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The Central African Republic (CAR) (French: République centrafricaine, pronounced: [ʁepyblik sɑ̃tʁafʁikɛn], or Centrafrique[sɑ̃tʀafʀik]; Sango Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka), is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudanin the northeast, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. HP G62-120SS battery

The CAR covers a land area of about 240,000 square miles (620,000 km²), and has an estimated population of about 4.4 million as of 2008. Bangui is the capital city.

Most of the CAR consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas but it also includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and anequatorial forest zone in the south. HP Pavilion DV6-1246EO battery

Two thirds of the country lies in the basins of the Ubangi River, which flows south into the Congo River, while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari River, which flows north into Lake Chad. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B battery

Since most of the territory is located in the Ubangi and Shari river basins, France called the colony it carved out in this region Ubangi-Chari, or Oubangui-Chari in French. It became a semi-autonomous territory of the French Community in 1958 and then an independent nation on 13 August 1960. Sony VGP-BPL7 battery

For over three decades after independence, the CAR was ruled by presidents who either were not freely elected or took power by force. Local discontent with this system was eventually reinforced by international pressure, following the end of the Cold War.HP F2299A battery

The first multi-party democratic elections were held in 1993 with resources provided by the country’s donors and help from the UN Office for Electoral Affairs, and brought Ange-Félix Patassé to power. He lost popular support during his presidency and was overthrown in 2003 by French-backed General François Bozizé, who went on to win a democratic electionin May 2005.HSTNN-LB51 battery

Inability to pay workers in the public sector led to strikes in 2007, forcing the resignation of Bozizé in early 2008. A new Prime Minister, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, was named on 22 January 2008.

Despite its significant mineral resources (uranium reserves in Bakouma, crude oil, gold, diamonds, lumber, hydropower^[5]) and its arable land, Sony VGN-AW11XU/Q battery

the Central African Republic remains one of the poorest countries in the world and among the ten poorest countries in Africa. The Human Development Index for the Central African Republic is 0.343, which gives the country a rank of 179 out of 187 countries with data. HP 446506-001 battery

Early history

Between about 1000 BC and 1000 AD, Ubangian-speaking peoples spread eastward from Cameroon to Sudan and settled in most of the territory of the CAR. During the same period, a much smaller number of Bantu-speaking immigrants settled in Southwestern CAR and some Central Sudanic-speaking populations settled along the Oubangi. HP Pavilion DV4-1365DX battery

The majority of the CAR’s inhabitants thus speak Ubangian languages or Bantu languages belonging to the Niger–Congofamily. A minority speak Central Sudanic languages of the Nilo-Saharan family. More recent immigrants include many Muslim merchants who most often speak Arabic or Hausa. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ190N/BC battery

Exposure to the outside world

Until the early 19th century, the peoples of the CAR lived beyond the expanding Islamic frontier in the Sudanic zone of Africa and thus had relatively little contact with Abrahamic religions or northern economies. Sony VAIO VGN-Z31WN/B battery

During the first decades of the 19th century, however, Muslim traders began increasingly to penetrate the region of the CAR and to cultivate special relations with local leaders in order to facilitate their trade and settlement in the region.

The initial arrival of Muslim traders in the early 19th century was relatively peaceful and depended upon the support of local peoples, HP Pavilion DV6-1215EE battery

but after about 1850, slave traders with well-armed soldiers began to penetrate the region. Between c. 1860 and 1910, slave traders from Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, Dar al-Kuti in Northern CAR and Nzakara and Zande states in Southeastern CAR exported much of the population of Eastern CAR, a region with very few inhabitants today. Sony VGP-BPS22/A Battery

French colonialism

European penetration of Central African territory began in the late 19th century during the so-called Scramble for Africa (c. 1875–1900). Count Savorgnan de Brazza took the lead in establishing the French Congo with headquarters in the city named after him, HP Pavilion DV4T-1400 CTO battery

Brazzaville, and sent expeditions up the Ubangi River in an effort to expand France’s claims to territory in Central Africa. King Leopold II of Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom also competed to establish their claims to territory in the Central African region. HP Pavilion DV6-1232ET battery

In 1889 the French established a post on the Ubangi River at Bangui, the future capital of Ubangi-Shari and the CAR. De Brazza then sent expeditions in 1890–91 up the Sangha River in what is now Southwestern CAR, up the center of the Ubangi basin toward Lake Chad, and eastward along the Ubangi River toward the Nile. Sony VAIO VPCEB19GX battery

De Brazza and the pro-colonial in France wished to expand the borders of the French Congo to link up with French territories in West Africa, North Africa and East Africa.

In 1894, the French Congo’s borders with Leopold II’s Congo Free State and German Cameroon were fixed by diplomatic agreements. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/P battery

Then, in 1899, the French Congo’s border with Sudan was fixed along the Congo-Nile watershed, leaving France without her much coveted outlet on the Nile and turning Southeastern Ubangi-Shari into a cul-de-sac.

Once European negotiators agreed upon the borders of the French Congo, HP Pavilion DV6-1240EI battery

France had to decide how to pay for the costly occupation, administration, and development of the territory. The reported financial successes of Leopold II’s concessionary companies in the Congo Free State convinced the French government in 1899 to grant 17 private companies large concessions in the Ubangi-Shari region. HP Compaq HSTNN-LB51 battery

In return for the right to exploit these lands by buying local products and selling European goods, the companies promised to pay rent to the colonial state and to promote the development of their concessions. The companies employed European and African agents who frequently used extremely brutal methods to force Central Africans to work for them. HP Pavilion DV4-1211TU battery

At the same time, the French colonial administration began to force Central Africans to pay taxes and to provide the state with free labor. The companies and French administration often collaborated in their efforts to force Central Africans to work for their benefit, but they also often found themselves at odds. Lenovo S10-2 battery

Some French officials reported abuses committed by private company militias and even by their own colonial colleagues and troops, but efforts to bring these criminals to justice almost always failed. When news of atrocities committed against Central Africans by concessionary company employees and colonial officials or troops reached France and caused an outcry, Apple MacBook Pro Battery

there were investigations and some feeble attempts at reform, but the situation on the ground in Ubangi-Shari remained essentially the same.

In the meantime, during the first decade of French colonial rule (c. 1900–1910), the rulers of African states in the Ubangi-Shari region increased their slave raiding activities and also their sale of local products to European companies and the colonial state.Dell Inspiron N5010 Battery

They took advantage of their treaties with the French to procure more weapons which were used to capture more slaves and so much of the eastern half of Ubangi-Shari was depopulated as a result of the export of Central Africans by local rulers during the first decade of colonial rule. Sony Vaio P Battery

Those who had power, Africans and Europeans, often made life miserable for those who did not have the power to resist.

During the second decade of colonial rule (c. 1910–1920), Dell Inspiron 1564 Battery

armed employees of private companies and the colonial state continued to use brutal methods to deal with local populations who resisted forced labor but the power of local African rulers was destroyed and so slave raiding was greatly diminished. Lenovo S10-3 Battery

In 1911, the Sangha and Lobaye basins were ceded to Germany as part of an agreement which gave France a free-hand in Morocco and so Western Ubangi-Shari came under German rule until World War I, during which France reconquered this territory by using Central African troops. HP 530 Battery

The third decade of colonial rule (1920–1930) was a period of transition during which a network of roads was built, cash crops were promoted, mobile health services were formed to combat sleeping sickness, and Protestant missions established stations in different parts of the country. Samsung R522 Battery

New forms of forced labor were also introduced, however, as the French conscripted large numbers of Ubangians to work on the Congo-Ocean Railway and many of these recruits died of exhaustion and illness. Dell Latitude D630 Battery

In 1925 the French writer André Gide published Voyage au Congo in which he described the alarming consequences of conscription for the Congo-Ocean railroad and exposed the continuing atrocities committed against Central Africans in Western Ubangi-Shari by employees of the Forestry Company of Sangha-Ubangi, for example. Acer Aspire 5515 Battery

In 1928 a major insurrection, the Kongo-Wara ’war of the hoe handle’ broke out in Western Ubangi-Shari and continued for several years. The extent of this insurrection, perhaps the largest anti-colonial rebellion in Africa during the interwar years, was carefully hidden from the French public because it provided evidence, once again, of strong opposition to French colonial rule and forced labor. Dell Studio 1735 Battery

During the fourth decade of colonial rule (c. 1930–1940), cotton, tea, and coffee emerged as important cash crops in Ubangi-Shari and the mining of diamonds andgold began in earnest. Several cotton companies were granted purchasing monopolies over large areas of cotton production and were thus able to fix the prices paid to cultivators in order to assure profits for their shareholders.Toshiba Portege R200 Battery

Europeans established coffee plantations and Central Africans also began to cultivate coffee.

