U.S. supports stability in Central African Republic, world’s ‘worst forgotten crisis’
(Vatican Radio) Close to one million people, or a quarter of the Central African
Republic’s population, have been displaced by ongoing conflict. The United Nations
says more than 2,000 people have been killed in clashes between mostly Muslim Seleka
rebels and security forces and Christian self-defense groups.
Seleka's 10-month
occupation of cities and towns across the country has been marked by rampant looting,
torture and murder. The deep resentment they spawned among the Christian majority
has led to the formation of Christian "anti-balaka" militias seeking retaliation.
The
presence of 1,600 French soldiers and 5,000 African troops has so far failed to stop
the tit-for-tat violence.
Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) has recently returned from a trip to
the Central African Republic, also known as CAR. She told Tracey McClure “it is gripped
by a very serious spiral of conflict that is critical that we stop. And it’s on top
of deep, deep poverty in CAR.”
Listen to Tracey McClure's brief interview
with Nancy Lindborg:
Lindborg
explains the conflict started with a coup “that enabled fighters from some of the
neighboring countries to come in, basically as mercenaries. What this all speaks
to is the importance of getting a viable, legitimate government back into place,”
she says. “ And we have a ray of hope with the appointment of the new interim president.”
Lindborg began her visit in the capital, Bangui, at a camp for people displaced
by the violence. “Out of a capital city of about half a million,” she says, “a fifth
are huddled in a miserable camp where people have fled for safety - so they’ve left
their homes in the city of Bangui and they’re all huddled in this camp. There’s an
urgency to improve security so they can go home and do so before the rains come in
April which will put half that camp under water.”
“We’re hearing a lot that
this is a conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities. What I heard from
most people while I was there, was that there’s a long history of religious tolerance
in this country. So what started as a political fight, from decades of corrupt and
incompetent leaders, has now moved into what is starting to look more and more like
a religious conflict. The opportunity and the imperative is to stop that now before
it continues to spiral into even greater atrocities.”
Given the ongoing violence,
lack of security and rampant corruption, Lindborg says the most urgent need is to
stabilize the country. “The United States quickly put a little over one hundred million
dollars to support both the African Union troops who have come in as well as the French
troops. In addition to that, we have contributed 45 million dollars in urgent humanitarian
assistance. But we’ve also put down additional support, about 7.5 million, for reconciliation
and community based programs to help communities talk to one another, especially across
the Christian-Muslim divide – so that they can move forward, start to repair what
is beginning to be some troubling, deep divisions.” She explains the aim is to “create
a community based foundation for a more peaceful future.”
“The problem with
the Central African Republic is that it has topped the list of everybody’s worst forgotten
crisis for several decades. The most urgent need is to stabilize, meet the humanitarian
needs, and then to work on a longer term development agenda, at the heart of which
will have legitimate, inclusive democratic governance - or all of our development
investments will continue to be reversed every few years with more conflict. So,
the United States is definitely committed to working in support of the regional actors
who’ve come together on this issue and our development partners, and most notably
the French, who of course have taken the step of deploying troops on the ground.”