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Battered C. Africa embarks on uphill struggle for justice

By Patrick Fort
Central African Republic Rwandan police from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic MINUSCA patrol the market streets at Boy Rabe neighborhood on May 22, 2015 in Bangui.  By Patrick Fort AFPFile
JUN 3, 2015 LISTEN
Rwandan police from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) patrol the market streets at Boy Rabe neighborhood on May 22, 2015 in Bangui. By Patrick Fort (AFP/File)

Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - "I want justice," says Antoine Pounengakola, a Christian pensioner whose pregnant daughter, 26, and two-year-old granddaughter were slaughtered by Muslim rebels in the Central African Republic two years ago.

Abdul Wahid, a Muslim truck driver, lost eight members of his family, massacred by Christians who formed vigilante bands to avenge atrocities by the ex-rebels of the Seleka alliance, which seized power in a coup in March 2013.

Both families were victims of the latest strife to ravage a very poor, landlocked nation. The conflict led to unprecedented brutality across the fault lines of religion and initially raised fears of a genocide.

Christian vigilantes and Seleka fighters mostly drawn from the Muslim minority killed, raped and looted civilians, while hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

"Those who committed crimes and theft must be arrested," Wahid says after filing a suit at a court in the capital Bangui.

"How many amnesties have there been in this country? It's not a matter of religion. We shan't build this nation without justice," he adds.

The road to justice is hard in a country battered by coups, insurgencies and army mutinies since independence from France in 1960 and today under interim governance.

Three foreign peacekeeping forces have been active since the president installed by the Seleka, Michel Djotodia, stood down under international pressure in January 2014, but the CAR remains far from pacified.

Armed gangs have turned dusty swathes of territory into an African Wild West and their leaders must be considered in the problematic quest for law and order.

"There's a paradox. On the one hand, we want to prosecute those behind crimes. On the other, we're obliged to negotiate politically with many chiefs of armed groups... who are among those who will be pursued," said one Western source, who asked not to be named.

"Reconciliation doesn't mean impunity," stresses Justice Minister Aristide Sokambi. "It's not because there is reconciliation that those who are sought will escape punishment.

"We need a strong position shared by the international community, by the government, but above all by the population."

- 'Arrests and sentences' -

Any amnesties were ruled out during a national reconciliation forum that gathered delegates from all over the CAR early in May, soon after the ruling National Transitional Council announced the creation of a Special Penal Court.

This tribunal will consist of 27 judges -- 14 Central Africans and 13 from abroad -- to give it both "expertise and legitimacy" in trying crimes, the minister said.

The specialised International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has sent a prosecutor to Bangui to probe war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"We're giving information to the ICC. The ICC has contacted us with regard to a certain number of people," Sokambi says, naming no names.

Jonathan Pepneault of Amnesty International is pleased with recent moves. "It's a step in the right direction. The last big trial... dates back to (Jean-Bedel) Bokassa," a megalomaniac soldier who staged a 1966 coup and eventually proclaimed himself "Emperor" before being ousted with French backing in 1979.

"If the perception is that 'you can get things with weapons' and 'violence pays off', that's not good," Pepneault says.

"If people who commit crimes are encouraged to do so because they will never be punished, a cycle of impunity sets in. That must be stopped. Otherwise, we'll have the same situation in 10 years."

Hunting down suspects is complicated when the police and paramilitary gendarmerie are being restructured, with much reduced manpower. State administration is also absent in parts of the country.

"The crisis shook up institutions but particularly the judicial system," Sokambi says. Many courthouses and jails were laid waste during the conflict.

The minister wants to restore these premises "as quickly as possible" with international assistance. "We've managed to restart the penal process. There have been arrests and sentences."

"The only (functioning) prison in the country is bursting at the seams. Common criminals are side by side with those who committed offences" during conflict, an observer says. "Many people await trial."

For Pepneault, "the population must have confidence in justice. That wasn't the case before and if it's not the case tomorrow, people will want to take the law into their own hands."

Sokambi acknowledges that the past conduct of judges was not always exemplary, but hopes that years of bad governance are over. "Justice is the basis of everything. There'll be no peace, no development, no health... without justice."

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