The fifth decade of colonial rule (c. 1940–1950) was shaped by the Second World War and the political reforms which followed in its wake. In September 1940 pro-Gaullist French officers took control of Ubangi-Shari. Dell Vostro 1710 Battery

Independence

On 1 December 1958 the colony of Ubangi-Shari became an autonomous territory within the French Community and took the name Central African Republic. The founding father and president of the Conseil de Gouvernement, Barthélémy Boganda, Hp Pavilion dv3-1000 Battery

died in a mysterious plane accident in 1959, just eight days before the last elections of the colonial era. On 13 August 1960 the Central African Republic gained its independence and two of Boganda’s closest aides, Abel Goumba and David Dacko, became involved in a power struggle. HP Pavilion DV7-1261WM battery

With the backing of the French, Dacko took power and soon had Goumba arrested. By 1962 President Dacko had established a one-party state.

On 31 December 1965 Dacko was overthrown in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d’état by Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa, HP Pavilion DV6-1299EA battery

who suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly. President Bokassa declared himself President For Life in 1972, and named himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire on 4 December 1976. A year later, Emperor Bokassa crowned himself in a lavish and expensive ceremony that was ridiculed by much of the world. hp g6000 battery

In 1979 France carried out a coup against Bokassa and “restored” Dacko to power. Dacko, in turn, was overthrown in a coup by General André Kolingba on 1 September 1981.

Kolingba suspended the constitution and ruled with a military junta until 1985. He introduced a new constitution in 1986 which was adopted by a nationwide referendum. HP Pavilion DV6-1210SA battery

Membership in his new party, the Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain (RDC) was voluntary. In 1987, semi-competitive elections to parliament were held and municipal elections were held in 1988. Kolingba’s two major political opponents, Abel Goumba and Ange-Félix Patassé, boycotted these elections because their parties were not allowed to compete. Compaq Presario CQ71 battery

By 1990, inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall, a pro-democracy movement became very active. In May 1990 a letter signed by 253 prominent citizens asked for the convocation of a National Conference but Kolingba refused this request and detained several opponents. HP Pavilion DV7-1120EO battery

Pressure from the United States, more reluctantly from France, and from a group of locally represented countries and agencies called GIBAFOR (France, USA, Germany, Japan, EU, World Bank and UN) finally led Kolingba to agree, in principle, to hold free elections in October 1992, with help from the UN Office of Electoral Affairs. Sony VAIO VGN-FW160D battery

After using the excuse of alleged irregularities to suspend the results of the elections as a pretext for holding on to power, President Kolingba came under intense pressure from GIBAFOR to establish a “Conseil National Politique Provisoire de la République” (Provisional National Political Council) (CNPPR) and to set up a “Mixed Electoral Commission” which included representatives from all political parties. HP Pavilion DV4-1220US battery

When elections were finally held in 1993 (again with the help of the international community) Ange-Félix Patassé led in the first round and Kolingba came in fourth behind Abel Goumba and David Dacko. In the second round, Patassé won 53 percent of the vote while Goumba won 45.6 percent. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/P battery

Most of Patassé’s support came from Gbaya, Kare and Kaba voters in seven heavily populated prefectures in the northwest while Goumba’s support came largely from ten less-populated prefectures in the south and east. Furthermore, Patassé’s party, HP Compaq 464119-143 battery

the Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain (MLPC) or Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People gained a simple but not an absolute majority of seats in parliament, which meant Patassé needed coalition partners. HP Compaq 491278-001 battery

Patassé relieved former President Kolingba of his military rank of general in March 1994 and then charged several former ministers with various crimes. Patassé also removed many Yakoma from important, lucrative posts in the government. Two hundred mostly Yakoma members of the presidential guard were also dismissed or reassigned to the army. HP Compaq Business Notebook 6530B battery

Kolingba’s RDC loudly proclaimed that Patassé’s government was conducting a “witch hunt” against the Yakoma.

A new constitution was approved on 28 December 1994 and promulgated on 14 January 1995, but this constitution, like those before it, did not have much impact on the practice of politics. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ285N/RC battery

In 1996–1997, reflecting steadily decreasing public confidence in its erratic behaviour, three mutinies against Patassé’s government were accompanied by widespread destruction of property and heightened ethnic tension. On 25 January 1997, the Bangui Peace Accords were signed which provided for the deployment of an inter-African military mission, HP 540 battery

the Mission Interafricaine de Surveillance des Accords de Bangui (MISAB). Mali’s former president, Amadou Touré, served as chief mediator and brokered the entry of ex-mutineers into the government on 7 April 1997. The MISAB mission was later replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force, the Mission des Nations Unies en RCA (MINURCA). Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ/P battery

In 1998 parliamentary elections resulted in Kolingba’ RDC winning 20 out of 109 seats, which constituted a comeback, but in 1999, notwithstanding widespread public anger in urban centers with his corrupt rule, Patassé won free elections to become president for a second term. HP Pavilion DV8 battery

On 28 May 2001 rebels stormed strategic buildings in Bangui in an unsuccessful coup attempt. The army chief of staff, Abel Abrou, and General François N’Djadder Bedaya were shot, but Patassé regained the upper hand by bringing in at least 300 troops of the rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba (from across the river in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo) and by Libyan soldiers.Sony VAIO VGN-AR95S battery

In the aftermath of this failed coup, militias loyal to Patassé sought revenge against rebels in many neighborhoods of the capital, Bangui, that resulted in the destruction of many homes as well as the torture and murder of many opponents. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/P battery

Eventually Patassé came to suspect that General François Bozizé was involved in another coup attempt against him and so Bozizé fled with loyal troops to Chad. In March 2003, Bozizé launched a surprise attack against Patassé, who was out of the country. Libyan troops and some 1,000 soldiers of Bemba’s Congolese rebel organization failed to stop the rebels, HP Pavilion DV6000 battery

who took control of the country and thus succeeded in overthrowing Patassé.

François Bozizé suspended the constitution and named a new cabinet which included most opposition parties. Abel Goumba, “Mr. Clean”, was named vice-president, which gave Bozizé’s new government a positive image. HP Compaq KU532AA battery

Bozizé established a broad-based National Transition Council to draft a new constitution and announced that he would step down and run for office once the new constitution was approved. A national dialogue was held from 15 September to 27 October 2003, and Bozizé won a fair election that excluded Patassé, to be elected president on a second ballot, in May 2005. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/W battery

Humanitarian aid, peacebuilding, and development

The Central African Republic is heavily dependent upon multilateral foreign aid and the presence of numerous NGOs which provide services which the government fails to provide. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/L battery

As one UNDP official put it, the CAR is a country “sous serum”, or a country metaphorically hooked up to an IV. (Mehler 2005:150). The very presence of numerous foreign personnel and organizations in the country, including peacekeepers and even refugee camps, provides an important source of revenue for many Central Africans. HP Pavilion DV6-1240EO battery

The country is self-sufficient in food crops, but much of the population lives at a subsistence level. Livestock development is hindered by the presence of thetsetse fly.

