Seeing a headline that said rebels signed ceasefire agreement in the Central African Republic caused me momentary happiness this morning. Then I read the accompanying story. The rebel leader signing the ceasefire agreement was Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane, a Seleka general who split with the leadership of the Seleka movement last year. Recently Michel Djotodia, the Seleka leader who took the presidency of CAR after the Seleka uprising and then abused the population greatly before being forced into exile in January of 2014 has been reinstated as the head of Seleka. Named as Djotodia's two deputies are Nourredine Adam and Dhaffane.
For my two cents regarding the veracity of the commitment, I'll wait and see. I am not so happy as I was because the agreement was signed by Dhaffane and not Djotodia or all three of the Seleka leaders. The problem is that Djotodia and Adam are both under sanction by the UN and arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court exist for both Djotodia and Adam. The threat of arrest for former government leaders by the ICC and by courts claiming human rights jurisdiction beyond their own borders (remember that European state courts have tried to arrest several former leaders of countries other than their own for human rights abuses--think about the Spanish judge ordering the arrest of Pinochet for crimes against humanity while Pinochet was in England for medical treatment) hampers the ability for all relevant parties to be part of a negotiated settlement. Djotodia and Adam cannot be included in the negotiations because of fear of arrest--this is problem number one with this ceasefire agreement. Problem number two, Dhaffane split with the leadership of Seleka last year. I realize he has been named one of the deputies this year, but does his view regarding the ceasefire equal the view of the entire leadership of Seleka?
For my two cents regarding the veracity of the commitment, I'll wait and see. I am not so happy as I was because the agreement was signed by Dhaffane and not Djotodia or all three of the Seleka leaders. The problem is that Djotodia and Adam are both under sanction by the UN and arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court exist for both Djotodia and Adam. The threat of arrest for former government leaders by the ICC and by courts claiming human rights jurisdiction beyond their own borders (remember that European state courts have tried to arrest several former leaders of countries other than their own for human rights abuses--think about the Spanish judge ordering the arrest of Pinochet for crimes against humanity while Pinochet was in England for medical treatment) hampers the ability for all relevant parties to be part of a negotiated settlement. Djotodia and Adam cannot be included in the negotiations because of fear of arrest--this is problem number one with this ceasefire agreement. Problem number two, Dhaffane split with the leadership of Seleka last year. I realize he has been named one of the deputies this year, but does his view regarding the ceasefire equal the view of the entire leadership of Seleka?
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