Long CAR Letter
Originally by Michael Shereikis
THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC IN THE NEWS
Dear ........................:
The Central African Republic (CAR) habitually resides at a great distance
from Western consciousness (and conscience). Not since the alleged cannibalism
and certain despotism of the infamous Emperor Bokassa I in the late 70's
has the Western media deemed this landlocked nation at the heart of the
African continent newsworthy. However, recent events in the Central African
Republic have once again thrust this little-recognized nation into the headlines
of the New York Times, Washington Post and countless other newspapers across
the US. An army mutiny in later May has been widely reported in the West
as a "total breakdown of law and order" underscored by such disheartening
images as "bodies rotting in the equatorial sun on trash-strewn pavements"
(NYT, May 24 & 25). Such depictions, however, are not only largely inaccurate,
but also unfair and potentially pose an even greater threat to the nation's
future than any three days of looting, gunfire and demonstrations.
There is little doubt that the violence and looting have seriously damaged
the Central African capital of Bangui, but it is equally certain that the
CAR is undergoing a crisis more akin to the riots in Los Angeles than to
the civil wars of Rwanda or Liberia--its most frequent comparisons. In fact,
many positive developments have recently unfolded in the CAR which seem
to have escaped media attention. Therefore, in order to provide a context
for the negative impressions fostered by recent AP releases, a brief historical
and political sketch of the CAR is offered below. The intent is to allow
the reader to formulate a better informed opinion of both the state of affairs
in the CAR and the importance of continuing US and other foreign aid to
this unique nation.
The CAR? Where is it? What do they produce?
It is indeed rare that the mention of the Central African Republic is met
with nods of recognition. Blank stares are more the norm. Yet the CAR has
a fascinating history and rich potential for development today. Known as
Ubangui-Chari during French colonial rule in Africa, the Central African
Republic includes a vast territory the size of Texas between the Ubangui
river in the South, a major affluent of the Zaire river, and the Chari river
in the North which flows into Lake Chad. Although landlocked, the country
has plenty of land suitable for agriculture and livestock, the nation's
principle economic activities. Its leading export crops include coffee,
cotton and tobacco although the country also produces high quality honey
and beeswax as well as other exotic products. Foodcrops include cassava,
groundnuts, maize, millet and rice, and are in sufficient abundance to ensure
food security to its population. Mineral resources include diamonds and
gold. A rain forest still covers large tracts of the country, despite its
unregulated exploitation by lumber companies, and houses a rich variety
of flora and fauna which offer unique opportunities for ecotourism. With
US help, the country is one of the world's last sanctuaries of forest gorillas.
A brief history of its people
For several centuries until the early 1800s, the territory of today's CAR
supplied slaves and ivory to both the Atlantic and Trans-Saharan trading
networks. Devastating raids on Mbomu, Sara and Banda peoples by the Sultans
of Kanem-Bormu, Baghirmi, Wadai and Darfur from the Chad and Sudan border
forced mass migrations and social upheaval on a colossal scale. The Fulani,
also in the slave trade business, raided the territory from the Northwest.
For several centuries, the slaving was such a major "commercial"
activity that, according to one theory, it may have prevented an expansion
of Islam further South in Africa by its sheer intensity and success in supplying
non-Islamic slaves to the sultanates. The fear of attacks caused many groups
to migrate into the Ubangui-Chari from its surrounding regions. The Gbaya-Mandja
moved in from the Adamawah Savannah of central Cameroon while, according
to oral tradition, the Banda came from western Sudan. This confluence of
Atlantic and Trans-Saharan slave trading resulted not only in a staggering
reduction in the territory's population, but also in pitting indigenous
populations against each other both for economic gain and out of desperation
in the face of unimaginable hardship.
Towards the end of the Nineteenth century, Belgian and French explorers
entered the territory with the mission to expand colonial rule from central
Africa to Algeria (Crampel, Dybowsky, Gentil) and to the Nile river (Marchand).
Following the defeat of the French troops at Fachoda (Sudan) in 1898 by
the British, in the process of building their own large colonial empire
in East Africa, the French established the Territory of Ubangui-Chari as
the Eastern limit of their zone of influence in Africa. In 1910, the French
military occupied Ubangui-Chari which became one of four colonies making
up French Equatorial Africa. However, while military occupation put an end
to internal conflicts and the slave trade, it led to new abuses of the population
including forced labor, taxation, and brutal retaliation against and execution
of those refusing to accept colonial rule. Foremost in organized dissent
and victimization were the Gbaya, who rebelled against colonial abuse from
1928 to 1931 under the leadership of Chief Karnu.
Starting in 1920, roads were built and population was resettled along the
roads, often forcibly. Large health programs were launched to control major
diseases, in particular sleeping sickness. During World War II, about 3,000
Ubanguians enrolled in the French army, the most famous among them being
Lieutenant Koudoukou who was wounded at the battle of Bir-Hakeim in Libya
in 1942 and died later in Alexandria (Egypt). In 1944, General de Gaulle
recognized the Ubanguians' contribution to the war effort and took measures
to improve the economy and the political representation of the territory.
Finally in 1946, Barthelemy Boganda founded the Movement for Social Progress
in Black Africa (MESAN is the French acronym), a political party that pushed
for the creation of the Central African Republic. The latter became a symbolic
reality on December 1, 1958.
