HDPT Info Bulletin 54
Apr 10th, 2008 by Gisele Willybiro, OCHA
31 March to 7 April 2008 – Highlights:
- The Preparatory Committee for the Inclusive Political Dialogue completes its tasks
- Security incidents in the Vakaga and on the Bossangoa-Paoua road
- NGO news
Background and security
Preparatory committee completes tasks
The Preparatory Committee for the Inclusive Political Dialogue, established on 18 December 2007, held the last plenary session on 31 March. All stakeholders in the peace process in the Central African Republic have participated in three months of meetings, resulting in a near-final document that provides the details of the organisation of the Inclusive Political Dialogue.
A maximum of 150 people, with 30% women, will participate in the dialogue, which is to be held in Bangui in the second half of May. The participants will discuss three topics: governance, security and socio-economic development. Security and judicial measures for all participants have been demanded by representatives of the politico-military movements as a necessary condition for the dialogue to be held in Bangui.
Briefing missions to Libreville and Tripoli are planned for the next weeks to present the document to Presidents Bongo and Qaddafi. Introductory missions have been proposed to Félix-Ange Patassé in Lomé and to other personalities, including the new leader of the Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and of Democracy (APRD), Jean Jacques Démafouth, in Paris. The feasibility of consultations with the politico-military movements within the country is still being discussed.
Findings of IMF mission
A delegation for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Bangui from 6 to 20 March to conduct the second review of a Government program supported by the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). After meeting with the Central African authorities, central bank officials, representatives of the private sector and civil society, and donors, the IMF mission said: “In 2007 economic recovery continued, with real GDP growth exceeding 4 percent and inflation declining to about 1 percent. […] The objectives for 2008 aim at sustaining growth at around 5 percent while preserving the macroeconomic and fiscal discipline. […] Notwithstanding some setbacks, overall performance under the PRGF-supported program has been satisfactory and, subject to approval by Fund management and continued implementation of program policies, the IMF Executive Board is expected to consider the second review under the PRGF arrangement in June 2008.”
Incident on the Bossangoa – Paoua road
President Bozizé flew to Paoua on 1 April to participate in the inauguration of the base of the Multinational Force in Central Africa (FOMUC). The Presidential Guard (GP), which accompanied the presidential official vehicle from Bangui to Paoua, and the APRD clashed at Nana-Barya, on the Bossangoa-Paoua road. Several APRD members were killed and Lieutenant Eugène Ngaïkossé of the GP injured.
Security incidents in the Vakaga
Armed bandits attacked travelers and vehicles on the Birao-Am Dafock corridor, leading to the border with Sudan, on five occasions in the last three weeks of March. They stole goods and money and temporarily detained their victims.
Under the command of the former chief of defence of the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), Mahamat Maki, a group of 13 Chadian soldiers on 15 March attacked Boromata, home of Zakaria Damane, leader of the UFDR. During the skirmish, five attackers were killed by the UFDR and Central African Armed Forces (FACA), and four houses were burnt. Four prisoners were taken first to the police station in Birao and then to Bangui. Since the attack, some 500 inhabitants of Boromata have fled in the bush.
Following several clashes between cattle herders and forest rangers of ECOFAC, since 30 March. hundreds of armed herders have set up road blocks on the Tiringoulou-Gordil road at Ndiffa to prevent ECOFAC rangers from passing through. At the root of the conflict is access to water and to grazing land in Saint Floris National Park.
Current events
198 Sudanese refugees in Birao
Over 40 Sudanese refugees, coming from a village close to Um Dukhun in Darfur at 90 km from Birao, have arrived in the provincial capital of Vakaga in the northeast of the country in early March. A second group from the same village has joined them since 22 March, making up a total of 198 refugees. A neighbourhood chief has made a site available to them, awaiting the allocation of land by the town mayor. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has provided ad hoc emergency assistance consisting of basic household items.
To read more, download the full bulletin in English (PDF; 125 KB)
