Sommet de la Ceeac: Djotodia non reconnu comme président, Zuma retire ses troupes de Centrafrique

April 4, 2013

French Article Translation of the Week

"Sommet de la CEEAC: Djotodia non reconnu comme président, Zuma retire ses troupes de Centrafrique"

"Le sommet des chefs d'État d'Afrique centrale qui s'est tenu à N'Djamena mercredi 3 avril a demandé aux nouvelles autorités de Bangui de mettre en place un collège élu pour "jouer le rôle de l'Assemblée nationale" et "rédiger une Constitution, ce qu'a accepté le leader de la Séléka, Michel Djotodia. De son côté, Jacob Zuma a annoncé le retrait des troupes sud-africaines de Centrafrique."

"The Summit of Heads of State of Central Africa that was held in N'Djamena Wednesday, April 3 asked the new authorities in Bangui to establish a college elected to "play the role of the National Assembly" and "draft a constitution, with the accepted leader of the Seleka, Michel Djotodia." Meanwhile, Jacob Zuma announced the withdrawal of South African troops from Central Africa."

This article has been translated from French. Click here to read the original version on JeuneAfrique.

Updated at 12:30.

The desire to save face ... and to put Central Africa back on track to standardization. Gathered in N'Djamena, Wednesday, April 3, the Heads of State of Central Africa pushed for Bangui to accelerate on the path of democratic transition. As their first point, they considered it "impossible" to recognize "self-proclaimed president" and Chief of the Seleka, Michel Djotodia.

The summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) requested the formation of a "college" transition on the basis of an election "by the forces of the nation", with its head a President to be elected for a period "not to exceed 18 months." According to the Commissioner for Peace and Security for the African Union (AU), Ramtane Lamamra, the AU estimated that Bangui authorities should organize elections within a year. "The transition should not take three years; it should be a short transition. And good transitions are those that do not last," said Lamamra.

These precautions do not prevent the leader of the Seleka from remaining at the center of the game, although he hinted that he would not appear to follow the presidential transition period. "Presumably it will Michel Djotodia [to be appointed as the head of the college, Ed], which is not completely rejected in the process, " said the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) Bangui, Guy Samzun.

Message

The summit ended with the words of President Idriss Deby, who announced the "establishment of a legislative body that will draft the constitution and play the role of the Assembly...Tomorrow (Thursday), a mission made up of the Foreign Ministers of the countries of the CEEAC, partners and representatives of the African Union nations, the European Union and the International Organization of la Francophonie must travel to Bangui to carry this message to Central," he said.

Proposals from the Summit were immediately approved by Michel Djotodia, said Central African Prime Minister, Nicolas Tiangaye on Thursday in Bangui. "I discussed this with the Head of State and we agreed that this solution be adopted," he said. "This is an agreement that allows the CAR (Central African Republic) to move out of isolation, which allows us to avoid being ostracized by the international community. I do not see why the Seleka will oppose," he added.

The Summit's decisions are moving in the right direction, felt the Ambassador of the EU to Bangui. "As expected by the Libreville Agreement, there is a greater executive power that lies with the Prime Minister, Nicolas Tiangaye" from the former opposition to François Bozizé, "and the creation of a National Transition Committee (CNT) . [The CNT] will consist of all parties in Libreville. Its chairman will be elected from within and become the President of the Republic," praised Guy Samzun. The former Prime Minister and opposition, Martin Ziguélé, has also responded positively to this summit: "The decision of Heads of State is (...) a way to give legitimacy to a man or a woman has the dreaded task of leading this transition."

The second issue addressed by the summit: the withdrawal of South African troops from Central Africa, sought after by the Seleka for months. "President Zuma has decided to withdraw the South African forces that are in Bangui," said Deby. These troops had suffered severe losses in Pretoria since 1994: at least 13 soldiers killed when rebels entered Bangui on March 24.

Bozizé in Benin

Jacob Zuma has made the trip to N'Djamena with three of his ministers (International Relations and Cooperation, Defense, State Security), indicating the importance of this difficult case for South Africa. A senior of the Seleka stated, "The agreements made between Bozizé and South Africa were not in the national interest, but of Bozizé's hold on power. They lost militarily. They should go and forget. "

Finally came the question of François Bozizé's exile, currently residing in Cameroon. Heads of State of Central Africa on Wednesday urged President Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin to host former President of the Central African "as a brother." Porto-Novo hesitated to extend his hospitality because of Bozizé's hostile statements to Deby, whom he considers responsible for his downfall.