Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to the Royal Institute for International Affairs

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POLITICS AND SECURITY IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Speaker: Martin Ziguélé Former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic This transcript is issued on the understanding that if any extract

1 POLITICS AND SECURITY IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Speaker: Martin Ziguélé Former Prime Minister of the Central African Republic This transcript is issued on the understanding that if any extract is used, the speaker and Chatham House should be credited, preferably with the date of the debate. While Chatham House aims to provide an exact representation of the speakers words we cannot take responsibility for any minor inaccuracies which may appear. Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to the Royal Institute for International Affairs to discuss the worsening security situation in the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic is a land-locked country in the heart of Africa, surrounded by four traditional zones of conflict, the Sudan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. We possess substantial reserves of diamonds, oil and uranium, in addition to vast forests and an abundance of arable land. The CAR has great agricultural potential, but does not have the manpower to take advantage of this resource. This is why, when I was Prime Minister, I set out a policy of trying to attract expelled farmers from Zimbabwe to come and farm this exceptional resource. By the nature of the CAR s endowments the people of my country should enjoy prosperity. However, most Central Africans are desperately poor and the economy is in a shambles as a result of the misrule of the three military rulers who have dominated the country for 31 of its 46 years of independence. Today the CAR ranks 169 th out of 175 countries listed in the UN s human development index. 1

2 These geographic and geological realities provide the context within which the international community must act. If the international community helps re-establish lawful and responsible government in Central Africa, the country has every prospect of developing economically and being a stabilizing influence in a turbulent region. If developed countries do nothing, the Central African Republic will continue upon the road to state collapse and civil war. When this occurs, the ensuing chaos will spread to neighbouring countries. Central Africa will become a haven for Chadian rebels, the conflict in Darfur will flow over its long and undefended borders, and the CAR s easily mined alluvial diamonds will undoubtedly engorge the world s clandestine markets for conflict diamonds. The presence of a CAR as a failed state will also act as a beacon to malcontents in the two Congo s, enticing them to disrupt the fragile peace agreements in those countries. It is clear that stability or chaos in the Central African Republic will have an effect on whether Congolese leaders choose to respect the results of the upcoming elections or they renew their violent struggle. Now, you may ask me whether the situation is really this bad. I assure you that it is this bad and worse! The CAR s commercial and industrial infrastructure was destroyed between 1996 and 2003 by the pillage of Bangui by Central African rebels and Congolese and Chadian soldiers. In addition to this blow to the economy, the endemic corruption of the ruling cleptocracy has engendered a situation where civil servants have gone unpaid for more than a year. Today, General Bozize s Presidential Guard is roaming the north of the country as a death squad. His forces have massacred villages and clashed with both the regular armed forces of the Central African Republic and desperate groups of villagers eager to defend their homes and families. 2

3 The Chadian mercenaries that Bozize hired but dismissed from service without payment are also actively enriching themselves by plundering the civilian population. Today 80,000 Central Africans have fled to the relative peace of Southern Chad to escape the depredations of these armed groups. Herdsmen are driving their herds over borders to Chad or Cameroon. Farmers no longer dare venture into their fields to sow or collect their crops. And businesses are unwilling to deal with the CAR for anything but the immediate gratification of commercialising diamonds. Famine threatens a country with an overabundance of arable land. Before going any further, I will pause to fill you in about the history of the Central African Republic. Central Africa faces a crisis and understanding the origins of this crisis is essential to finding a solution. Since the CAR became independent from France in 1960, it has been ruled by two elected civilians for a total of 15 years and three military strongmen for a total of 31 years. The first of the military strongmen was Jean-Bodel Bokassa, a captain in the French Army, who overthrew his own cousin in 1965 and then successively proclaimed himself president, field marshal, president for life and emperor. Treating the country s resources Bokassa spent more than the CAR s annual GDP to stage his ludicrous coronation ceremony in The next military strongman was General Andre Kolingba. To secure his hold on power, Kolingba promoted members of his own tribe, representing 2 percent of the country s population. After 12 years in power, 64% of the armed forces came from Kolingba s tribe. Eventually the Central African trade unions and opposition parties forced Kolingba to hold the first internationally monitored multiparty elections in the country s history. Regrettably, the new President, Ange-Felix Patasse, fell victim to the tribal structures developed by General Kolingba. Soldiers still loyal to the former dictator mutinied on three occasions and attempted a coup d état in

4 This civil military strife destroyed much of the Central African Republic s commercial and industrial capital. It also sabotaged our efforts to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund. Although Kolingba s coups failed, they weakened the state enough for another General, Francois Bozize, to make his own play for power. As a young lieutenant Bozize served as Bokassa s aide de camp and learned by osmosis that a Central African soldier with small number of soldiers could take over the government and enrich himself. Later Bozize assisted French in their coup against Bokassa and was even forced to flee the CAR when General Kolingba discovered that he was plotting another coup. One of Patasse s monumental blunders was bringing Bozize back into the Central African armed forces and promoting him, eventually, to the post of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. After failing to seize power in 2001, BOZIZE retreated to Chad where he was greeted by President IDRIS DEBY and allowed to recruit mercenaries. On 15 March 2003, General Bozize and his 1500 Chadian soldiers took Bangui. General Bozize initially claimed that he would only rule for the 18 months until elections could be organized and that he would then retire to a general s pensions. Now, three years later, what is the state of the Central African Republic? Has Bozize given Central Africans honest government, bread and happiness? Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Today the country s economy has virtually collapsed, civil servants remain unpaid for years and armed groups roam the north of the country, including his private death squad, the ironically named Republican Guard. 4