In 2006 due to ongoing violence, over 50,000 in the country’s northwest were at risk of starvation,^[7] and this was only averted thanks to United Nationssupport. Sony VAIO VGN-NS110E/L battery

Peacebuilding Commission

On 12 June 2008, the Central African Republic became the fourth country to be placed on the agenda of the UN Peacebuilding Commission,^[8] which was set up in 2005 to help countries emerging from conflict avoid the slide back into war or chaos. The 31-member body agreed to take up the situation after a request from the government. Sony VAIO VGN-G2AAPS battery

Peacebuilding Fund

The Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon declared on 8 January 2008 that the Central African Republic was eligible to receive assistance from the Peacebuilding Fund.^[9]Three priority areas were identified: 1) Security sector reform 2) Promotion of good governance and the rule of law and 3) Revitalization of communities affected by conflicts. Sony VAIO VGN-NS70B/W battery

Politics

François Bozizé is President of the CAR. A new constitution was approved by voters in a referendum held on 5 December 2004. Full multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections were held in March 2005,^[10] with a second round in May. Bozizé was declared the winner after a run-off vote.^[11] Sony VGP-BPS21B battery

In February 2006, there were reports of widespread violence in the northern part of the CAR.^[12] Thousands of refugees fled their homes, caught in the crossfire of battles between government troops and rebel forces. More than 7,000 people fled to neighboring Chad. Sony VAIO VGN-Z56GG/B battery

Those who remained in the CAR told of government troops systematically killing men and boys suspected of cooperating with rebels.^[13]

In March 2010, François Bozizé signed a decree declaring presidential elections on 25 April 2010.^[14] Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z battery

The elections were first postponed to 16 May, and then indefinitely.^[15] Finally the general election was set for 23 January 2011. Despite serious problems in the organization,^[16] the election proceeded as scheduled. A second round was forecast on 20 March 2011, and was conducted 27 March 2011. HP Pavilion DV7-1120EO battery

The general elections are partly funded by the international community (EU and UNDP). An association of most of the Civil Society Organizations, the “Observatoire National des Elections” is monitoring the election process.^[17] Bozizé and his party both had major victories in the elections. HP Pavilion DV6-1210SA battery

Like many other former French colonies, its system is based on French Law.^[18]

Human rights

The 2009 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State noted that in general the human rights record remained poor, with concerns over numerous government abuses.^[19] HP Mini 311-1110TU battery

Freedom of speech is addressed in the constitution, however there have been incidents of government intimidation with the intent to limit media criticism.^[19] A report by the International Research & Exchanges Board’s media sustainability index noted that ‘the country minimally met objectives, with segments of the legal system and government opposed to a free media system’Compaq Presario V2335US battery

Geography

The Central African Republic is a landlocked nation within the interior of the African continent. It is bordered by the countries of Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11E battery

The country lies between latitudes 2° and 11°N, and longitudes 14° and 28°E.

Much of the Central African Republic consists of flat, or rolling plateau savanna, typically about 500 metres (1,640 ft) above sea level, of which most of the northern half lies within the World Wildlife Fund’s East Sudanian savanna ecoregion. HP Pavilion DV1635LA battery

In the northeast are the Fertit Hills, and there are scattered hills in the southwest part of the country. To the northwest is the Yade Massif, a granite plateau with an altitude of 1,143 feet (348 m).

At 622,941 square kilometres (240,519 sq mi), the Central African Republic is the world’s 42nd-largest country. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11E battery

It is comparable in size to the Ukraine, and is somewhat smaller than the US state of Texas.

Much of the southern border is formed by tributaries of the Congo River, with the Mbomou Riverin the east merging with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. Sony VAIO VGN-NS10J/S battery

In the west, the Sangha River flows through part of the country. The eastern border lies along the edge of the Nile River watershed.

Estimates of the amount of the country covered by forest ranges up to 8%, with the densest parts in the south. HP Pavilion DV6-1200SL battery

The forest is highly diverse, and includes commercially important species of Ayous, Sapelli and Sipo.^[20] The deforestation rate is 0.4% per annum, and lumber poaching is commonplace.^[21]

In the November 2008 issue of National Geographic, the Central African Republic was named the country least affected by light pollution. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/T battery

Climate

The climate of the C.A.R. is generally tropical. The northern areas are subject to harmattan winds, which are hot, dry, and carry dust. The northern regions have been subject to desertification, and the northeast is a desert. The remainder of the country is prone to flooding from nearby rivers. HP HSTNN-LB31 battery

Economy

The economy of the CAR is dominated by the cultivation and sale of food crops such as cassava, peanuts, maize, sorghum, millet,sesame, and plantain. The annual real GDP growth rate is just above 3%. HP 593553-001 battery

The importance of food crops over exported cash crops is indicated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 tons a year, while the production of cotton, the principal exported cash crop, ranges from 25,000 to 45,000 tons a year. HP Pavilion DV5-1110EM battery

Food crops are not exported in large quantities but they still constitute the principal cash crops of the country because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus food crops than from exported cash crops such as cotton orcoffee. HP 436426-752 battery

The CAR’s largest import partner is South Korea (20.2%), followed by France (13.6%) and Cameroon (7.7%), while its largest export partner is Japan (40.4%), followed by Belgium (9.8%) and China (8.2%).^[22][23] Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560N24 battery

Many rural and urban women also transform food crops into alcoholic drinks such as sorghum beer or hard liquor and derive considerable income from the sale of these drinks. Much of the income derived from the sale of foods and alcohol is not “on the books” and thus is not considered in calculating per capita income, HP Compaq 451086-661 battery

which is one reason why official figures for per capita income are not accurate in the case of the CAR.

The per capita income of the CAR is often listed as being around $300 a year, said to be one of the lowest in the world, but this figure is based mostly on reported sales of exports and largely ignores the more important but unregistered sale of foods, Compaq Presario C740EM battery

locally produced alcohol, diamonds, ivory, bushmeat, and traditional medicine, for example. The informal economy of the CAR is more important than the formal economy for most Central Africans. HP 448007-001 battery

Diamonds constitute the most important export of the CAR, accounting for 40–55% of export revenues, but an estimated 30–50% of the diamonds produced each year leave the country clandestinely. Export trade is hindered by poor economic development, and the location of this country far from the coast. HP Pavilion DV7 battery

The wilderness regions of this country have potential as ecotourist destinations. The country is noted for its population offorest elephants. In the southwest, the Dzanga-Sangha National Park is a rain forest area. To the north, the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park has been well-populated with wildlife, including leopards, lions, and rhinos. HP DV6-1120SA battery

To the northeast the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park. However the population of wildlife in these parks has severely diminished over the past 20 years due to poaching, particularly from the neighboring Sudan.

The CAR is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).^[24] HP DV6-1210SA battery

The CAR is ranked 180 out of 181 on ‘ease of business’ in the 2009 Doing Business Report of the World Bank Group. The ‘ease of business’ ranking uses a composite index on regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.^[25] Compaq CQ50 battery

Demographics

The population has almost quadrupled since independence. In 1960 the population was 1,232,000. Now the population is 4,422,000. (2009 UN est.) Note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; HP Pavilion DV8 battery

Sony VGP-BPS13 battery

this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected. HP DV9700 battery

The United Nations estimates that approximately 11% of the population aged 15 – 49 is HIV positive.^[26] Only 3% of the country has antiretroviral therapy available, compared to 17% coverage in neighbouring countries of Chad and the Republic of the Congo.^[27] Compaq CQ35-100 battery

The nation is divided into over 80 ethnic groups, each having its own language. The largest ethnic groups are the Baya (33%),Banda (28%), Mandjia (7%), Sara (10%), Mboum (7%), M’Baka (4%), Yakoma (4%), and Fula or Fulani^[28] (3%), with others constituting 4%, including Europeans of mostly French descent. Sony VGP-BPS11 battery

Health

Female life expectancy at birth was 48.2 and male life expectancy at birth was at 45.1 in 2007.^[29] The fertility rate is at about five births per woman.^[29] According to 2009 estimates, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is about 4.7% of the adult population (ages 15-49).^[30] Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/S Battery

Government expenditure on health was at US$ 20 (PPP) per person in 2006.^[29] There were 8 physicians per 100,000 people in 2004.^[31] Government expenditure on health was at 10.9 % of total government expenditure in 2006.^[29] Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T Battery

Religion

Christians form 80.3% of the population, while 9.6% of the population maintain Indigenous beliefs. Islam is practiced by 10.1% of the country’s population (2003 census).^[32] Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S Battery

There are many missionary groups operating in the country, including Lutherans, Baptists, Catholics, Grace Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. While these missionaries are predominantly from the United States, France, Italy, and Spain, many are also from Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other African countries. Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T Battery

Many missionaries left the country due to fighting between rebel and government forces in 2002 and 2003. Many have now returned to the country and resumed their activities.

The Central African Republic (CAR) is classified as one of the world’s least developed countries,^[2] with an estimated annual per capita income of $700 (2009). Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S Battery

Sparsely populated and landlocked, the nation is overwhelmingly agrarian. The vast bulk of the population engages insubsistence farming and 55% of the country’s GDP arises from agriculture. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF Battery

Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Principal food crops includecassava, peanuts, sorghum, millet, maize, sesame, and plantains. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF Battery

Principal cash crops for export include cotton,coffee, and tobacco. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for nearly 54%.

