CAR Central African Republic: Fragile, failed and forlorn

[TheCurmudgeon]

I keep insisting that US shouldn't be fighting terrorism in Africa, it should seek to understand state failure - that is what's going on hear.

...

I hear Boko Haram is already setting up shop there - & if they do, nothing can stop them.

Interesting. Assuming you are correct, the question should be "what does an organization like Boko Haram offer the population that other political structures do not?"

[KingJaja]

TheCurmudgeon,

Interesting. Assuming you are correct, the question should be "what does an organization like Boko Haram offer the population that other political structures do not?"

There's very little government presence outside Africa's capital cities (or regional administrative centers), so it is extremely easy for Boko Haram to establish better governance than a disturbingly large number of African states.

In North East Nigeria the local government system has broken down, literacy rates are as low as 20% - government basically does not exist in large swathes of territory. That's why Boko Haram can be firmly entrenched.

Central African Republic is much worse governed than Nigeria - at least we can agree on that? So I don't see how an organisation, Boko Haram, that has the resources and capacity to challenge the Nigerian state, will have problems plying its trade in CAR.

[carl]

Interesting. Assuming you are correct, the question should be "what does an organization like Boko Haram offer the population that other political structures do not?"

I think what the population wants is beside the point. The population is very poor and not organized. Boko Haram is organized and a small, armed organized group always can exercise great power over a very large groups of disorganized people whether they like it or not.

We seem to forget this too often I think. Tyrants are very capable of ruling over populations that don't like them much.

[carl]

King Jaja:

News reports today say fighting has broken out in Bangui. Reuters reports that some of this fighting is assuming a Christian vs. Muslim character. You have said that if the Muslims push to hard against the Christians in Africa, things could get very, very bad.

Could you comment on this?

[jmm99]

HRW Report, “I Can Still Smell the Dead” - The Forgotten Human Rights Crisis in the Central African Republic (Sep 2013) (89 pp, maps & photos):

On December 10, 2012, an alliance of three major rebel groups known as the Seleka coalition began a campaign to overthrow the government of President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic (CAR). On March 24, 2013, Seleka rebels took control of Bangui, CAR’s capital, and also seized control of 15 of the country’s 16 provinces. Michel Djotodia, one of the rebel groups’ leaders, suspended the constitution, and installed himself as interim president—a role to which he was subsequently elected by a transitional government. Elections are to be held after 18 months.

The Seleka (“alliance” in Sango, the main national language) said they aimed to liberate the country and bring peace and security to the people. But for most Central Africans, 2013 has been a dark year, marked by rising violence and vicious Seleka attacks against civilians in Bangui and the provinces. With no checks on their power, the Seleka rule arbitrarily and with complete impunity, with the government failing to follow through on its public commitment to bring to justice those responsible for recent abuses.

Seleka forces have destroyed numerous rural villages, looted country-wide, and raped women and girls. In one attack in Bangui on March 25, Seleka fighters raped two sisters, aged 33 and 23, in their home. The younger sister, who was eight-months pregnant, lost her baby the next day. Rape survivors lack access to adequate health care due to insecurity and lack of health services. Civilians who have been abused have nowhere to turn: the civilian administrative state in CAR has collapsed. In most provinces there are no police or courts. Many health clinics across the country do not function, and in at least one town a hospital has been occupied by the Seleka; most schools are closed.
...
As the Seleka moved down to Bangui from the northeast, they captured major towns along the way. In these towns, the Seleka immediately began to loot the homes of the civilian population; those who tried to resist were threatened, injured, or killed.

Human Rights Watch documented attacks on villages by Seleka forces and their allies in northern CAR betweenFebruary and June 2013. This research focused on a broad triangle of territory within the main roads linking Kaga Bandoro, Batangafo, and Bossangoa.

Evidence indicates that Seleka fighters forced villagers out of their homes in order to loot them. Some villagers reported that the attacks were designed to create space for members of the Mbarara community—nomadic pastoralists who move their cattle between Chad and the Central African Republic and have recently been allied with the Seleka.

Human Rights Watch recorded more than 1,000 homes destroyed in at least 34 villages along these roads. Schools and churches were also looted and burned. The Seleka killed scores of civilians while they were trying to flee and have prompted whole communities to flee into the bush—including 113 families from Maorka.

Regards

Mike