Central African Republic preps for peace talks as regional troops arrive

Amid a weak truce, CAR officials and rebels are preparing to negotiate in Gabon as South African, Chadian forces arrive to secure the Central African Republic's capital. What are the prospects for peace?

By Max Delany,?Correspondent / January 8, 2013

South African and Central African soldiers patrol a street in Bangui, Central African Republic, Tuesday.

Luc Gnago/Reuters

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With a fragile truce keeping rebels around 50 miles from the capital city and peace talks set to begin in nearby Gabon, it was all about the arrivals and departures in Central African Republic (CAR).

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On Monday, leaders from the Seleka rebel coalition ? which has captured vast swaths of the country since last month and now stands perilously close to the capital, Bangui ? jetted out of their jungle stronghold on a UN plane to Gabon for broad negotiations that are set to start sometime this week and include members of the political opposition and civil society.

At the same time, embattled President Fran?ois Bozize, whose resignation is now a key rebel demand, shuttled to neighboring Congo-Brazzaville to meet his counterpart and lead peace mediator Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Meanwhile, coming from the opposite direction were some 400 South African troops, dispatched by President Jacob Zuma over the weekend on the heels of other fresh deployments from regional armies, most prominently Chad, to try to secure Bangui.

While both the rebels and government have said they are serious about talking peace, observers are skeptical about what progress can be made.

What started out as a disagreement over poor conditions in the Army and unkept government promises quickly spiraled into a full-blown rebellion, as formerly opposing rebel groups came together.

As the rebels snatched town after town, Mr. Bozize ? who himself seized power in a coup in 2003 ? quickly went from bullish to desperate, sacking his son as defense minister, promising to form a unity government with the rebels, and saying he would not stand for reelection.

That, though, may not be enough, and the rebels have called for Bozize, whom they accuse of excluding opposition groups and monopolizing power, to go immediately.

?We should expect those talks to drag on as the negotiations agenda still needs to be defined, ? says Thierry Vircoulon, Central Africa project director at the International Crisis Group think tank.?"Some issues such as the departure of the president raised by the rebels will be contentious and some of the parties may try to gain time."

Even if Bozize does eventually step down, the marriage of convenience between the rebels is shaky, and there is no guarantee that the alliance would not splinter.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7mNbQ6-oiDQ/Central-African-Republic-preps-for-peace-talks-as-regional-troops-arrive

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