Infrastructure

Much of the country’s limited electrical supply is provided by hydroelectric plants based in Boali. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery

Fuel supplies must be barged in via the Oubangui River or trucked overland through Cameroon, resulting in frequent shortages of gasoline,diesel, and jet fuel. The C.A.R.’s transportation and communication network is limited. The country has only 429 kilometers of paved road, limited international, and no domestic air service, and does not possess a railroad. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF Battery

River traffic on the Oubangui River is impossible from April to July, and conflict in the region has sometimes prevented shipments from moving between Kinshasa and Bangui. The telephone system functions, albeit imperfectly. Four radio stations currently operate in the C.A.R., as well as one television station. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W Battery

Numerous newspapers and pamphlets are published on a regular basis, and one company has begun providing Internet service.

Agriculture

74 percent of the population in the Central African Republic works in the agriculture industry, Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF Battery

so Central African Republic’s economy is dominated by the cultivation and sale of foodcrops such as yams, cassava, peanuts, maize,sorghum, millet, sesame, and plantains. The importance of foodcrops over exported cash crops is illustrated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/B Battery

ranges between c. 200,000 and 300,000 tons a year, while the production of cotton, the principal exported cash crop, ranges from c. 25,000 to 45,000 tons a year. Foodcrops are not exported in large quantities but they still constitute the principal cash crops of the country because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus foodcrops than from exported cash crops such as cotton or coffee. Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/TC Battery

Many rural and urban women also transform some foodcrops into alcoholic drinks such assorghum beer or hard liquor and derive considerable income from the sale of these drinks. Much of the income derived from the sale of foods and alcohol is not “on the books” and thus is not considered in calculating per capita income, Sony VAIO VGN-NW35E Battery

which is one reason why official figures for per capita income are not accurate in the case of the CAR. The per capita income of the CAR is often listed as being around $300 a year, said to be one of the lowest in the world, but this figure is based mostly on reported sales of exports and largely ignores the more important but unregistered sale of foods, Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/S Battery

locally-produced alcohol, diamonds, ivory, bushmeat, and traditional medicines, for example. The informal economy of the CAR is more important than the formal economy for most Central Africans. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/T Battery

Finance and banking

The financial sector of the CAR, the smallest in the CEMAC, plays a limited role in supporting economic growth. Suffering from weak market infrastructure and legal and judicial frameworks, the financial system remains small, undeveloped, and dominated by commercial banks. Sony VAIO VGN-NW50JB Battery

Because of economic and security concerns, financial institutions, and particularly microfinance institutions (MFIs), have consolidated their business in the capital, Bangui, over the past few years. With less than 1 percent of the total population holding a bank account, access to financial services is extremely limited in the CAR. Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/N Battery

Microfinance accounts only for 1 percent of the total credit facilities, serving 0.5 percent of the population. Low levels of mobile penetration – which stand at 30 percent, a significantly lower percentage than in the rest of the continent – dampen the potential expansion of access to financial services through mobile technology.^[3] Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/W Battery

Fishing

Fishing is carried on extensively along the rivers, but most of the catch is sold or bartered on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) side of the Ubangi River. In 1950, the government began a fish-farming program, and by the end of 1968 there were almost 12,000 ponds. The 2003 fish catch was about 15,000 tons. Sony VAIO VGN-NW70JB Battery

Forestry

There are 22.9 million hectares (56.5 million acres) of forest (37 percent of the total land area), but only 3.4 million hectares (8.4 million acres) of dense forest, all in the south in the regions bordering the DRC. The CAR’s exploitable forests cover 27 million hectares (68 million acres), or 43% of the total land area. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/N Battery

Transportation bottlenecks on rivers and lack of rail connections are serious hindrances to commercial exploitation. Most timber is shipped down the Ubangi and Zaire rivers and then on the Congo railway to the Atlantic. More than a dozen types of trees are felled, but 95 percent of the total is composed of obeche, sapele, ebony, and sipo. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/W Battery

A dozen sawmills produced 516,000 cu m (18 million cu ft ) of sawn logs and veneer logs in 2003. The government is encouraging production of plywood and veneer. Roundwood removals were estimated at 2.8 million cu m (99.7 million cu ft ) in 2003. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91FS Battery

Competition from lower-cost Asian and Latin American loggers has hurt the local industry, which is encumbered with high transportation and labor costs. In 2003, the country exported $89.8 million of forest products.

Natural resources

The country has rich but largely unexploited natural resources in the form of diamonds, gold, uranium, and other minerals. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91GS Battery

Diamonds constitute the most important export of the CAR, frequently accounting for 40-55% of export revenues, but an estimated 30-50% of the diamonds produced each year leave the country clandestinely. There may be petroleum deposits along the country’s northern border with Chad (Two billion barrels of oil are present in private estimates). Sony VAIO VGN-NW91VS Battery

Diamonds are the only of these mineral resources currently being developed; reported sales of largely uncut diamonds make up close to 60% of the CAR’s export earnings. Industry contributes less than 20% of the country’s GDP, with artesian diamond mining, breweries, andsawmills making up the bulk of the sector. Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B Battery

Services currently account for 25% of GDP, largely because of the oversized government bureaucracy and high transportationcosts arising from the country’s landlocked position.

Economic aid and development

The CAR is heavily dependent upon multilateral foreign aid and the presence of numerous NGO’s which provide numerous services which the government fails to provide. Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H Battery

As one UNDP official put it, the CAR is a country “sous serum,” or a country hooked up to an IV. (Mehler 2005:150) The very presence of numerous foreign personnel and organizations in the country, including peacekeepers and even refugee camps, provides an important source of revenue for many Central Africans. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B Battery

In the 40 years since independence, the CAR has made slow progress toward economic development. Economic mismanagement, poorinfrastructure, a limited tax base, scarce private investment, and adverse external conditions have led to deficits in both itsbudget and external trade. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B Battery

Its debt burden is considerable, and the country has seen a decline in per capita gross national product over the last 40 years. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR’s landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTH Battery

The 50% devaluationof the currencies of 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had mixed effects on the CAR’s economy. Diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton exports increased, leading an estimated rise of GDP of 70% in 1994 and nearly 50% in 1995. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ Battery

Military rebellions and social unrest in 1996 were accompanied by widespread destruction of property and a drop in GDP of 2%. Ongoing violence between the government and rebel military groups over pay issues, living conditions, and political representation has destroyed many businesses in the capital and reduced tax revenues for the government. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ Battery

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved an Extended Structure Adjustment Facility in 1998. The government has set targets of annual 5% growth and 25% inflation for 2000-2001. Structural adjustment programs with the World Bank and IMF and interest-free credits to support investments in the agriculture, livestock, and transportation sectors have had limited impact.Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C Battery

The World Bank and IMF are now encouraging the government to concentrate exclusively on implementing much-needed economic reforms to jump-start the economy and defining its fundamental priorities with the aim of alleviating poverty. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVH/C Battery

As a result, many of the state-owned business entities have been privatized and limited efforts have been made to standardize and simplify labor and investment codes and to address problems of corruption. The Central African Government is currently in the process of adopting new labor and investment codes. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290NTB Battery

Bangui is the capital of and the largest city in the Central African Republic. The majority of the population of theCentral African Republic lives in the western parts of the country, near Bangui. Though located within Ombella-M’Pokoprefecture, it is an independent commune, and thus politically independent of the surrounding prefecture. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S Battery

The city was founded in 1889 in what was then the French colony Haut-Oubangui (‘Upper Ubangi’), later renamed Oubangui-Chari and made part of French Equatorial Africa. Named for local rapids, the city grew around the French military post on theUbangi river.^[1] Bangui served as an administration center in the colonial era and continues to be the administrative center of the CAR. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S Battery

Widespread violence in Bangui followed the March 1981 elections, which took place following a French operation to deposeJean-Bédel Bokassa in 1979 and replace him with David Dacko. Opponents of unpopular Dacko laid siege to Bangui and compelled his flight to exile. Andre Kolingba then formed the Comité Militaire pour le Redressement National (See History of the Central African Republic). Sony VAIO VGN-SR2RVN/S Battery

In October 1985, a conference of public health officials including representatives of the Centers for Disease Control andWorld Health Organisation met in Bangui and defined AIDS in Africa as, “prolonged fevers for a month or more, weight loss of over 10% and prolonged diarrhoea”. Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAB Battery

About half the AIDS cases in Africa based on the Bangui definition are HIV positive.