A brief political history since the creation of the CAR
Several parties were created in 1958. However, after independence from France
was obtained in 1960, the Head of State, David Dacko, eliminated all political
parties except MESAN and established a single-party system. In a masterfully
orchestrated and generally popular coup, Jean-Bedel Bokassa seized power
on January 1, 1966. Bokassa maintained the single-party system but allowed
an increased participation of women in the nation's political life. His
infamous excesses, however, proved too disruptive for both French and Central
African interests and he was supplanted in 1979 by his predecessor, Dacko,
ushered back to the presidency by French paratroopers.
Though Dacko reintroduced multipartism, many political parties resented
France's role in his appointment and contested his legitimacy. In the face
of increasing opposition and to avoid violent turmoil Dacko remitted power
in 1982 to Andre Kolingba, the army chief of staff. Kolingba believed the
country was not ready for political pluralism and established the Central
African Democratic Union (RDC in French) as the only legal political party
for all Central Africans. Faced with increasing dissatisfaction by the population
to a single-party regime and under pressure from the international community,
however, Kolingba legalized other political parties in 1992. General elections
were organized in 1993 leading to the victory of Ange-Felix Patasse who
became the first president democratically elected in the more than three
decades of independence from France.
US helped the development of a democracy
CAR's peaceful transition from a single-party regime to a multiparty democracy
came about thanks in large part to efforts led by the US embassy in Bangui.
The 1993 elections were viewed by international observers (including Americans)
as a good example for other African nations undergoing similar processes.
At the time of independence, the US had provided a political model for the
founding father of the CAR, President Boganda, who designed the original
Central African constitution on the principles of our US constitution ("all
me being equal", or Zo Kwe Zo in Sango, the national language of the
CAR). Far ahead of his time, Boganda had envisioned the creation of the
United States of Latin Africa, a large federal entity patterned after the
USA and made up from Angola, Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, CAR, Chad, Cameroon,
Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. The world did not understand Boganda's vision
at the time, and its implementation was cut short with Boganda's tragic
death in a plane crash. Many economists today strongly advocate the creation
of such a union of countries which would constitute a powerful market and
create a more viable infrastructure for sustainable internal development
and international trade.
Democracy cannot survive without economic development
Unfortunately, Central African efforts toward a democratic transition were
not supported by increased international, including American, aid. The economy
was hard hit by a devaluation of Central African currency. Other structural
adjustment programs did not receive sufficient international assistance
to weather an initially difficult transition and achieve their intended
growth. Consequently, many Central Africans -- whose basic needs in terms
of food, shelter and health are becoming increasingly difficult to meet
-- find themselves no better off with democracy than under a single-party
regime. Their expectations for a better life after peacefully working through
their country's difficult political issues have been crushed. The recent
and widely reported army mutiny due to several months of unpaid wages and
the ensuing looting and destruction of houses and businesses by a desperate
population came as no surprise. It resembles somewhat the riots in Los Angeles
in 1994 when crushed hopes led to violence. The country now faces an economic
disaster, and without vigorous international assistance, it will take years
and much misery to recover.
But all is not lost. Indeed, the Central African citizens truly live up
to the "Zo Kwe Zo" principle of their constitution. There has
never been a civil war in the country and its population is proud of its
ethnic diversity, considering it one of the country's strengths. The national
language, Sango, is spoken by all citizens and bears virtually no connection
to a single group among the population. There is a great potential for radically
positive change in the CAR and it is sincerely hoped that the recent negative
press will not dampen a more informed optimism about this nation's future.
The recent disturbances have stemmed from deteriorating economic circumstances
and in no way can be compared to the civil war situation faced by some other
African countries. There are already plenty of tragic stories coming out
of Africa. Please let's not blindly add the Central African Republic to
our list.
"America can make a difference in Africa, it need only demonstrate
the will." (Boston Globe and other major US newspapers)
What are Americans doing to help the CAR? Despite a pro-active embassy,
there is very little US support for Central African democratic reform. Even
US Peace Corps support to the country, which was very much appreciated by
the people of CAR, has been suspended and may be cut due to US budgetary
constraints. The question must finally be asked: Is the US only useful in
Africa when the time comes to pick up the pieces of a broken nation -- as
in Somalia, Rwanda, or Liberia? Or can US involvement provide that ounce
of prevention in order to avoid attempting an impossible cure? We have been
instrumental in shaping political improvements in the CAR, and we should
give these improvements a chance to work. A new prime minister has just
been installed as a working compromise as the opposition begins to take
shape. Despite media reports, the nation is not in ruins, rather this very
young democracy has withstood an important test and we should give it a
just recognition. As a community and nation fully committed to democratic
ideals, we must ask our government, Congress, the World Bank and other aid
organizations to quickly resume their assistance to the CAR and to maintain
the US Peace Corps in the country. We must also ask those who know the country
well to better inform us on the needs of its people. There is much to be
done and no time to be wasted. Assisting CAR may not be only a question
of big bucks, but American ingenuity and energy as well. Let's demonstrate
the will. Let's make a difference.
Date created: 7/17/96
Last modified: 7/26/96
Maintained by: Alan Saul
alan@adale.org