It comes in the wake of the ongoing unprecedented sectarian conflict and years of civil strife.
A three-day meeting by some 30 Central African Republic, CAR political stakeholders to proffer solutions on how to reconcile the people after years of conflict, ends today, June 12, 2014 in the capital, Bangui.
The outcome of the high-level, closed door discussions that were opened on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 by Transitional President, Catherine Samba-Panza, is to help prepare a national reconciliation conference that is expected to last several months. “Only true and sincere dialogue that handles all issues without excluding any Central African can restore peace and security,” the President said at the opening. She added that “Only the fight against bad governance, injustice and impunity, can help CAR come out completely and permanently from the recurrent crises that have held it down.”
Samba-Panza denied suggestions that since she took over last January, security and humanitarian concerns have overtaken other issues like national dialogue and reconciliation, explaining that exploring ways of reconciling the people has always been the objective of her government. According to the APA news agency, workshop participants will also try to identify why past attempts at reconciling the country failed.
In a related development, a preliminary United Nations report on CAR has expressed serious concerns about the recent restructuring of the defunct Séléka rebel coalition. During a congress in the northeastern town of Ndélé from May 8-9, 2014, the rebels created a new high command and security forces to take charge of that part of the country. The UN said the move was tantamount to setting up a rival government in the north, thereby partitioning the country. It warned that the roadmap from the Ndélé gathering clearly outlined steps that were nothing short of breaking up the country.
