CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Thousands protest widespread violence

Photo: IRIN

BANGUI, 19 May 2006 (IRIN) - At least 3,000 people took to the streets of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, on Friday in protest against escalating violence in the country; especially in the northwest where fighting between armed raiders and the army has left up to 70,000 civilians displaced. "For sometime now, insecurity has continued unabated in the capital as well as in provinces, especially in the northwest region," Noel Ramada, chairman of the country's largest trade union, the USTC, said. "We want peace, not violence." The protestors carried banners that read: "No to Rebellion" and "No to Bad Governance". They urged rebels and the government to stop the fighting and to work for peace. Members of the civil society - human rights organisations, trade unionists and religious organisations - took part in the demonstration that stretched for kilometres in the city. The demonstrators said they were also protesting against impunity and bad governance. They linked the ongoing violence to the mismanagement of the country's affairs and asked the government to involve civil society in its decision-making process. "There are situations that require contributions from civil society in the country's decision making process but we are often ostracised," Edith Douzima, a lawyer who took part in the demonstration, said. Friday's march for peace was the third in Bangui since the beginning of the year. In early April, thousands of women demonstrated in support of dialogue between the government and those responsible for the rebellion in the northwest. On 21 April, youth organisations staged another demonstration for similar reasons. The northwest region, particularly the town of Paoua, has been affected by unrest since the beginning of 2006. A United Nations official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said insecurity in the zone had displaced at least 50,000 people in the country and that 20,000 others had fled to neighbouring Chad. The official said the displaced civilians were experiencing difficult conditions in the bush; and were without potable water, sufficient food, medicine and shelter.