A French Jaguar aircraft crashed in Bangui in March 1986, killing 35 and leading to a resurgence in anti-French sentiment.Andre Kolingba, however, continued to allow the French to maintain military bases in the Central African Republic. Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAH Battery

Some 200 Central African Republic soldiers mutinied in Bangui in May 1996, demanding back pay and the resignation of President Ange-Félix Patassé. French troops stationed in the country quelled the mutiny. The renegades, however, heavily looted Bangui and killed more than 50 people. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery

After President Patassé announced a national unity government in early 1997, mutinous troops refused to relinquish a military base in Bangui. New fighting erupted in June.

Rebel leader François Bozizé took power by seizing Bangui in March 2003, ousting Patasse. The situation in the town is now improving, but regular instability is being noticed. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery

Mercer Human Resources Consulting named Bangui as the second worst city out of 221 in their 2010 quality of living survey. Baghdad was the only city to be ranked lower than Bangui.^[2]

Geography

Bangui lies on the northern banks of the Ubangi River just below a series of rapids that limit major commercial shipping farther upriver, on the southern border. Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H Battery

The navigable Ubangi River turns sharply south below Bangui and connects to the Congo River just south of the equator near Brazzaville as its chief northern tributary. The river marks the border between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Congolese town of Zongo sits opposite the river from Bangui. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P Battery

The city centre lies near the river and features a large triumphal arch dedicated to Bokassa, the Presidential Palace and the central market. Lying 5 km further north, the heart of the residential area has the largest market and most nightlife. North of the city lie rolling hills. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S Battery

Climate

The Central African Republic is situated just north of the Equator and consequently throughout the year daily high temperatures rarely fall below thirty degrees celsius.^[3] Bangui features a tropical wet and dry climate. The rainy season lasts from May until October. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF Battery

Bangui, being in the south of the country and thus closest to the equator, is slightly hotter and wetter than the northern parts of the country.^[4]

Several of the neighborhoods of Bangui are in low-lying areas and are prone to recurrent urban flooding. For instance, severe rains in June and July 2009 left 11,000 people homeless. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery

Bangui is an autonomous commune (commune autonome) of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population as of 2003.^[7] The city of Bangui consists of 8 urban districts (‘arrondissements’), 16 groups (‘groupements’) and 205 neighborhoods (‘quartiers’).^[8] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/S Battery

Economy

Bangui serves as an administrative, trade, and commercial center. It received its first bank branch in 1946 when the Bank of West Africa (BAO) established a branch there. Bangui manufactures include textiles, food products, beer, shoes, and soap. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery

The main exports are cotton, timber, coffee, and sisal. Because of the ongoing strife, unemployment hovered near 23% in the city as of 2001.

Transport

Bangui hosts a river port and is served by Bangui M’Poko International Airport (IATA airport code BGF); Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery

the former handles the overwhelming majority of the country’s international trade. River ferries sail to Brazzaville and Zongo. Roads connect the city toCameroon, Chad, and South Sudan.

Telecommunications

Two GSM-900 mobile telecommunications companies, Telecel CAR and Nationlink Telecom RCA, operate out of Bangui. Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG Battery

State-ownedSocatel is the principal telecom in CAR and Bangui, and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the communicationsinfrastructure.

Restaurants

There are three types of restaurants in Bangui.

First, those with French orientation, although they may have African ambiance and/or some African food. Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H Battery

These include “Relais des Chasses”, “L’Equateur”, “Tropicana”, and “L’Escale”.

Second, there are restaurants focusing on foreign cuisine, such as the Lebanese “Ali Baba” and “Beyrouth”, and a Chinese restaurant simply known as “Chinese Restaurant”.

Third, there are numerous African restaurants very popular especially among locals, which include the celebrated “Madame M’boka”.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EEJ/C Battery

A number of bars and street food stalls also complement Bangui’s culinary scene.

Culture

Several periodicals and three daily newspapers are published in Bangui. Other attractions in Bangui include Boganda Museum andBokassa Palace. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Bangui is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangui. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NAB Battery

Archaeology

Archaeological studies in and around the city have yielded at least 26 ancient Iron Age sites that contain many metallurgical tools and objects, illuminating the pre-European history of the city and surrounding area.^[9] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NBB Battery

These archaeological sites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 11 April 2006 in the Cultural category.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ bedɛl bɔkasa]; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996, also known as Bokassa I of Central Africa and Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa), Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NDB Battery

a military officer, was the head of state of the Central African Republic and its successor state, the Central African Empire, from his coup d’état on 1 January 1966 until 20 September 1979. Of this period, he served almost eleven years (1 January 1966–4 December 1976) as president (president for life in 1972–1976), and for almost three years he reigned as emperor (4 December 1976—20 September 1979). Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NEB Battery

Although Bokassa was formally crowned in December 1977, his imperial title did not achieve worldwide diplomatic recognition.

After his overthrow in 1979, Central Africa reverted to its former name and status as the Central African Republic, and the former Bokassa I went into exile. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NGB Battery

He returned to Central Africa in 1986, was put on trial for treason and murder and convicted of these offenses in 1987, and was imprisoned from 1987 until 1993. After his release, Bokassa lived a private life in his former capital, Bangui, until his death in November 1996. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PAB Battery

Early life

Bokassa was born on 22 February 1921 as one of 12 children to Mindogon Mgboundoulou, a village chief, and his wife Marie Yokowo in Bobangui, a large M’Baka village in the Lobaye basin located at the edge of the equatorial forest, then a part of colonial French Equatorial Africa, some 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Bangui.^[1] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PCB Battery

Mgboundoulou was forced to organise the rosters of his village people to work for the French Forestière company. After hearing about the efforts of a prophet named Karnu to resist French rule and forced labour,^[2] Mgboundoulou decided that he would no longer follow French orders. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PFB Battery

He released some of his fellow villagers who were being held hostage by the Forestière. The company considered this to be a rebellious act, so they detained Mgboundoulou, and took him away bound in chains to Mbaïki.^[1] On 13 November 1927, he was beaten to death in the town square just outside the prefecture office. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery

A week later, Bokassa’s mother, Marie Yokowo, unable to bear the grief of losing her husband, committed suicide.^[1][3][4]

Bokassa’s extended family decided that it would be best if he received a French-language education at the Ecole Sainte-Jeanne d’Arc, a Christian mission school in Mbaïki.^[5] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery

As a child, he was frequently taunted by his classmates about his orphanhood. He was short in stature and physically strong. In his studies, he became especially fond of a French grammar book by an author named Jean Bedel. His teachers noticed his attachment, and started calling him “Jean-Bedel”.^[5] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VRN Battery

During his teenage years, Bokassa studied at Ecole Saint-Louis in Bangui, under Father Grüner. Grüner educated Bokassa with the intention of making him a priest, but realized that his student did not have the aptitude for study or the piety required for this occupation. He then studied at Father Compte’s school in Brazzaville, where he developed his abilities as a cook. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery

After graduating in 1939, Bokassa took the advice offered to him by his grandfather, M’Balanga, and Father Grüner, by joining the Free French Forces as a private on 19 May.^[5]

Army

While serving in the Second bataillon de marche, Bokassa became a corporal in July 1940 and a sergeant major in November 1941.^[6] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery

After the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, Bokassa served in the Forces’ African unit and took part in the capture of the Vichy government’s capital at Brazzaville. On 15 August 1944, he participated in the Allied Forces’ landing in Provence, France, in Operation Dragoon and fought in southern France and in Germany in early 1945 before Nazi Germanywas toppled.Sony VAIO VGN-SR210J/S Battery

He remained in the French Army after the war, studying radio transmissions at an army camp in the French coastal town of Fréjus.^[6] Afterwards, he attended officer training school in Saint-Louis, Senegal. On 7 September 1950, Bokassa headed to Indochina as the transmissions expert for the battalion of Saigon-Cholon.^[7] Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery

Bokassa saw some combat during the First Indochina War before his tour of duty ended in March 1953. For his exploits in battle, he was honored with a membership in the Légion d’honneur, and was decorated with Croix de guerre.^[8] During his stay in Indochina, he married a 17-year-old Vietnamese girl named Nguyen Thi Hué. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery

After Hué bore him a daughter, Bokassa had the child registered as a French national. Bokassa left Indochina without his wife and child, as he believed he would return for another tour of duty in the near future.^[9] Upon his return to France, Bokassa was stationed at Fréjus, where he taught radio transmissions to African recruits. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/S Battery

