CAR Central African Republic: Fragile, failed and forlorn

[davidbfpo]

A lengthy newspaper article by a HRW observer:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-Republic.html

It is very clear that the AU & French intervention is making little difference, with reports this week of more French troops en route and nights filled with gunfire. Put simply the two communities that have lived together - outside of the northern Muslim area - are splitting apart.

Bear in mind the AU & French are mainly, if not exclusively in the capital Bangui, so what is happening elsewhere is unclear.

[davidbfpo]

A critique of the French claim to not understand the situation in CAR, it starts with:

Speaking at a United Nations event marking 20 years since the Rwandan genocide, France’s ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud, said his government had seriously underestimated the level of hatred between Christian and Muslim communities in the Central African Republic. He said on 15th January that African Union and French forces deployed in the CAR were facing a “nearly impossible” situation. The crux of the problem was that they were dealing with “two communities who want to kill each other”. He emphasised that “they desperately want to kill each other…We knew that there was some inter-sectarian violence, but we didn’t forecast such deep ingrained hatred.”

Forgive me if I seem cynical about this, but the French have been involved in CAR for over 120 years – carving out a territory that bore no relation to ethnic, linguistic or other indigenous factors and did not take into account existing boundaries of communities. Before colonial occupation, the region was no different from any other – experiencing trade, inter-marriage and, at times, raiding and conflict between different communities. It wasn’t some peaceful Eden, but nor was it riven by endemic warfare or hatred between its peoples.

Link:http://africanarguments.org/2014/01/...th-somerville/

[KingJaja]

davidbfpo,

I've always insisted that one of Africa's major problems is the proliferation of artificial states & artificial systems imposed on by Europeans with absolutely zero appreciation of local conditions.

US was never a serious colonial power, so is naive about the true genesis of Africa's predicament, too uninterested to get involved & too trusting of former colonial powers (especially France).

But water must eventually find its level. Just like Sykes-Picot is unraveling in the Middle East, the "Berlin Conference" must unravel in Africa.

As an aside - consider Cameroon, the presence of Boko Haram in neighbouring Nigeria, a succession crisis when Paul Biya finally kicks the bucket (he's 81) and Central African Republic next door - make it the next likely candidate for destabilization.

[JMA]

davidbfpo,

I've always insisted that one of Africa's major problems is the proliferation of artificial states & artificial systems imposed on by Europeans with absolutely zero appreciation of local conditions.

Remind my again of what was there before the Europeans arrived?

[jmm99]

Created by Local Conditions - such as by Shaka in your own Natal, Mark.

Or, I suppose one could, as another example, begin with Rhodesia's Tribal Trust Lands (and all the different tribes occupying them);



and then go back in time to before CJR and look at the "natural state" of things in the mid-1800s; and also look to the time before Shaka, since his "natural" activities in the south seem to have added to the tribal mix to the north.

The question really isn't what caused "modern-day" sub-Saharan Africa. The question is what plan do the Africans (not a bunch of "mindele", here at SWC or elsewhere) have to correct the obvious problems.

Perhaps, the Africans might go back to the "natural states and natural systems" of the era before the "mindele" colonialists came (take a time machine to between 1500 and the later 1800s depending on area). Perhaps, they could organize the (literally) thousands of sub-Saharan ethnicities ("tribes") into some coherent framework of "natural", "national" governments. Perhaps, we might see something like this:



In any event, it would be nice for an African to present a tangible plan for the creation of African states based on the "natural state" of the African ethnicities who live there.

For example, what would the "natural" (and presumably "better") Central African Republics (plural) look like ? I won't hold my breath waiting for the map.

Regards

Mike

[carl]

Mike:

The way I always heard it pronounced was mundele, as in mun (rhymes with bun) de (as in de in de Bears) lay.

[KingJaja]

jmm99,

The first stage is for Africans to discuss the internal political architecture of their nations. This happened in the Republic of Benin - and that nation has been stable ever since.

In nations like CAR, a combination of French meddling, hasty formation & a history of mutual distrust makes this process difficult - but it must proceed.

Nations like US prioritise outward signs of stability and elections over the less sexy & more important & difficult work of national cohesion & nation building.

Africa's problems are for Africans to solve. My point is that after the seemingly endless cycle of violence and external intervention - at a certain point, some unstable states will either fall apart permanently or work out an indigenous solution to their teething problems.

CAR for example, has bifurcated - it a essentially a "Christian" enclave in the South and a much smaller "Muslim" enclave in the North. No amount of elections will change that essential reality. And international community is wasting time by impeding the process of formation of two independent separate states in that part of the World.

In my native Nigeria, we are preparing for a National Dialogue, a three month discussion on what different ethnic nationalities want from the Nigerian state. This goes beyond mere elections, Africa's artificial states have flawed foundations and the best way forward is for locals to proactively discuss these challenges and build a state that caters to their needs (not a mere ex-colonial administrative unit).