Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - "It is necessary that the Country's authorities take on their own responsibility to mitigate the suffering of the population", said His Exc. Mgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, in an interview with the Réseau des Journalist pour le Droit de l'Homme (RJDH), sent to Fides, commenting on the violence that hit the town of Bambari in recent days.
"Even the international community that works here has to take on its responsibility so that violence does not increase but is reduced as much as possible. Sometimes one gets the impression that it is rather passive or unable", said the Archbishop, referring to the UN Mission in Central Africa (MINUSCA) and to the French Sangaris, accused among other things for the behavior of some of its military who allegedly committed sexual violence against Central African children.
The violence Mgr. Nzapalainga relates to affect different areas of the Country, and in particular the town of Bambari, where on August 20, in the clashes among different communities, a dozen people were killed, while thousands more were forced to escape.
The insecurity of various areas of Central Africa and delays in the registration of voters have forced the transition authorities to postpone the constitutional referendum, scheduled for October 4, while the presidential and legislative elections of October 18 will most likely be postponed. On this point, Mgr. Nzapalainga says: "If those who are responsible for organizing the elections tell us that it is not possible to carry out elections, it is pointless to go through the pain of suffering frustrations and injustices". The Archbishop proposes instead to "get together to define a new calendar. It is necessary to be realistic, so that we can honestly and reasonably postpone elections in order to have elections that get us out of the crisis", he concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 08/09/2015)