In 1956, he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and two years later to Lieutenant.^[10] Bokassa was then stationed as a military technical assistant in Brazzaville and later Bangui before being promoted to the rank of Captain on 1 July 1961.^[10] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery

The French colony of Ubangi-Chari (Oubangui-Chari in French), part of French Equatorial Africa, had become a semi-autonomous territory of the French Community in 1958 and then an independent nation as the Central African Republic on 13 August 1960.Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery

On 1 January 1962, Bokassa left the French Army and joined the military forces of the CAR with the rank of battalion commandant.^[11] As a cousin of the CAR PresidentDavid Dacko and nephew of Dacko’s predecessor Barthélémy Boganda, Bokassa was given the task of creating the new country’s military. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D Battery

Over a year later, Bokassa became commander-in-chief of the 500 soldiers in the Central African army. Due to his relation to Dacko and experience abroad in the French military, Bokassa was able to quickly rise through the ranks of the army, becoming the Central African army’s first colonel on 1 December 1964.^[12] Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/B Battery

Bokassa sought recognition for his status as leader of the army. He frequently appeared in public wearing all his military decorations, and in ceremonies, he often sat next to President Dacko to display his importance in the government.^[13] Bokassa frequently got into heated arguments with Jean-Paul Douate, Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/P Battery

the government’s chief of protocol, who admonished him for not following the correct order of seating at presidential tables. At first, Dacko found his cousin’s antics amusing.^[13]Despite the number of recent military coups in Africa, Dacko publicly dismissed the likelihood that Bokassa would try to take control of the country. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/S Battery

At an official dinner, he said, “Colonel Bokassa only wants to collect medals and he is too stupid to pull off a coup d’état”.^[14] Other members of Dacko’s cabinet believed that Bokassa was a genuine threat to the regime. Jean-Arthur Bandio, the minister of interior, suggested Dacko name Bokassa to the Cabinet, Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E Battery

which he hoped would both break the colonel’s close connections with the CAR army and satisfy the colonel’s desire for recognition.^[13] To combat the chance that Bokassa would stage a coup, Dacko created the gendarmerie, an armed police force of 500 and a 120-member presidential security guard, led by Jean Izamo and Prosper Mounoumbaye, respectively.^[13] Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/B Battery

Tensions rise between Dacko and Bokassa

Dacko’s government faced a number of problems during 1964 and 1965: the economy experienced stagnation, the bureaucracy started to fall apart, and the country’s boundaries were constantly breached by Lumumbists from the south and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army from the east.^[15] Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/P Battery

Under pressure from political radicals in the Mouvement pour l’évolution sociale de l’Afrique noire (Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa or MESAN) and in an attempt to cultivate alternative sources of support and display his ability to make foreign policy without the help of the French government, Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/S Battery

Dacko established diplomatic relations withMao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China (PRC) in September 1964.^[15] A delegation led by Meng Yieng and agents of the Chinese government toured the country, showingcommunist propaganda films. Soon after, the PRC gave the CAR an interest-free loan of one billion CFA francs (20 million French francs^[16]); Sony VAIO VGN-SR140N/S Battery

however, the aid failed to subdue the prospect of a financial collapse for the country.^[15] Widespread corruption by government officials and politicians added to the country’s list of problems.^[17] Bokassa felt that he needed to take over the CAR government to solve all the country’s problems—most importantly, Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/B Battery

to rid the country from the influence of communism. According to Samuel Decalo, a scholar on African government, Bokassa’s personal ambitions played the most important role in his decision to launch a coup against Dacko.^[18]

Dacko sent Bokassa to Paris as part of the country’s delegation for the Bastille Day celebrations in July 1965. Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/P Battery

After attending the celebrations and a 23 July ceremony to mark the closing of a military officer training school he had attended decades earlier, Bokassa decided to return to the CAR. However, Dacko forbade his return,^[15] and the infuriated Bokassa spent the next few months trying to obtain supporters from the French and Central African armed forces, Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/S Battery

who he hoped would force Dacko to reconsider his decision. Dacko eventually yielded to pressure and allowed Bokassa back in October 1965. Bokassa claimed that Dacko finally gave up after French President Charles de Gaulle had personally told Dacko that “Bokassa must be immediately returned to his post. I cannot tolerate the mistreatment of my companion-in-arms”.^[19] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBJ Battery

Tensions between Dacko and Bokassa continued to escalate in the coming months. In December, Dacko approved an increase in the budget for Izamo’s gendarmerie, but rejected the budget proposal Bokassa had made for the army.^[20] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBQ Battery

At this point, Bokassa told friends he was annoyed by Dacko’s mistreatment and was “going for a coup d’état”.^[14] Dacko planned to replace Bokassa with Izamo as his personal military adviser, and wanted to promote army officers loyal to the government, while demoting Bokassa and his close associates.^[20]
Sony VAIO VPZ117 Battery

Dacko did not conceal his plans; he hinted at his intentions to elders of the Bobangui village, who in turn informed Bokassa of the plot. Bokassa realized he had to act against Dacko quickly, and worried that his 500-man army would be no match for the gendarmerie and the presidential guard.^[20] Sony VAIO VPZ118 Battery

He was also overwrought over the possibility that the French would come to Dacko’s aid after the coup d’état, as had occurred after one inGabon against President Léon M’ba in February 1964. After receiving word of the coup from the country’s vice president, officials in Paris sent paratroopers to Gabon in a matter of hours and M’Ba was quickly restored to power.^[20] Sony VAIO VPZ119 Battery

Bokassa received substantive support from his co-conspirator, Captain Alexandre Banza, who commanded the Camp Kassaï military base in northeast Bangui, and, like Bokassa, had been stationed with the French army around the world. Banza was an intelligent, ambitious and capable man who played a major role in the planning of the coup.^[20] Sony VPCM11M1E/B Battery

By December, many people began to anticipate the political turmoil that would soon engulf the country. Dacko’s personal advisers alerted him that Bokassa “showed signs of mental instability” and needed to be arrested before he sought to bring down the government,^[20] but Dacko did not heed these warnings. Sony VPCM11M1E/W Battery

Coup d’état

Dacko left the Palais de la Renaissance early in the evening of 31 December 1965 to visit one of his ministers’ plantations southwest of Bangui.^[20] An hour and a half before midnight, Captain Banza gave orders to his officers to begin the coup.^[21] Sony VPCM12M1E/L Battery

Bokassa called Izamo at his headquarters and asked him to come to Camp de Roux to sign some documents that needed his immediate attention. Izamo, who was at a New Year’s Eve celebration with friends, reluctantly agreed and travelled to the camp.Sony VPCM12M1E/P Battery

Upon arrival, he was confronted by Banza and Bokassa, who informed him of the coup in progress. After declaring his opposition to the coup, Izamo was taken by the coup plotters to an underground cellar.^[21]

Around midnight, Bokassa, Banza and their supporters left Camp de Roux to take over the capital.^[21] Sony VPCM12M1E/W Battery

After seizing the capital in a matter of hours, Bokassa and Banza rushed to the Palais de la Renaissance in order to arrest Dacko. However, Dacko was nowhere to be found. Bokassa panicked, believing the president had been warned of the coup in advance, and immediately ordered his soldiers to search for Dacko in the countryside until he was found.^[21] Sony VPCM13M1E/L Battery

Dacko was arrested by soldiers patrolling Pétévo Junction, on the western border of the capital. He was taken back to the presidential palace, where Bokassa hugged the president and told him, “I tried to warn you—but now it’s too late”. President Dacko was taken to Ngaragba Prison in east Bangui at around 02:00 WAT(01:00 UTC). Sony VPCM13M1E/P Battery

In a move that he thought would boost his popularity in the country, Bokassa ordered prison director Otto Sacher to release all prisoners in the jail. Bokassa then took Dacko to Camp Kassaï, where he forced the president to resign. Sony VPCM13M1E/W Battery

Later, Bokassa’s officers announced on Radio-Bangui that the Dacko government had been toppled and Bokassa had taken over control.^[22] In the morning, Bokassa addressed the public via Radio-Bangui: Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/S Battery

Centrafricains! Centrafricains! C’est le colonel Bokassa vous parle. Depuis 3h00 ce matin, votre armée a pris le contrôle du gouvernement. Le gouvernement Dacko a démissionné. L’heure de la justice est à portée de main. La bourgeoisie est abolie. Une nouvelle ère de l’égalité entre tous a commencé. Centrafricains, où que vous soyez, soyez assuré que l’armée va vous défendre et de vos biens… Vive la République centrafricaine! Sony VAIO VPCZ11AFJ Battery

