Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Featured on Press TV 'The Debate': 'CAR Needs Political Solution Not Foreign Occupation'

Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, speaking over Press TV world news on developments in Africa. Azikiwe is a frequent guest on satellite television., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

CAR needs political solution not foreign occupation: analyst

Interview with Abayomi Azikiwe
Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:4AM GMT

To watch this Press TV The Debate segment featuring Abayomi Azikiwe just click on the website below:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/03/12/354339/car-needs-political-solution-not-occupation/

Press TV has conducted an interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, the director of Pan-African News Wire from Detroit, about religious and ethnic cleansing in CAR despite the presence of international military forces in the country.

The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Press TV: We know what created or triggered this violence, but the question everyone is asking is why the entire Muslim population is being targeted by this Christian militia. Why aren’t we seeing the peacekeepers and the French troops there stopping this genocide from happening?

Azikiwe: I believe that one of the central reasons behind these attacks on the minority Islamic population in the Central African Republic stems from the rule of the Seleka Coalition under the direction of Michel Djotodia who was the interim president there up until January when he was forced to resign at a regional meeting in Chad.

There were a lot of atrocities committed during the period of the Seleka unrest late 2012 and in the early months of 2013. They marched into the capital of Bangui in March 2013. That resulted in the death of people – civilians as well as members of the South African national defense forces - who were inside the Central African Republic ostensibly on a peacekeeping mission.

As a result of these atrocities committed by the Seleka Coalition there has been a response from these Christian militia groups – the anti-Balaka and others who have declared essentially all Muslims inside the country as being "persona non-grata."

They want to drive all of them out of the country. This is not a just response to the political repression that was carried out by the Seleka Coalition.

Unfortunately the deployment of nearly 2,000 French troops; 6,000 African peace keeping troops; and of course European Union troops and the prospects of another 12,000 United Nations peacekeeping forces is that they have not been able to stabilize the situation inside the country.

I don’t believe with the deployment of these additional United Nations peacekeeping forces, which have been authorized, will they either be able to resolve the conflict without some type of political solution inside the country.

Press TV: Do you agree that the French have, in the words of one writer, been overseeing this bloodshed rather than preventing it? And they also refer to the fact that just three days after the French troops came into the country the violence intensified against the Muslims.

And they’re also saying that initially they didn’t have that UN mandate after they came into the CAR. Then the UN Security Council gave them the mandate and they see that as a sign that France actually had its own ulterior objective or motive for its presence in the country.

What do you think about the objective behind the French troop presence?

Azikiwe: Well, there was definitely an escalation of violence inside the country with the intervention of more French troops, but I want to point out that France has had a long-time presence in the Central African Republic as a former French colony.

It’s interesting that they would want Francoise Bozize out in 2013 when in fact they were largely responsible for his installation in 2003. People can remember the Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide who was overthrown by the United States, France and Canada in late February 2004 some ten years ago - He was exiled to Bangui in the Central Africa Republic initially until he was given political asylum in South Africa.

But France clearly seized their former colonies as their domain of influence. The Central African Republic has gold, they have diamonds they have uranium deposits inside the country.

I believe France as well as the United States and other countries including Canada want to enhance and intensify the exploitation of these mineral resources.

Press TV: One writer described the situation and I’m quoting here, he says, “It’s the law of the jungle right now in the Central Africa Republic”.

What can be done with the central government unable to play any role – what should be done about this situation?

Azikiwe: I believe that if the French pull back from Bangui and other key areas inside the Central Africa Republic and that the African peacekeeping forces are given extra personnel as well as logistical support that they can at least attempt to normalize the situation inside the country.

But the problem is now, with French forces there – and the animosity against them is rising on a daily basis; and then of course the European Union forces and the potential of thousands more United Nations peacekeeping forces, it’s going to be tantamount to a large scale foreign occupation of the Central Africa Republic.

And this is not going to benefit the nation building process or the process of national reconciliation.

Muslims and Christians have lives in the Central Arica Republic together for decades. Many of the Muslims there were foreign nationals or descendants of foreign nationals for Chad, from Sudan and they of course have done business there, they have lived among the Christian population there for many years.

It is only with this large scale French and foreign intervention that we’ve seen these types of conflicts escalate.

Press TV: You said that if the troops leave you think that’s going to be helpful, but don’t you think we do need an international UN mission on this as the central government is not effective?

Azikiwe: I believe that the French troops are there contributing to the instability inside the country and there should be a reinforcement of the Africa union troops from various Central African States and possible other regions of the African continent.

There also needs to be a stronger political intervention on the part of the African Union to reach some type of political settlement because otherwise we’re not going to have peace inside the CAR for any time soon.