On 13 May 2017, dozens of anti-Balaka fighters stormed the city of Bangassou. They killed dozens of Muslim civilians. Since then, the administration and a large number of residents have fled the city. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in the Central African Republic on October 24, 2017 to assess the country’s fragile security situation as violence between militias threatens to intensify. / AFP PHOTO / ALEXIS HUGUET (Photo credit should read ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP/Getty Images)
Over the past month, residents of the Central African Republic have repeatedly taken to the streets to demonstrate against the Central African government’s dialogue with the rebels of the Coalition of Patriots for Change.
This time, on February 21, Central Africans of different faiths rallied on Avenue de Martyres in the Central African capital Bangui to express their desire for peace and an end of violence in the Central African Republic. The participants’ signs read: “WE ARE UNITED”, “MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS TOGETHER”, “CENTRAL AFRICAN POPULATION, ALL CONFESSIONS UNITED FOR PEACE”. The march brought together thousands of people and ended with a prayer for the peaceful future of the CAR.
However, the CAR government does not support the idea of dialogue. On the other hand, the official policy of the CAR authorities is in line with the will of its people, President Touadéra having repeatedly stressed that no dialogue was possible with people who armed themselves to harm their country.
It is ECCAS and Angola that insist on dialogue with the leaders of the armed groups. Why? Because it is beneficial for Angola to see the Central African Republic in a perilous and unstable state. In order to assert its political interests, Angola uses its links within ECCAS that is presided by Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo.
Moreover, why would the government want to negotiate with enemies who are already retreating? For over a month, the Central African Armed Forces have persisted in liberating one town after another: Bossembélé, Yaloké, Bossemptélé, Bossangoa, to name but a few.
Therefore, dialogue with the rebels is in no way beneficial to the Central African Republic and goes against the wishes of its people. It is precisely for these reasons that the forum scheduled to be held on March 2 in Luanda and where negotiations with the CPC are supposed to take place should be avoided by the Central African authorities.