Translation:

Central Africans! Central Africans! This is Colonel Bokassa speaking to you. At 3:00 a.m. this morning, your army took control of the government. The Dacko government has resigned. The hour of justice is at hand. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AGJ Battery

The bourgeoisie is abolished. A new era of equality among all has begun. Central Africans, wherever you may be, be assured that the army will defend you and your property … Long live the Central African Republic!^[22] Sony VAIO VPCZ11AVJ Battery

Early years of regime

In the early days of his regime, Bokassa engaged in self-promotion before the local media, showing his countrymen his French army medals, and displaying his strength, fearlessness and masculinity.^[23] Sony VAIO VPCZ11CGX/X Battery

He formed a new government called the Revolutionary Council, invalidated the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly.^[24] He called it “a lifeless organ no longer representing the people”.^[23] In his address to the nation, Bokassa claimed that the government would hold elections in the future, a new assembly would be formed, Sony VAIO VPCZ11DGX/SJ Battery

and a new constitution would be written. He also told his countrymen that he would give up his power after the communist threat had been eliminated, the economy stabilized, and corruption rooted out.^[25] President Bokassa allowed MESAN to continue functioning, but barred all other political organizations from the country. Sony VAIO VPCZ11FHX/XQ Battery

In the coming months, Bokassa imposed a number of new rules and regulations: men and women between the ages of 18 and 55 had to provide proof that they had jobs, or else they would be fined or imprisoned;^[26] Sony VAIO VPCZ11V9R/B Battery

begging was banned; tom-tom playing was allowed only during the nights and weekends; and a “morality brigade” was formed in the capital to monitor bars and dance halls. Polygamy, dowries and female circumcision were all abolished. Bokassa also opened a public transport system in Bangui and subsidized the creation of two national orchestras.^[26] Sony VAIO VPCZ11X9E/B Battery

Despite the positive changes in the country, Bokassa had difficulty obtaining international recognition for his new government. He tried to justify the coup by explaining that Izamo and communist Chinese agents were trying to take over the government and that he had to intervene to save the CAR from the influence of communism.^[27] Sony VAIO VPCZ11Z9E/B Battery

He alleged that Chinese agents in the countryside had been training and arming locals to start a revolution, and on 6 January 1966, he dismissed the communist agents from the country and cut off diplomatic relations with China. Bokassa also believed that the coup was necessary in order to prevent further corruption in the government.^[27] Sony VAIO VPCZ125GX/S Battery

Bokassa first secured diplomatic recognition from President François Tombalbaye of neighboring Chad, whom he met in Bouca, Ouham. After Bokassa reciprocated by meeting Tombalbaye on 2 April 1966 along the southern border of Chad at Fort Archambault, the two decided to help one another if either was in danger of losing power.^[28] Sony VAIO VPCZ127FC Battery

Soon after, other African countries began to diplomatically recognize the new government. At first, the French government was reluctant to support the Bokassa regime, so Banza went to Paris to meet with French officials to convince them that the coup was necessary to save the country from turmoil. Sony VAIO VPCZ128GC Battery

Bokassa met with Prime Minister Georges Pompidou on 7 July 1966, but the French remained noncommittal in offering their support.^[28] After Bokassa threatened to withdraw from the franc monetary zone, President Charles de Gaulle decided to make an official visit to the CAR on 17 November 1966. Sony VAIO VPCZ12M9E/B Battery

To the Bokassa regime, this visit meant that the French had finally accepted the new changes in the country.^[28]

Threat to power

Bokassa and Banza had a major argument over the country’s budget, as Banza adamantly opposed the president’s extravagant spending. Sony VAIO VPCZ13M9E/B Battery

Bokassa moved to Camp de Roux, where he felt he could safely run the government without having to worry about Banza’s thirst for power.^[29] In the meantime, Banza tried to obtain a support base within the army, spending much of his time in the company of soldiers. Sony VAIO VPCZ13V9E/X Battery

Bokassa recognized what his minister was doing, so he sent military units most sympathetic to Banza to the country’s border and brought his own army supporters as close to the capital as possible. In September 1967, he took a special trip to Paris, where he asked for protection from French troops. Sony VAIO VPCZ13Z9E/X Battery

Two months later, the government deployed 80 paratroopers to Bangui.^[29]

On 13 April 1968, in another one of his frequent cabinet reshuffles, Bokassa demoted Banza to minister of health, but let him remain in his position as minister of state. Cognizant of the president’s intentions, Banza increased his vocalization of dissenting political views.^[30] Sony VAIO VPCZZZHJ Battery

A year later, after Banza made a number of remarks highly critical of Bokassa and his management of the economy, the president, perceiving an immediate threat to his power, removed him as his minister of state.^[30] Banza revealed his intention to stage a coup to Lieutenant Jean-Claude Mandaba, the commanding officer of Camp Kassaï, Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery

who he looked to for support. Mandaba went along with the plan, but his allegiance remained with Bokassa.^[30] When Banza contacted his co-conspirators on 8 April 1969, informing them that they would execute the coup the following day, Mandaba immediately phoned Bokassa and informed him of the plan. Sony VAIO VPCZ110 Battery

When Banza entered Camp Kassaï on 9 April 1969, he was ambushed by Mandaba and his soldiers. The men had to break Banza’s arms before they could overpower and throw him into the trunk of a Mercedes and take him directly to Bokassa.^[30] At his house in Berengo, Bokassa nearly beat Banza to death before Mandaba suggested that Banza be put on trial for appearance’s sake.^[31]Sony VAIO VPCZ110GB/BI Battery

On 12 April, Banza presented his case before a military tribunal at Camp de Roux, where he admitted to his plan, but stated that he had not planned to kill Bokassa.^[32] He was sentenced to death by firing squad, taken to an open field behind Camp Kassaï, executed and buried in an unmarked grave.^[31] Sony VAIO VPCZ112GD/S Battery

The circumstances of Banza’s death have been disputed. The American newsmagazine, Time, reported that Banza “was dragged before a Cabinet meeting where Bokassa slashed him with a razor. Guards then beat Banza until his back was broken, dragged him through the streets of Bangui and finally shot him.”^[33] Sony VAIO VPCZ112GX/S Battery

The French daily evening newspaper Le Mondereported that Banza was killed in circumstances “so revolting that it still makes one’s flesh creep”:

Two versions concerning the end circumstances of his death differ on one minor detail. Sony VAIO VPCZ114GX/S Battery

Did Bokassa tie him to a pillar before personally carving him with a knife that he had previously used for stirring his coffee in the gold-and-midnight blue Sèvres coffee set, or was the murder committed on the cabinet table with the help of other persons? Late that afternoon, soldiers dragged a still identifiable corpse, with the spinal column smashed, from barrack to barrack to serve as an example.^[34] Sony VAIO VPCZ115 Battery

Rule during the 1970s

In 1971, Bokassa promoted himself to full general, and on March 4, 1972, declared himself president for life.^[35] He survived another coup attempt in December 1974. The following month, on 2 January, Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/B Battery

he relinquished the position of prime minister to Elisabeth Domitien. His domestic and foreign policies became increasingly unpredictable, leading to another assassination attempt at Bangui M’Poko International Airport in February 1976.^[36]

Foreign support

Muammar al-Gaddafi aided Bokassa.^[37] France also supported Bokassa. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/S Battery

In 1975, the French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing declared himself a “friend and family member” of Bokassa. By that time France supplied its former colony’s regime with financial and military backing. In exchange, Bokassa frequently took d’Estaing on hunting trips in Central Africa and supplied France with uranium, which was vital for France’s nuclear energy and weapons program in the Cold War era. Sony VAIO VPCZ116 Battery

The “friendly and fraternal” cooperation with France—according to Bokassa’s own terms—reached its peak with the imperial coronation ceremony of Bokassa I on 4 December 1977.^[38] The French Defence Minister sent a battalion to secure the ceremony; Sony VAIO VPCZ116GX/S Battery

he also lent 17 aircraft to the new Central African Empire’s government, and even assigned French Navy personnel to support the orchestra.^[39] The coronation ceremony lasted for two days and cost 10 million GBP, more than annual budget of the Central African Republic.^[40] Sony VAIO VPCZ117 Battery

The ceremony was organized by French artist Jean-Pierre Dupont. Parisian jeweller Claude Bertrand made his crown, which included diamonds. Bokassa sat on a two-ton throne modeled in the shape of a large eagle made from solid gold.^[41] Sony VAIO VPCZ117FC/B Battery

On 10 October 1979, the Canard Enchaîné satirical newspaper reported that President Bokassa had offered the then Minister of Finance Valéry Giscard d’Estaing two diamonds in 1973.^[42][43] This soon became a major political scandal known as the Diamonds Affair, which contributed significantly to Giscard d’Estaing’s losing his reelection bid. Sony VAIO VPCZ118 Battery

The Franco-Central African relationship drastically changed when France’s Renseignements Généraux intelligence service learned of Bokassa’s willingness to become a partner of Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya. In early December 1979, the French council officially stopped all support to Bokassa. Sony VAIO VPCZ118GC/B Battery

After a meeting with Gaddafi in September 1976, Bokassa converted to Islam and changed his name to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa, but in December 1976 he converted back to Catholicism. It is presumed that this was a ploy calculated to ensure ongoing Libyan financial aid. Sony VAIO VPCZ118GX/S Battery

When no funds promised by Gaddafi were forthcoming, Bokassa abandoned his new faith. It also was incompatible with his plans to be crowned emperor in the Catholic cathedral in Bangui.

