Central African Republic still a powder keg, warn clerics awarded peace prize
Central African Republic still a powder keg, warn clerics awarded peace prize
The Guardian, 25 Aug 2015
URL: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/21/central-african-republic-powder-keg-sergio-vieira-de-mello-prize-interfaith-peace-platform
Trio of religious leaders who founded Central African Republic’s Interfaith Peace Platform fear elections could reignite sectarian violence that has killed thousands
Sergio Vieira de Mello prize winners Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga and Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou receive their award in Geneva.
Sergio Vieira de Mello prize winners Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga and Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou receive their awards in Geneva. Photograph: World Watch Monitor
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Clár Ní Chonghaile
Friday 21 August 2015 11.28 BST Last modified on Friday 21 August 2015 11.30 BST
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Relations between minority Muslims and Christians in Central African Republic are slowly improving despite persistent insecurity, but the traumatised population fears elections this year could reignite sectarian violence that has already cost thousands of lives, the country’s three main religious leaders said.
Speaking from Geneva, where the men were awarded the Sergio Vieira de Mello prize on Wednesday as founders of the Interfaith Peace Platform, Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, the president of CAR’s Islamic Council, said things were slowly getting better after what one UN official described as “massive ethno-religious cleansing”.
“In Bangui, and even in the countryside, Muslims are starting to get some space to come and go. They are no longer in ghettos like before. Today, the armed groups, as such, are no longer on the offensive. It’s the bandits, the thieves who cause concern,” said Layama.
UN peacekeepers who rape and abuse are criminals – so treat them as such
Joanne Mariner
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“Our country is still a powder keg. There are lots of weapons. The armed groups are still there … Given this situation, we wonder how the electoral campaign will unfold? Will the candidates be able to travel around? We think disarmament is an indispensable condition for the vote to be held under good conditions … We are afraid the weapons will get to vote, instead of the people.”
Layama, Bangui’s Catholic Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, and the president of the Evangelical Alliance, Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou, set up the Interfaith Peace Platform in 2013.
In March that year, the mainly Muslim rebels of the Seleka alliance swept into CAR’s capital, Bangui, and installed the country’s first Muslim president. The Seleka terrorised the majority Christian population, killing men, women and children until they were forced from power in January last year.
The violence triggered the rise of the predominantly Christian anti-balaka (anti-machete) militia, who in turn killed thousands of Muslims. The conflict forced nearly half a million people into neighbouring countries, displacing half a million more inside CAR, a landlocked former French colony rich in gold, diamonds and timber that has long suffered under corrupt rulers.
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Hoping to end vicious cycles of revenge killings and despite the personal risk involved, the three religious leaders visited villages and cities, talking to communities about peace, tolerance and trust.
Nzapalainga said they sought “to defend an ideal, and to save the lives of Christians and Muslims”. It is this work that was honoured by the peace prize, named after the UN diplomat killed alongside colleagues in a 2003 bombing in Baghdad.
The Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation said the faith leaders’ international lobbying had also led to the decision to send a 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping force, known as Minusca, to the country in September last year.
The peacekeeping operation has since been tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children and girls by UN soldiers and also by French peacekeepers, who were sent to the country after the 2013 coup.
Earlier this month, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who has described sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers as “a cancer in our system”, fired the head of Minusca over the handling of the misconduct allegations.
Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou said some of his compatriots now distrusted Minusca, questioning the soldiers’ motives for being in the country. He said the peacekeepers must respect their UN mandate and enforce discipline.
“We cannot say that the UN troops have been totally rejected by the people,” he said. “Alongside the change at the top of Minusca, we must apply all the [UN] resolutions so that the belligerents understand that the UN force did not come for a walk in the park, but with a mission … Now everything is in the camp of the UN deciders; the secretary general and the security council.”
While expressing optimism that their people could forgive each other over time, the religious leaders warned progress was piecemeal and threatened by growing criminality – as well as the continued presence of armed groups.
Extreme violence 'blighting a generation' in Central African Republic
Read more
Layama said many people were still scared, especially at night, with some communities afraid to go into neighbourhoods dominated by members of the other faith. He called on international partners to help treat the psychological scars left by the bloodletting, and to support the electoral process. Presidential and parliamentary elections are due to be held on 18 October and 22 November.
Alongside stories of chilling brutality, there have been inspiring stories of members of both communities risking all to save lives. Nzapalainga said he was confident “hearts could be disarmed” in a nation due to be visited by Pope Francis in November.
“We cannot live in the past, we cannot continue with hate, with the desire for revenge, with distrust,” said Nzapalainga. “My prayer is that everyone learns from the past, works hand in hand to eliminate our differences, see what unites us, [and] builds a new republic where everyone has a place … so that every group, every tribe, every ethnicity can call themselves Central African without fear of being stigmatised or excluded.”
