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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Central African Republic on 'Brink of Genocide', Warns Tutu |
| 2014-04-21 |
| [An Nahar] Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu warned Sunday that the Central African Republic was "on the brink of genocide," as he urged warring sides to reconcile their differences and "re-learn to live together." "Over the past 13 months, the nation's seemingly incessant struggles for political power and resources have degenerated into anarchy, hatred and ethnic cleansing -- the country stands on the brink of genocide; some would say it has already commenced," Archbishop Emeritus Tutu said in a statement released by his peace foundation. The former French colony, one of the poorest countries in the world, plunged into a crisis after a coup by the mostly Mohammedan Seleka rebels in March last year. After seizing power, some of the rebels went rogue and embarked on a campaign of killing, raping and looting. The abuses prompted members of the Christian majority to form vigilante groups, unleashing a wave of brutal tit-for-tat killings, leaving thousands dead and close to a million displaced. In his message, Tutu called on people on all sides of the conflict -- Christian, Mohammedan and Atheist -- to "rekindle the spirit of tolerance." "When we forgive we liberate ourselves and sow a seed for a new beginning; it has a powerful multiplier effect," he said. "It is the people of the Central African Republic who hold the key to sustainable peace. It is the people who must re-learn to live together," he said. With the humanitarian crisis in the country spiraling, he said the deployment of a new U.N. peacekeeping force -- which will see 12,000 troops on the ground -- was a "massive relief" and would help "protect the people from themselves". "They will assist to restore broken systems, including policing and justice," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Protect the people from themselves? Sounds alot like how we do it here. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2014-04-21 16:45 |
| #2 Did I miss something? rekindle the spirit of tolerance When was there EVER a spirit of tolerance in Islam? There have been some tolerant atheists but Muslims? Never. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-04-21 13:24 |
| #1 The Red Arch speaks ! Be nice to whites, they need to rediscovery their humanity. ~ Desmond Tutu |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-04-21 10:01 |