By: Michael Ingram
There is a strong chance you have never heard of the Central African Republic (CAR). And why would you? The CAR is a small, landlocked country in the heart of Africa, as evident from its apt moniker. It ranks among the lowest echelons of not only African poverty, but world poverty. Central African history since gaining independence from France in 1960 has been defined by political violence and instability, though this probably does not surprise even the casual observer. So why does this seemingly stereotypical archetype of an African state deserve a significant bump in international attention? For one, the CAR may be the world’s newest failed state, and in the vacuum of governance comes the threat of genocide.
Genocide – a potent, charged word that elicits horrifying imagery of death and evil. Depending on who you ask, this term is either thrown around to the point of desensitization or evoked only after the shocking reality has passed the point of no return. While the term is particularly politicized and sensitive, the reality associated with it cannot be ignored. Rwanda still reverberates in the Western consciousness despite the relative obscurity of its geographic location and international standing. This is due to the infamous hundred days in 1994 when humanity showed its darkest recesses, and 800,000 men, women, and children were systematically slaughtered. The world cried foul, and protesters organized to spread awareness. Yet the international community ultimately let the atrocity continue. This pattern emerged elsewhere; from Bosnia to Darfur, genocide decimated large sections of entire nations with help often arriving too little, too late.
The Central African Republic can be different. This relatively tiny nation of five million people is quickly devolving into chaos between the Christian majority and the Muslim minority – who account for only fifteen percent of the population. Common sense might tell us that the morbid horrors of genocide result from simple insanity or a particularly undefinable disconnect with morality, but the truth is much more disconcerting. Genocide is systematized; it involves careful planning, preparation, and cooptation. This methodical nature was particularly evident with the bureaucratic efficiency of the Nazi campaign against the Jews and other minorities, yet the Rwandan genocide and the looming crisis in the CAR share an important similarity with the Holocaust, despite having a lack of equally formal organization. This shared attribute is the presence of observable precursors. Genocide does not just happen; there will be signs, as there always are. Unfortunately, the CAR is currently exhibiting those signs, but if the international community can prevent further escalation, the CAR may avoid joining the dubious club populated by Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
Beginning in December of 2012, several thousand Muslim rebels, marching under the standard of Séléka (“coalition” in the local language of Sango), took to the warpath. By the end of March 2013, the rebellion that started in the rural center and east of the CAR forced government capitulation, and the capital of Bangui fell. The Séléka rebels launched the offensive due to the perceived failure of the CAR government to implement reforms. These reforms were outlined in a 2007 peace accord which ended the three year long Central African Republic Bush War. Unfortunately, a lack of power sharing between rebel leaders and government officials prompted a return to violence. While the rebellion has achieved its short-term goal of removing the central government, the Séléka forces have turned their guns upon the Christian majority who long discriminated against them. The rebellion is quickly becoming a religious conflict, as Christian groups form armed militias to retaliate against Muslim massacres. Killings are indiscriminate and widespread, and both sides are now culpable. What began as limited reprisals transformed into large scale campaign of mutual eradication.
The old adage says an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, but rebels and reactionaries alike in the CAR have internalized a literal interpretation of this mantra, creating a vicious cycle where violence begets violence. To most Central Africans, Séléka’s march is not one of politics but of identity. Owing to this distinction, violence has not been reserved for political targets, but rival religious communities. Anger against Séléka has sparked disenfranchised Christian youths to unite into militias known as anti-balaka (“machete” in Sango). When Séléka came through their villages, they executed non-Muslims and burned homes and crops. Now the anti-balaka are returning the favor, raiding Muslim-dominated areas to exact a bloody toll. It is immediately clear that this non-political conflict has no end goals other than revenge. Each new attack creates only more incentive to commit violence. Under the guise of protecting their own, these unlawful retaliations will continue to incite religious hatred and murder until one of the two groups is wiped off the map.
Such is the present state of the Central African Republic: roving bands of armed youths attempting to eliminate an existential threat which only serves to exacerbate tensions and deepen the conflict. But the Central African Republic is a world away. Using the rationale for not intervening in Rwanda, a lack of national interest, the CAR would continue to exist off of U.S. foreign policy’s radar. So what impact does this impending genocide have for America? The truth is that the effects of genocide are not limited to the country in which it occurs; the virus can easily spread across international borders.
Few people realize that the Rwandan genocide had a direct hand in destabilizing the entire region of Central Africa, spawning the deadliest conflict since World War II – the First and Second Congo Wars. As the genocide-perpetrating Hutus were driven from Rwanda by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, the Hutus moved across the border into Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Massacres continued between refugee Tutsis and Hutus, and the new Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Government invaded then-Zaire to eliminate the threat of a Hutu invasion. What resulted was two multinational wars involving up to seven states that from 1996 to 2003 killed up to an estimated six million people, if not hundreds of thousands more. What has come to be known as Africa’s World War does not need to be replayed further north. In particular, the War on Terror has shifted to Northern Africa, and genocide in the Central African Republic can only destabilize the area more.
Religious conflict in the CAR holds the potential to overlap with other armed Islamist movements in North Africa, creating a grand strategic headache for America. Al-Qeada has a tenuous foothold in the Maghreb to the east of the CAR, providing new territory for training and indoctrination. Boko Haram which was recently designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government has effectively split the Muslim north of Nigeria from the Christian south. Neighboring Christian-dominated South Sudan is still reeling from the effects of its war of independence with Muslim-majority Sudan, which not only had a hand in the Darfur genocide but partially financed the rebel groups which evolved into Séléka. The North, East, and West of the CAR are awash with Islamist conflict. Genocidal repercussions are not isolated to the country of its origin, and the U.S. government should take great care in focusing on the security of the North African region with the neighboring CAR included. The environment is ripe for calamity, and a Central African genocide can be a turning point for the worst.
As the familiar process of calling for an international response begins anew, it is high time for the United States to learn from past mistakes to avoid future problems. The United States and the international community should share the burden for stopping the inevitable. This goal is distinctly possible through cooperation. Above all, we should reject the apathy normally reserved for African conflicts. The impetus only seems small until we fully understand the extent of its ramifications; this time, we should skip the middleman. American security interests are at stake in Africa, and coupled with the inhumanity of genocide, there should be reason enough to act in some capacity. Why let history repeat itself when we can proactively hedge against a needless catastrophe?
