby and Habre governments; relationship with and attitude towards the Mouvement pour la Démocratie et le Développement (MDD)

The Kotoko people live south of Lake Chad along the lower Logone and Chari Rivers in Chad and Cameroon (Decalo 1987, 185) and are also found in Nigeria (Encyclopaedia of Islam 1991, 278). Historically, the Kotoko trace their origins to the Sao people, early inhabitants of the Lake Chad area who converted to Islam beginning in the 16th century (ibid.). The Kotoko are not a unified group but exist in a series of small fortified city states (Chad: A Country Study 1990, 55). The Kotoko are primarily fishermen and to a much lesser degree agriculturalists (Decalo 1987, 185). They also generate income by exacting tribute from neighbouring peoples for agricultural, fishing and water transport rights (Chad: A Country Study 1990, 55-6). There is not a single Kotoko language, but rather what is described as "a series of dialects, several of which are markedly different from each other" (Decalo 1987, 185).

Specific information concerning the treatment of the Kotoko by the Habre and Deby governments is scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. A professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who specializes in Chad and is the co-author of Chad: A Nation in Search of its Future, stated that the Kotoko are not affiliated with the Gorane people to which both Deby and Habre belong (24 Nov. 1998). The professor noted that between 1978 and 1982 the Kotoko backed a Nigerian protégé, Abdel Rahman Abubakar and his Third Army, placing them in opposition with Habre during this period (ibid.).

Information concerning the relationship of the Kotoko people with the Mouvement pour la Démocratie et le Développement (MDD) could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the Kotoko in the region of Northern Cameroon bordering Chad have been involved in violent conflict with the Choa Arab population of this area (Reuters, 31 Mar. 1994; Mondes Rebelles 1996, 331). According to Mondes Rebelles, unspecified Chadian opposition groups as well as the Chadian regular armed forces have intervened on both sides of the conflict as mercenaries (1996, 233). The Chadian armed forces have also pursued what are described as "bandits" into this part of Cameroon, adding to the complexity of the conflict (Reuters 31 Mar. 1994).

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 to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Response.

References

Balancie, Jean-Marc et Arnaud de La Grange. 1996. Mondes Rebelles: Acteurs, Conflits et Violences Politiques. Vol. I. Paris : Éditions Michalon.

Chad: A Country Study. 1990. Edited by Thomas Collelo. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army.

Decalo, Samuel. 1987. Historical Dictionary of Chad. London: Scarecrow Press.

E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam. 1986. Vol. 5. Edited by M.Th. Houtsma et al. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Reuters. 30 March 1994. "Cameroonians Flee Bandit Wars in Far North" (NEXIS)

Professor of Political Science specialising in Chad, University of North Carolina, Charlotte. 24 November 1998. Telephone interview.

Additional Sources Consulted

Extremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political groups, and Issue-Oriented Militant Movements. 1996. Edited by John Murray and Richard H. Ward. Chicago: Office of  International Criminal Justice.

Minority Rights Group International. 1997. World Directory of Minorities. The High, Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

Resource Centre country file on Chad. 1996 - 1998.

Electronic sources: IRB databases, Internet, NEXIS/LEXIS, REFWORLD, WNC.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact three oral sources.