“When we see Muslims and Christians together today, we can say the dream is becoming a reality; we collaborate, we walk, we sing, we pray, we move forward together.”
Sergio Vieira de Mello prize winners Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga and Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou receive their award in Geneva.
Sergio Vieira de Mello prize winners Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga and Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou receive their awards in Geneva. Photograph: World Watch Monitor
Guardian Global development is supported by:
About this content
Clár Ní Chonghaile
Friday 21 August 2015 11.28 BST Last modified on Friday 21 August 2015 11.30 BST
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+
Shares
81
Save for later
Relations between minority Muslims and Christians in Central African Republic are slowly improving despite persistent insecurity, but the traumatised population fears elections this year could reignite sectarian violence that has already cost thousands of lives, the country’s three main religious leaders said.
Speaking from Geneva, where the men were awarded the Sergio Vieira de Mello prize on Wednesday as founders of the Interfaith Peace Platform, Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, the president of CAR’s Islamic Council, said things were slowly getting better after what one UN official described as “massive ethno-religious cleansing”.
“In Bangui, and even in the countryside, Muslims are starting to get some space to come and go. They are no longer in ghettos like before. Today, the armed groups, as such, are no longer on the offensive. It’s the bandits, the thieves who cause concern,” said Layama.
UN peacekeepers who rape and abuse are criminals – so treat them as such
Joanne Mariner
Read more
“Our country is still a powder keg. There are lots of weapons. The armed groups are still there … Given this situation, we wonder how the electoral campaign will unfold? Will the candidates be able to travel around? We think disarmament is an indispensable condition for the vote to be held under good conditions … We are afraid the weapons will get to vote, instead of the people.”
Layama, Bangui’s Catholic Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, and the president of the Evangelical Alliance, Pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou, set up the Interfaith Peace Platform in 2013.
In March that year, the mainly Muslim rebels of the Seleka alliance swept into CAR’s capital, Bangui, and installed the country’s first Muslim president. The Seleka terrorised the majority Christian population, killing men, women and children until they were forced from power in January last year.
The violence triggered the rise of the predominantly Christian anti-balaka (anti-machete) militia, who in turn killed thousands of Muslims. The conflict forced nearly half a million people into neighbouring countries, displacing half a million more inside CAR, a landlocked former French colony rich in gold, diamonds and timber that has long suffered under corrupt rulers.
Advertisement
Hoping to end vicious cycles of revenge killings and despite the personal risk involved, the three religious leaders visited villages and cities, talking to communities about peace, tolerance and trust.
Nzapalainga said they sought “to defend an ideal, and to save the lives of Christians and Muslims”. It is this work that was honoured by the peace prize, named after the UN diplomat killed alongside colleagues in a 2003 bombing in Baghdad.
The Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation said the faith leaders’ international lobbying had also led to the decision to send a 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping force, known as Minusca, to the country in September last year.
The peacekeeping operation has since been tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children and girls by UN soldiers and also by French peacekeepers, who were sent to the country after the 2013 coup.
Earlier this month, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who has described sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers as “a cancer in our system”, fired the head of Minusca over the handling of the misconduct allegations.
Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou said some of his compatriots now distrusted Minusca, questioning the soldiers’ motives for being in the country. He said the peacekeepers must respect their UN mandate and enforce discipline.
“We cannot say that the UN troops have been totally rejected by the people,” he said. “Alongside the change at the top of Minusca, we must apply all the [UN] resolutions so that the belligerents understand that the UN force did not come for a walk in the park, but with a mission … Now everything is in the camp of the UN deciders; the secretary general and the security council.”
While expressing optimism that their people could forgive each other over time, the religious leaders warned progress was piecemeal and threatened by growing criminality – as well as the continued presence of armed groups.
Extreme violence 'blighting a generation' in Central African Republic
Read more
Layama said many people were still scared, especially at night, with some communities afraid to go into neighbourhoods dominated by members of the other faith. He called on international partners to help treat the psychological scars left by the bloodletting, and to support the electoral process. Presidential and parliamentary elections are due to be held on 18 October and 22 November.
Alongside stories of chilling brutality, there have been inspiring stories of members of both communities risking all to save lives. Nzapalainga said he was confident “hearts could be disarmed” in a nation due to be visited by Pope Francis in November.
“We cannot live in the past, we cannot continue with hate, with the desire for revenge, with distrust,” said Nzapalainga. “My prayer is that everyone learns from the past, works hand in hand to eliminate our differences, see what unites us, [and] builds a new republic where everyone has a place … so that every group, every tribe, every ethnicity can call themselves Central African without fear of being stigmatised or excluded.”
“When we see Muslims and Christians together today, we can say the dream is becoming a reality; we collaborate, we walk, we sing, we pray, we move forward together.”