5 Contrary to what Bozize may say, his problems owe nothing to the international community. In three years Bozize has received more international aid then Patasse did in nine years in power. However, this money has been wasted. As soon as he came to power, General Bozize gave his nephew a monopoly over diamond exports. Then, diverting international aid money, Bozize bought Charles Taylor s used C-130. General BOZIZE was even arrested in Dusseldorf for diamond smuggling. When it came time for elections, Bozize «changed» his mind and decided that he would run for election. He immediately used international aid money to buy supporters off with bicycles, fabric and matchbooks. The General also tried to ban 7 of 12 candidates from participating in the election. These banned candidates, including myself and Patasse, included all of Bozize s serious opponents. After Gabon s President Bongo intervened, all of the opposition candidates except the former President were permitted to re-enter the CAR. It was late-january and the elections were in March. With less than two months to prepare, none of us had a serious chance of beating Bozize. Despite the many irregularities in the electoral process and the polling itself, I chose to accept the results of the election. Central Africans had already suffered enough and opposing Bozize at this moment would have only prolonged their suffering. I have been disappointed by the General. The situation in the Central African Republic is extremely grave today. Bozize s so-called liberation has replaced a fragile democracy with a pseudo-democracy whose founding principles are tribalism, corruption and terror. 5

6 The economic aid given to the CAR has disappeared down a black hole. Unfortunately, this meant that the General dismissed his Chadian mercenaries without payment. Put out by this, the Chadians have dispersed in the north of the country and are living as highway men. Ordinary villagers have taken to arms in response to this brigandage. Worried at the takingup of arms in parts of the country loyal to former President Patasse, General BOZIZE sent his Republican Guard to the north to repress the population. These forces, led by Bozize s nephew, not the same one as he gave the diamond monopoly to, brutally massacred the civilian population of PAOUA in January Today there are at least seven distinct armed groups from three states operating in the north of the Central African Republic. The relative instability of this region recently permitted Chadian rebels to attack N Djamena by passing through the Central African Republic and thereby avoiding the international forces deployed along the border between Chad and the Sudan. His rule has produced 80,000 Central African refugees in Chad and many more internally displaced people. Farmers risk starvation because they are too afraid to return to their fields. And armed groups wander the countryside. Instead of bringing liberation to Central Africans, General Bozize has erected tribalism, and nepotism into a system of government. Today the crisis is grave and the Central African state will likely collapse if nothing is done. Bloody civil war is another alternative. General Bozize s military chief of staff has just returned from the Ukraine after negotiating for the purchase of attack helicopters to repress the population. These weapons are more expensive and formidable than anything yet used in the CAR. If Bozize obtains them, then 6

7 the vision of a peaceful and democratic society that the youth of 1979 fought for in opposing Emperor Bokassa will become a vain dream. Today this is the situation. Only the international community can avert a catastrophe that will probably spread to neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, the African Union is not a position to fill this role. The reasons for this are several. Competing interests between the Union s members and the decentralised nature of the decision-making bodies have created an organization that fails to implement the decisions that it makes. Even if this lack of political will was amended the African Union can not create, at present, the military capacity to make a difference in halting many of Africa s worst conflicts. This inability can be seen clearly today in Darfur. If the worst is to be averted, the international community and I mean the United Nations must threaten Bozize with the sanctions outlined in the UN Charter to oblige him to stop repressing the north of the country. United Nations monitors should be sent to the north of the CAR to report on exactions and the unauthorized movement of Chadian or Sudanese troops through the country. A military training team of at least 40 experts should be sent to help reorganize the Central African Armed forces so that they act as a buffer to prevent the Darfur War from spreading. While ending the fighting in the north is urgent, it is equally necessary to do something to defuse the poisonous political climate that has developed since Only after airing the CAR s dirty linen and establishing the culpability of all actors for the CAR s current miseries can Central Africans go back to a democratic existence. 7

8 You should impose an international tribunal, like that in Sierra Leone, on the Central African Republic to investigate and prosecute the crimes perpetrated by all sides in the past few years. Central Africans will sleep better if the guilty are punished by an impartial tribunal. If this is impossible, then at least the relative guilt of all actors must be weighed and publicized by a truth and reconciliation commission on the South African model. For the long term, the international community must immerse itself in the Central African electoral process. Electoral commissions must be internationally monitored, to prevent the random exclusion of candidates that Bozize practiced in December Polls must also be monitored and ballots counted under the noses of international observers. Campaign finance must also come under international scrutiny. This support of democratic intentions should be extended after the electoral process. If we think about the upcoming election in the DRC, even if a fair outcome is achieved it is not to say that all parties will accept it and that they will not seek to obtain power through other means. The international community should reject these obstacles to democratic aspirations. If measures are taken along these lines, I have no doubt that the Central African Republic will rediscover the road to democracy and development. If Bozize is left to his devices, the country will collapse into civil war and the chaos will spread. Already, the instability in Darfur and Chad could combine with the growing lawlessness in the CAR to bring about a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions. If this occurred, a massive and ungoverned foyer of instability would offer convenient refuge to terrorists. 8

WikiLeaks Document Release

WikiLeaks Document Release February 2, 2009 Congressional Research Service Report RS22751 The Central African Republic Ted Dagne, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division November 2, 2007 Abstract.