CAR parliament summoned for talks in Chad |
All members of CAR legislature travel to Chad to discuss fate of President Michel Djotodia and future of peace talks.
Central African Republic's entire parliament has flown to Chad after being summoned by African leaders holding a special summit aimed at restoring peace in the restive country.
All 135 members gathered on Thursday in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, where they are expected to discuss the fate of rebel-turned-president Michel Djotodia, who is under fire for failing to prevent sectarian violence in the CAR.
The composure of the council / parliament was mandated by the Economic Community of Central African States ( ECCAS ) and it was designed to avoid the situation that unfortunately that the CAR has descended into.
ECCAS leaders have recognized the inherent weakness of and potential longer-term problems linked with a contested National Transitional Council. They requested from the Central African Republic a revised composition for the National Transitional Council, with its membership increased to 135 members in order to better reflect the variety of national stakeholders, including the underrepresented segments of the population.
African leaders meeting on the crisis suspended the talks earlier on Thursday as they awaited the arrival of the politicians, whose vote is crucial for any change in the institutions of CAR's transitional government.
As discussions resumed, regional leaders met the politicians while Djotodia left the room to hold talks with allies from his former Seleka rebel alliance, which seized power in March last year, plunging his country into crisis.
As I have already said there is no way that I can see Djotodia surviving this it is interesting to note that although he is the transitional president he was never intended to be the preeminent political leader in the country. Again from the August report to the UN Security Council. " In the mean time, the Prime Minister is recognized by the international community as the legitimate political figure in the Central African Republic. He was appointed as part of the Government of National Unity, established under the Libreville Agreements, as a representative of civil society and opposition parties. However, as the security situation continues to deteriorate and he seems powerless to stop it from spiraling out of control, Prime Minister Tiangaye is increasingly being criticized by the constituents that he was meant to represent." Prime Minister Tiangaye is tipped as the most likely person to take over from President Djotodia. It is hard to see much in the way of a justification for the ECCAS leadership in his ability to turn things around. Interestingly this appeared on Radio France International earlier today. " The military chief of Bozizé's MRPRC, Joachim Kokaté, was also invited to N'Djamena and told RFI he intended to call for Bozizé to go. Sources have told RFI that Bozizé met European, African and American diplomats on Sunday and told them he wanted to resign but CAR officials denied that either he or Tiangaye intended to go." Former CAR President Francois Bozize is not in attendance and I would have thought he would be the last person that anyone would want there. Clearly there has been some sort of translation problem in the the Radio France International report.
Allami Ahmat, the secretary-general of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) earlier said talks had been dominated by discussions over the fate of CAR's interim authorities.
The African leaders' principal concern is the Bangui government's failure to stem the widespread bloodshed that has broken out between mainly Muslim former rebels and self-defence militias formed by the Christian majority.
It is hard to be critical of the Christian community given the abuse that has been inflicted on them again from the August Security Council report. " Since the launch of the Séléka attacks in December 2012, the country has been facing a serious security crisis, with widespread and grave violations of human rights, including arbitrary arrests and detention, sexual violence against women and children, torture, rape, targeted killings, recruitment of child soldiers and other abuses, reportedly committed by uncontrolled Séléka elements and unidentified armed groups across the country (see section D below). Some United Nations offices and residences of national and international staff members have been looted. The country is plunging into a state of general anarchy marked by a complete breakdown of law and order."
"The solution must come from the Central Africans themselves," Ahmat said. "Neither ECCAS nor the international community have come to change the regime.
"It is up to those responsible [in CAR] to decide the fate of their country."
The problem is that the consultations seem to be happening with regard to the fate of the CAR with the clowns who managed to bring about this situation.
Power broker
Chad's President Idriss Deby, a powerful influence over events in the CAR, opened the meeting with a call for "concrete and decisive action" to halt the sectarian violence that has killed more than 1,000 people in the past month.
Deby, who chairs the 10-nation ECCAS, said the regional grouping had a duty "to show solidarity and determination to pull Central Africa back from the abyss".
I am not at all sure that this situation is something Chad are unhappy about, shades of Rwanda and the DR Congo.
France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said African leaders would be taking "decisions" on the future of Djotodia, a foe of toppled president Francois Bozize, whose overthrow in a coup last March sparked the current unrest.
"There are certainly decisions to be made, with regard to the political transition and the fact the state is paralysed," Fabius said. "We shall see what our African friends decide."
Again in line with the new French policy for the region. " Paris will no longer prop up dictators or back rebellions and will seek U.N. mandates and consult African leaders before intervening."
He said it is not France's place to dictate decisions about the future of CAR.
Last month, France had deployed 1,600 troops alongside an African force in its former colony.
The European Union is also reportedly considering sending more troops to reinforce the French deployment.
They are desperately needed until the UN can get on top of things. |
Friday, January 10, 2014
CAR: " Who orders desecration, mutilation, verbal masturbation in the guarded bureaucratic wombs "
Al Jazeera reports
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