Cardinal denounces "poisonous" climate in Central African Republic

Despite a peace agreement in 2019 between the government of Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed rebel groups, this poor landlocked country remains politically and socially unstable. 

The tensions have been exacerbated by the process of constitutional revision initiated by the political authorities. 

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the 55-year-old archbishop in the capital Bangui, says there is a "poisonous" climate in the country.

Speaking to La Croix Africa’s Lucie Sarr he calls for "restraint" from the various sides.

La Croix Africa: The socio-political climate is currently fraught with tension in the Central African Republic, with fairly violent discourse among political leaders. How do you react to this?

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga: Faced with this deleterious socio-political climate, I think we must call for restraint.

We must also bring people to respect each other. What is happening on social media and throughout society with these words of hatred that are being uttered is disturbing. These words do not build the country. Instead, we need to look for words that bring people together.

My role as a religious leader is to call for restraint. To tell people to be careful with their words, their behavior. That is why we think that those who call themselves leaders, political leaders, must be measured in their choice of words.

For the moment, they are only words, but words can be transformed into actions and incite to kill and violate the population that has already suffered enough.

What appeal do you make to Central African public figures in this period of socio-political tension?

I ask everyone, both the government and the opposition, to express themselves and act with more restraint. Let everyone take their responsibilities and act for the common good.

I would like us all, together, to send a strong message that proves that we want to rebuild the country and that we love it.

Loving the Central African Republic also means loving each other, especially since the opponents may one day be in power, and those in power may find themselves in the opposition.

Political differences must be expressed with respect. We must all seek to preserve the essential.

Social tension is exacerbated by the process of constitutional revision, the drafting of which has been invalidated by the Constitutional Court. What do you think of this process?

When this revision process was launched by the government, the Platform of Religious Denominations was called upon. This included a member of the Catholic Church, a member of the Muslim community and a member of the Evangelical Churches.

However, the bishops of the Catholic Church consulted with each other and decided that it was not appropriate to send a representative at this time. That is why we declined the invitation.

During their last plenary assembly, the CAR bishops referred to the war in Ukraine and said the presence of Russian and Rwandan forces alongside the Central African Army to reconquer parts of the territory dominated by armed groups placed the country in a complex geopolitical situation. How do you view this Russian and Rwandan presence alongside your country's defense forces?

You have to go back further than that to understand the entire context. In 2020, an election year, the rebels had surrounded Bangui and taken most of the provinces. The government was close to falling.There were even initial attempts to infiltrate. 

The government then called on Russia and Rwanda, countries with which the Central African Republic has signed bilateral agreements.

These two countries sent soldiers who came and, together with the defense and security forces of the Central African Republic, began to push back the rebels to reconquer the invaded provinces. 

There are provinces that, since 2003, have not had the presence of Central African soldiers or sub-prefects and other administrative authorities. This is a fact. Now these areas have prefects or sub-prefects.

 In a word, there has been a return of state authority.