Central African Republic
Fears of renewed tension in Central African Republic

afrol.com, 16 January - In a report about the situation in the Central African Republic published by the UN yesteray, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns about the tensions in recent months between the ruling party and the opposition. He also warns about a possible spillover of the conflict in neighbouring Congo Kinshasa (DRC).

Annan called the lack of dialogue between the country's main parties "a serious obstacle to the sustainability of the democratic institutions established barely a year ago," and he expressed his hope that President Ange-Felix Patassé will take the necessary measures to reduce tensions between the Government and the opposition. The UN Secretary-General is supposed to submit a report to the Security Council every six months after the deployment of a UN peace-building office in the country.

After a period of stabilisation under UN observance, the political situation in the Central African Republic again is slipping back to tension. Annan criticizes both parties, stating that "the Government has not engaged in a dialogue with the opposition," while the opposition "is trying by every possible means to seize the power it was unable to win through the ballot box," adopting a "confrontational approach". Annan sees the country slipping into a political crisis.

The political crisis can be seen against a backdrop of "social tension and a precarious economic and security situation". Especially explosive have been the strike by civil service workers going on almost all the year of 2000, "that the opposition is trying hard to exploit for political ends". Neither on this issue was a dialogue between President Patassé and the opposition possible. Tension so far mounted in mid-December, when oppositional politicians were detained for participating in a rally held in defiance of a Government ban.

The social situation in the Central African Republic "is explosive", Annan concludes. Unpaid ages and salaries have caused strikes, violent demonstrations and radical groups to emerge. The economic situation of the country has worsened significantly due to the high oil prices and the "very negative impact of the war in" Congo Kinshasa. In fact, the national economy never had recovered from the destructions under the upheavals in 1996-97.

Possible spillover from the DRC
Annan further noted the impact of the conflict in neighbouring Congo Kinshasa (DRC), from which some 8,000 refugees have fled to border towns and villages in the Central African Republic. Apart from the direct costs involving the refugees, the DRC war also causes instability. Porous boundaries and constant uncontrolled movement of refugees towards and from the conflict zone "have raised fears of proliferation and illicit arms trafficking in the Central African Republic." Also the Government fears economic and security destabilisation.

The UN mission in the Central African Republic is supposed to consolidate peace and national reconciliation, strengthen democratic institutions and the human rights situation and monitor the security situation. UN peacekeepers and observers have for years provided the country with much needed stability and breathing space after the period of serious upheaval in 1996 and 1997. While neighbouring countries since have slipped deeper into violent conflict, the Central African Republic over the last years has been able to hold legislative and presidential elections and embark on major political, social and economic reforms. 

Apart from the overall positive development in the Central African Republic since the deployment of UN missions, the trends seem to be changing. In his most negative and pessimistic report so far, the UN Secretary-General concludes that the situation in the country "is a source of great concern". 

- Why? Annan himself carefully gives a hint to a possible explanation, noting the "expectations" placed on the international community, the UN and the World Bank. Expectations that might have been fulfilled looking at a steadily bettering human rights situation, but not for the desperate wage earner, which is 30 months behind in receiving money for his or her work. The Secretary-General is urging for dialogue, the population for a livelihood. 

Sources: Based on UN sources and afrol archives

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