dagblog - Comments for "France risks long stay after misjudging Central African Republic"

The Central African

artappraiser — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 07:03:04 +0000

In reply to France risks long stay after misjudging Central African Republic

The Central African Republic’s complex war, explained in the journey of a Muslim baby girl
By Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, March 8, 2014

BOYALI, Central African Republic — Fatimatu Yamsa will never know her baby’s fate, but in an instant she altered it forever.

They were fleeing violence, traveling in the back of a truck packed with Muslims and Christians. The vehicle pulled into a checkpoint outside a ransacked mosque in this shattered town. Armed Christian vigilantes ordered all the Muslims to get out.

Yamsa stood up and handed her baby to a Christian woman who said she would pretend the girl was hers. She whispered to the woman: Find my brother-in-law in the next town and give the infant to him.

Then she got out with her three young sons and several other Muslims.

The baby’s name was Shamsia, and her ordeal had just begun.

Retracing her journey from that tragic morning helps explain the complexities of the sectarian war engulfing the Central African Republic. It is a conflict so vicious that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned it could spiral into genocide and effectively partition the country. This week, he called for a nearly 12,000 strong U.N. peacekeeping force to bolster an existing contingent of French and African Union soldiers that have failed to halt the violence.

Shamsia, now 8 months old, will one day learn how she was saved by a split-second decision by two women who refused to be influenced by the hatreds enveloping their country. She will also one day learn how her mother and her brothers died [....]

I wouldn't trust the

Resistance — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 04:11:34 +0000

In reply to Srebrenica was a long time

I wouldn't trust the Churches. Has the Russian Orthodox church spoken out against the assault on gays? History has shown the Pope and the leadership, collaborated with the Nazis, in rounding up the Jews; you think they didn't know what was happening?

Srebrenica was a long time

artappraiser — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 03:44:02 +0000

In reply to Maybe the church can broker a

Srebrenica was a long time ago.

U.N. has a lot more experience now, and has been enabled to have proactive forces rather than just defensive if approved by the Sec. Council.

The role of institutional churches that are already on the side of solving the problem is to help set up havens for targeted civilians. While the proactive forces go after rebels who, in a situation like this (or Rwanda long ago) are more like criminals committing ethnic cleansing crimes than political rebels.

It's not perfect,but has been of some success lately. To involve arming of civilians for their defense, which I suspect you would recommend, is simply to encourage civil war based on ethnicity, with lots more death, and with an eventual two states from one, and lots more hatred between those states. In a place where the two groups lived peaceably together for a long time, makes no sense. It would be like feeding trolls on the internet to enable more arming. The rebels are the trolls who want to encourage war, and you mustn't oblige. (The principle here also happens to be in the NYT Locke article just cited on Jolly Roger's thread.) It is exceptionally helpful when the institutionalized churches send a message of tolerance by helping civilians of the "other" religion, like the Catholic church has done here.

Maybe the church can broker a

Resistance — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 03:04:11 +0000

In reply to Um no that's not exactly

Maybe the church can broker a deal, where the rebels will allow the the Muslims to leave peacefully, rather than the alternative. A win/ win for the Christian church?

I wouldn't trust a brokered deal though. "Darn it, the rebels didn't live up to their bargain, so sorry"

UN forces were worthless

Srebrenica massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Um no that's not exactly

artappraiser — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 21:13:53 +0000

In reply to It is the UN that will

Um no that's not exactly what's up here. It is not hierarchical religion that is the problem, it could actually be part of the solution, it is quite probable that the leaders of major religious institutions in the CAR are already working with the U.N. and the French.

For example:

Hundreds of terrified Muslims seek refuge at Catholic church in Central African Republic
By Krista Larson, The Associated Press, Feb. 24, 2014

CARNOT, Central African Republic - The Christian militiamen know hundreds of Muslims are hiding here on the grounds of the Catholic church and now they're giving them a final ultimatum: Leave Central African Republic within a week or face death at the hands of machete-wielding youths [.....]

Muslims and Christians lived together in Carnot in relative peace for generations until a Muslim rebellion from the country's far north overthrew the government and unleashed total chaos. The rebels known as Seleka were blamed for scores of massacres on predominantly Christian villages across the country [.....]

It is the UN that will

Resistance — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 00:37:32 +0000

In reply to France risks long stay after misjudging Central African Republic

It is the UN that will eventually turn it's attention to attacking, Religions Queen; who cant control her followers or subordinates.

The UN is already pissed and has requested files from the church on abuse, and these religious wars, might be the tipping point, where harsher controls, by governmental authorities is needed to try and reign in the trouble makers.

'You are not alone,' Ban

artappraiser — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 00:20:36 +0000

In reply to France risks long stay after misjudging Central African Republic

'You are not alone,' Ban tells people of Central African Republic in appeal to end conflict
United Nations News Centre, 22 Feb., 2014

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has again taken to the airwaves to deliver a personal appeal to the people of strife-riven Central African Republic (CAR) to lay down their weapons, come together, and end the spiralling bloodshed and inter-communal violence that has plagued the country for months on end.

“You are not alone. Many countries are working for peace,” the Secretary-General says in a video and audio message, informing the war-weary people of the CAR that he has appealed to the international community to do much more: to provide more troops and police to protect people; more aid to save lives.

Mr. Ban delivered a similar message on 13 December and today's broadcast comes on the heels of his briefing to the UN Security Council on Thursday at which he put forward a six-point initiative for addressing the country's most urgent priorities and needs, including more troops and police, increased efforts for the peace process, support for the Government, funding for humanitarian assistance and accountability [....]