Central Africans question Bozize coup celebrations
15 Mar 2007 17:33:36 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds Bozize quotes) By Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI, March 15 (Reuters) - Central African President Francois Bozize commemorated the fourth anniversary of his seizure of power in a coup on Thursday, but many in the dirt poor country wondered what there was to celebrate. Four years after the former army chief ousted president Ange-Felix Patasse, his ill-resourced government has control of little beyond the capital, banditry is rife and the country ranks near the bottom of just about every development ranking. Bozize led the celebrations in Sido, a village 600 km (370 miles) north of Bangui on the border with Chad, from where his insurgents launched the attacks that overthrew Patasse. "I realise the local population suffered as we came through in 2003. We'll look at building schools, roads, a hospital and providing safe water to repair the damage," Bozize told villagers at a ceremony also attended by a Chadian delegation. His supporters say Bozize and his "Liberators" freed them from the authoritarian rule of Patasse and his henchmen. But to his critics, the fact that Bozize chooses to celebrate the anniversary of his coup, rather than the day two years later when he won elections legitimising his rule, shows how superficial the ruling elite's concept of democracy remains. "By commemorating March 15, 2005, Bozize is justifying rebellion," said Abdan Kelly Jean, a teacher in the former French colony's run-down capital, Bangui. "First of all his rebellion, then the one currently raging in the north of the country. This celebration sends a message which gives strength to all rebel leaders," he said. "TWISTING THE KNIFE" Central African Republic has been racked by instability since independence from France in 1960 and has seen 11 attempted coups or mutinies over the past decade alone. A rebel uprising and raids by government forces in the remote north, near the borders with strife-torn Chad and Sudan's Darfur region, have forced more than 200,000 people from their homes since Bozize won the 2005 election. France sent special forces backed by helicopters and fighter jets to dislodge rebel fighters in December and have remained there ever since. The rebels attacked French army positions two weeks ago, saying French warplanes had bombed them. "I ask the rebels in the north-east ... to lay down their weapons and join me for dialogue," Bozize said. Bozize's government has accused Sudan of aiding the rebels fighting in the country's north and diplomats and analysts fear the instability could allow more violence to spill over from Darfur and engulf the region. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended peace operations, which could see up to 11,000 troops and helicopter gunships sent to Chad and Central African Republic, but some officials warn Bangui's own troubles need to be resolved first. An editorial in Bangui's Le Citoyen newspaper said people could not see the reason for Thursday's anniversary, which served only to prove the president still had a rebel mentality. "Bozize is making fun of us. He is making fun of our dead, of the victims of his 2003 coup," said Elisabeth Koulamong, whose brother was killed by Bozize's rebels. "He is twisting the knife in the wound."
