P 082137Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BANGUI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0782
INFO AMEMBASSY ACCRA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE PRIORITY 
USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0062
AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY COTONOU PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 
USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KIGALI PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY BANGUI

UNCLAS BANGUI 000234 
 
 
AF/C FOR SSARDAR, MASHRAF, SLOPEZ, KWYCOFF; PARIS FOR RKANEDA; 
LONDON FOR PLORD; YAOUNDE FOR POL/ECON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR ECON EAID CT
SUBJECT: CAR NATIONAL DIALOGUE - DECEMBER 8 PRESS COMMENTS, 
OPPOSITION STATEMENT 
 
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IN THE NEWS 
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¶1. (U)  Most CAR private and official media focused on the 
political dialogue which began with an opening ceremony this 
Monday, December 08: 
 
¶2. (U) The private newspaper `Hirondelle' reports that MLCJ 
rebel leader Abakar Sabone and former CAR President Ange Filix 
Patassi have arrived in Bangui and are getting ready in the 
`starting block of peace':  The cartoon of the front page of 
this newspaper shows Patassi climbing the stairs of the National 
Assembly Palace.  The paper also noted some discrepancies in the 
organization the forum (badges not yet issued, incomplete 
budget, late arrival of some guests, etc). 
 
¶3. (U) The private newspaper `Le Dimocrate' mentioned the return 
of former President Ange-Felix Patassi, an event which, 
according to the paper, is giving insomnia to some people who 
were close to Patassi and then betrayed him to join President 
Bozize (for selfish gains). 
 
¶4. (U) The newspaper `Le Confident' features the `Big Start' of 
the CAR Political Dialogue and announces the arrival of 
President Ange-Felix Patassi, while revealing that former 
President Andri Kolingba is currently on a sick leave in Paris, 
wondering if he will ever take part in this important national 
forum?  The paper also commented the individual and the global 
peace agreements signed by the government and rebel leader 
Abakar Sabone on Sunday, December 7, recalling in another 
article the history and various episodes of the political 
dialogue announced by President Bozize in December 2006.  The 
paper also published a transcript of an interview with the 
former President of the CAR Human Rights League, Mr. Nicolas 
Tiangaye, now the President of a newly formed political party. 
Mr. Tiangaye expresses optimism on the forthcoming political 
dialogue, provided all players forget their individual interests 
and show the political will to resolve their differences and 
work for the common cause. 
 
¶5. (U) The private newspaper `Le Citoyen' announced in its 
editorial page that Bangui is living in the rhythm of the 
Political dialogue.  It also announced the return of former 
President Patassi, who was flown immediately upon his arrival in 
CAR to Boali, about 80 kilometers from Bangui, on a military 
base where he will stay under the protection of MICOPAX Forces. 
`Le Citoyen' also published the exclusive Memorandum of the 
opposition parties, describing their rationale for the failure 
of Bozize's regime since 2003 and the goals for political 
dialogue, translated and summarized below. 
 
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DECLARATION FROM THE OPPOSITION 
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¶6. (U) In light of the inclusive political dialogue scheduled to 
take place from December 8 to 22, 2008, the UFVN, the coalition 
of the major CAR opposition political parties, issued a 
memorandum entitled 'Why an Inclusive Political Dialogue?' on 
December 7. The following is a translation and summary of the 
major points in this declaration: 
 
¶7. (U) BEGIN TEXT: Noting the extreme deterioration in the 
security, political, economic, social and humanitarian situation 
in the country, which reveals the failure of Bozize's regime, 
the UFVN called for an inclusive political dialogue through a 
memorandum issued on June 8, 2006. According to the UFVN, 
Bozize's regime denied the obvious of the extreme situation and 
made the choice of a policy characterized by arrogance, contempt 
and exclusion. As a result, several rebel groups started to 
operate throughout the country particularly in the northwest and 
northeast and threatened to seize power. It was in these 
circumstances that President Bozize was forced to accept the 
idea of this dialogue on December 31, 2006. 
 
¶8. (U) Justification of the March 15, 2003 coup 
 
The UFVN noted that Francois Bozize toppled Patasse's 
democratically elected regime for the following reasons: Spread 
insecurity throughout the country; Growing extreme poverty among 
the population;  and Bad governance. 
 
2003 Political dialogue 
 
From September 9 to October 27, 2003, 350 delegates from all of 
the country's regions, different segments of the Central African 
society reviewed all the problems the country was facing and 
adopted 828 resolutions during this political dialogue. During 
the closing ceremony of this forum, President Bozize committed 
to have the government implement as soon as possible all these 
resolutions. UFVN notes that the implementation of most of these 
resolutions did not involve fund mobilization. As of today only 
15% of these resolutions have been implemented. 
 
¶9. (U) President Bozize's track record 
 
On the political side 
 
Even after being elected in 2005, Francois Bozize continues to 
see the March 15, 2003 coup as the most important event of his 
regime. Others argue that the confiscation of the state power by 
President Bozize's clan and ethnicity has revealed the absence 
of democratic governance. The UFVN accuses the Bozize regime of: 
 
*       Hatred for political parties 
*       Attempt to control all other institutions supposed to be 
independent from the executive branch including the national 
assembly, the judiciary, more particularly the constitutional 
court, and the high council of magistrates, human rights 
organizations and private press. 
*       Continued violation of the Constitution 
*       Refusal to permit the independence of the judiciary 
 
¶10. (U) On security side 
 
When he entered into rebellion in 2001, Bozize created a lack of 
security throughout the country. However, the March 15, 2003 
coup was followed by a general deterioration of the security 
situation in the country. As a military officer Bozize failed to 
eradicate insecurity. He even did not remember that during the 
presidential elections campaign he declared himself to be the 
most qualified to deal with security issues. 
 
Restructuring of the army: President Bozize constantly refused 
to implement measures adopted by the national dialogue held in 
2003 to reform the security sector. He promoted a military 
recruitment favoring members of his ethnicity and clan. As 
result the national army does not exist any more, leaving the 
space to undisciplined, incompetent and corrupted and highly 
politicized troops. 
 
¶11. (U) On the human rights side 
 
Bozize's regime established a culture of violence and impunity 
among his military supporters. There is no need to remind the 
massive killings conducted by the presidential guard and some 
FACA members reporting to President Bozize only. These killings 
were reported by many human rights organizations. The military 
officers responsible of these killings were never punished. 
 
¶12. (U) On economic side 
 
Bozize's rebellion and his March 15, 2003 coup resulted in the 
destruction of economic and social infrastructure throughout the 
country, estimated at USD 41 billion. This destruction included 
roads construction equipment, cotton plants, schools and 
hospitals in several regions of the country. 
In addition, military operations conducted in the northwest, 
northwest and the displacement of the population contributed to 
destabilize the agricultural sector activities vital to the 
Central African economy. 
 
Bozize's regime failed to conduct appropriate economic and 
public finance management reforms. 
 
¶13. (U) On the social front 
 
Accumulation of salary, pensions and students scholarships; 
Poverty expanded among the population. 
 
¶14. (U) Conclusion:  The UFVN did not invent the political 
inclusive dialogue. The political inclusive dialogue is a 
requirement as it is part of the Central African Constitution. 
Various segments of Central African society including youth and 
various churches recommended the dialogue as a means to solve 
the problem of rebellion in this country. The dialogue should be 
inclusive in order to benefit the people cohesion. To give this 
Dialogue a chance, precise objectives with specific strategies 
to reach them should be put in place. END TEXT 
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