February 19, 1999
New York - The UN Security Council has told the leadership of the Central African Republic (CAR) that the continued stay of its mission in Bangui would depend on the fulfilment of agreements reached in pursuit of peace and stability. The Council gave this precondition Thursday ahead of the expiry this month of the current mandate of the mission, which was sent to Bangui after a series of mutinies against President Ange Felix Patasse.
The Council expressed its concern over current political tensions in the country and asked the government to continue with concrete steps to implement political, social, economic and security reforms agreed to under a series of peace plans. These agreements were reached as part of efforts to end fighting between forces loyal to the government and the opposition. While an African force was initially sent to the country to keep the peace, it was in April last year replaced by a UN mission, known as MINURCA.
In its last resolution on CAR, the Council stated its intension to terminate MINURCA's mandate by end of February. However, in his latest report to the Council, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan suggested that the mandate be extended for another six months to allow for the conduct of presidential elections and for the government to carry out other needed reforms.
Important aspects of the reforms contained in the so-called Bangui agreements require the government to execute economic reforms and restructure the armed forces to reflect national diversity. More than one year after they were reached by the government and opposition, these aspects have not been implemented. This prompted the Security Council to reaffirm Thursday ''that the government, the political leaders and the people of the Central African Republic bear the primary responsibility for national reconciliation, the maintenance of a stable and secure environment and the reconstruction of their country.''
The Council's concern for the country has been raised by controversies between the government and opposition parties following the conduct of national assembly elections in November and December last year. In a letter to Annan reacting to UN concerns about lack of progress in implementing the reforms and the recent tensions following the conduct of elections, Patasse promised to carry out the reforms and conduct presidential elections before the end of the year.
The Council stated that ''a smooth preparation of a free and fair presidential elections, for which steps should be taken as soon as possible, requires a certain level of political concensus and the opening of a genuine dialogue between all the constituent parties of the national assembly.''
The Council then expressed support for the call by the Secretary General's Special Representative in the CAR, Oluyemi Adeniji on the leaders to resolve the current political impasse over the constitution of a new government. Three out of four opposition members invited to serve in the new government with the leading party have resigned. Opposition parties in the CAR claim that they won the December elections but were cheated by the government side.
