Central African Republic & Chad
Central African Republic and Chad enter peace dialogue

afrol News, 9 January - Chad and the Central African Republic have decided to quickly convene a joint commission in Gabon to find a peaceful solution to the tensions between the two neighbours. Chad is accused of having assisted the rebels attempting to topple the Central African government in October and the northern border between the two countries remains tense.

The UN Security Council yesterday welcomed the decision by Chad and the Central African Republic to engage in peace talks and urged them to use them to make substantial progress in their bilateral relations. The Council's current President, Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, told the press that one had noted "the commitment by both countries to implement fully and without delay all the provisions of the agreement signed in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, under the auspices of President El Hadj Omar Bongo."

Meanwhile, the east and west of the country are still under control of the rebels that tried to seize power in October. The government in Bangui maintains that the Chadian government has helped and is helping the rebels. The rebels entered the Central African Republic from Chad in October. The Chadian government has denied all allegations of cooperating with the rebels. 

The international support for the Bangui government of President Ange-Félix Patassé remains strong. The regional body, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), is currently deploying a force under the leadership of Gabon, which is to protect the internationally recognised government of President Patassé. During the most intensive fighting in October, troops from Libya, and later also from Sudan and Djibouti, had assisted Central African government troops.

Earlier this month, President Patassé launched "an urgent and formal appeal to France to be militarily present alongside the CAR army and the CEMAC force to help us recover our territorial integrity and secure our country as it [France] is currently doing in Côte d'Ivoire." The French government, currently in good relationship with Bangui, is considering that option and has already started giving logistical and financial support to the CEMAC force.

Also the UN is present in the Central African Republic, with a small, political bureau - BONUCA. The existence of this "peace-building office" has assured the ongoing interest of the UN Security Council, which forcefully has stated its "opposition to any attempt to seize power by force in the Central African Republic." This support for Patassé's government was repeated only yesterday. 

The Security Council therefore also follows the politics of President Patassé. In its statement yesterday, the Council noted its "satisfaction with President Patassé's appeal for a national dialogue in his statement of 25 November and welcomed the recent establishment of the national dialogue coordination committee." Also the "tabling of a bill on freedom of the press" was hailed.

The Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the Central African Republic, General Lamine Cissé, yesterday presented the latest progress report on the situation in Central African Republic to the Council. Mr Cissé warned that violent incidents had recently occurred along the Chadian-Central African Republic border, creating new zones of tension for a country already bogged down by internal problems.

The Central African Republic was "often impacted" by conflicts in neighbour countries, Mr Cissé told the press in New York. That was one part of the explanation to why this poverty-stricken country had undergone six attempted coup d'états since 1993.

Sources: Based on UN sources and afrol archives

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