Items About
Areas That Could Break Out Into War
October 23, 2007: In the past six months, the
violence in the northern Central African Republic (CAR) has gotten worse. The
latest bout of trouble in the region began in 2005 with what the CAR government
called "increasing banditry." Since then, tribes in the north say that, while
banditry does occur, they also have a political problem with the government,
which has long neglected the north.
There are few roads in the region and the roads that exist are in terrible
shape. The northern tribes insist that the government uses the "bandit
problem" as an excuse to oppress them. France is involved, as is usually
the case in France's former colonies. France has a bilateral defense agreement
with the CAR. Some of the trouble in the north is spillover from Sudan (Darfur
fighting) and France claims it is supporting the CAR government's efforts to protect
its borders. Precisely what is going on in northern CAR remains unclear because
the region is difficult to reach. Enterprising reporters understandably head
for Darfur and Chad (where there are big headlines), so a lot of the
information about the northern CAR that manages to get out either comes from
French sources, the UN, or occasionally NGOs with a presence in the country.
France does play a stabilizing role in the CAR, but that stability also gives
Frances access to the CAR's natural resources. France's critics call it
"disguised colonialism." In fact, there is a new term for French policy in its
former west and central African colonies—"Franceafrique."
September 25, 2007: The UN Security Council
approved a new "multi-dimensional presence" in the north-eastern CAR and
eastern Chad. The "presence" is supposed to protect humanitarian aid workers
and services in the area and protect threatened civilians, many of them
refugees from Sudan's Darfur region. European Union military forces will
provide part of the UN "presence." The UN's head of mission will be
headquartered in Chad's capital, N'Djamena. What the force's mission in the
northern CAR will be was not made explicit. The acronym for the Chad-CAR force
is MINURCAT.
