AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICA - "Immediate start of the process of disarmament to ensure safety" ask religious leaders and politicians

Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - The safety of the population is "the priority of priorities" said a statement issued after the meeting of religious leaders and representatives of various political parties in the Central African Republic, Bangui held from July 7 to 9. The meeting was attended by the Vicar General, Mgr. Jésus Martial Demele.
Security is worsening day by day and another massacre was perpetrated in Bambari (see Fides 09/07/2014), the statement deplores "the non-implementation of resolutions 2121, 2127 and 2134 of the Security Council of the United Nations that demand the disarmament of armed groups and the immediate start of the process of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR - the acronym in French) of combatants, a sine qua non for the return of security throughout the national territory".
The Central African political and religious leaders also complain about "the reluctance, if not the opposition of some Central African authorities and partners in the Central African Republic to the rehabilitation of the national armed forces" without which it is not possible to implement effective disarmament operations and ensure the safety of Country.
The document also rejects any idea of partition of the Central African Republic. The writers of the statement felt it inappropriate to hold a round table in Brazzaville regarding Central Africa, agreed on the sidelines of the summit of the African Union on 27 June in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), and ask President Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, mediator in the Central African crisis, "to organize an inclusive consultation on Central African ground, between Central African grassroot communities, for the solution of the crisis". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/07/2014)