Proclamation of the Empire

n September 1976, Bokassa dissolved the government and replaced it with the Conseil de la Révolution Centrafricaine (Central African Revolutionary Council). Sony VAIO VPCZ119 Battery

On 4 December 1976, at the MESAN congress, Bokassa instituted a new constitution and declared therepublic a monarchy, the Central African Empire. The following year, he issued an imperial constitution, announced his conversion back to Catholicism and had himself crowned “S.M.I. Bokassa 1^er “, with S.M.I. standing for Sa Majesté Impériale: Sony VAIO VPCZ119FJ/S Battery

“His Imperial Majesty”, in a formal coronation ceremony on 4 December 1977. Bokassa’s full title was Empereur de Centrafrique par la volonté du peuple Centrafricain, uni au sein du parti politique national, le MESAN (“Emperor of Central Africa by the will of the Central African people, united within the national political party, the MESAN”). Sony VAIO VPCZ119GC/X Battery

His regalia, lavish coronation ceremony and regime of the newly formed Central African Empire were largely inspired by Napoleon I, who had converted the French Revolutionary Republic of which he was First Consul into the First French Empire. The coronation ceremony was estimated to cost his country roughly 20 million US dollars.^[36] Sony VAIO VPCZ119L Battery

Bokassa attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa “stand out” from the rest of the continent, and earn the world’s respect. The 1977 coronation ceremony consumed one third of the CAE’s (Central African Empire) annual budget and all of France’s aid money for that year, Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/B Battery

but despite generous invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event. By this time, many people in the CAE and in the rest of the world thought Bokassa was insane, and the Western press, mostly in France, the UK, and USA, often compared his eccentric behavior and egotistical extravagance with that of Africa’s other well-known eccentric dictator, Sony VAIO VPCW21AKJ Battery

Idi Amin of Uganda. Tenacious rumors that he occasionally consumed human flesh were found unproven during his eventual trial.

Although Bokassa claimed that the new empire would be a constitutional monarchy, no significant democratic reforms were made, and suppression of dissenters remained widespread. Sony VAIO VPCW21AVJ Battery

Torture was said to be especially rampant, with allegations that even Bokassa himself occasionally participated in beatings and executions.

Repression

By January 1979, French support for Bokassa had all but eroded after food riots in Bangui led to a massacre of civilians.^[44] Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery

But the final straw came when between 17 April and 19 April, a large number of elementary school students in Bangui and elsewhere in the country were arrested after they had protested against paying for and wearing the expensive, government-required school uniforms with Bokassa’s image on them. Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery

Around 100 children were killed.^[45] Bokassa allegedly participated in the massacre, beating some of the children to death with his cane; however, the initial reports received by Amnesty International indicated only that the 100 or more school students who died actually suffocated or were beaten to death while being forced into a small jail cell following their arrest. Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery

The massive worldwide press coverage which followed the deaths of the students opened the way for a successful coup which saw French troops (in “Opération Barracuda”) invade the Central African Empire and restored former president David Dacko to power while Bokassa fled into exile by airplane to the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) on 20 September 1979. Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery

Operation Barracuda

Bokassa’s overthrow by the French government was called “France’s last colonial expedition” (“la dernière expédition coloniale française”) by veteran French diplomat Jacques Foccart. Operation Barracuda began on the evening of 20 September and ended early the next morning. Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery

An undercover commando squad from the French intelligence agency SDECE (now DGSE), joined by Special Forces’ 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, or 1^er RPIMa, led by Colonel Brancion-Rouge, landed by Transall and managed to secure the Bangui Mpoko airport with little resistance. Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery

Upon arrival of two more French military transport aircraft, containing over 300 French troops, a message was sent by Colonal Brancion-Rouge to Colonel Degenne to come in with hisBarracudas (codename for eight Puma helicopters and Transall aircraft), which took off from N’Djamena military airport in neighbouring Chad.^[46] Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery

Fall of the empire

By 12:30 p.m. on 21 September, the pro-French Dacko proclaimed the fall of the Central African Empire and the restoration of the Central African Republic under his presidency. David Dacko remained president until he was overthrown on 1 September 1981 by André Kolingba. Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery

Bokassa, who was visiting Libya on a state visit at the time, fled to Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) where he spent four years living in Abidjan. He then moved to France where he was allowed to settle in his Chateau d’Hardricourt in the suburb of Paris. France gave him political asylum because of the French Foreign Legion obligations.^[36] Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery

During Bokassa’s seven-year of exile, he wrote his memoirs after complaining that his French military pension was insufficient. But the French courts ordered that all 8,000 copies of the book be confiscated and destroyed after his publisher claimed that Bokassa said that he shared women with President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery

who has been a frequent guest in the Central African Republic. Bokassa also claimed to have given Giscard a gift of diamonds worth around a quarter of a million dollars in 1973 while the French president was serving as finance minister. Giscard’s next presidential reelection campaign failed in the wake of the scandal. Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery

Bokassa’s presence in France proved embarrassing to many government ministers who supported him during his entire rule.

Trial and death

Bokassa had been sentenced to death in absentia in December 1980 for the murder of numerous political rivals.^[47] Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery

However, he returned from exile in France on 24 October 1986. Bokassa was immediately arrested by the Central African authorities as soon as he stepped off the plane and was tried for 14 different charges, including treason, murder, cannibalism, illegal use of property, assault and battery, and embezzlement. Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery

Now that Bokassa was unexpectedly in the hands of the Central African Republic government, they were required by law to try him in person, granting him the benefit of defence counsel.

The trial began on 15 December 1986, taking place in the hot and humid, non-air conditioned chambers of the Palais de Justice in Bangui. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery

Bokassa hired two French lawyers, François Gilbault and Francis Szpiner, which faced a panel composed of six jurors and three judges, presided over by High Court Judge Edouard Franck, which was modelled after the legal system in France itself. A fair jury trial of a former head of state was unprecedented in the history of post-colonial Africa where previous dictators had been tried and executed after show trials. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery

New, too, was public access to the trial which the courtroom was constantly filled with standing-room-only spectators as well as live French-language broadcasts by Radio Bangui and local TV news crews which was broadcast all over the country, as well as neighbouring French-speaking African countries. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery

The trial was listened to and watched by all those in the Central African Republic and in neighbouring countries by those who had access to any type of radio or TV set.^[48]

The prosecutor was Gabriel-Faustin M’Boudou, the Chief Prosecutor of the CAR, who called various witnesses to testify against Bokassa, Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery

which included remembering victims ranging from political enemies to a newborn son of a palace guard commander who had been executed for attempting to kill Bokassa in 1978 when he was the self-proclaimed emperor. A hospital nurse testified that Bokassa was said to have killed the delivered child with an injection of poison.

Next, testimony came from 27 teenagers and young adults who were former school children who testified to being the only survivors of the 180 children who were arrested and died in April 1979 after they threw rocks at Bokassa’s passing Rolls-Royce during the students protest over wearing the costly school uniforms which  Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery

they were forced to purchase from a factory owned by one of his wives. Several of them testified that on their first night in jail, Bokassa visited the prison and screamed at the children for their insolence. He was said to have ordered the prison guards to club the children to death, and Bokassa indeed participated, smashing the skulls of at least five children with his ebony walking stick.Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery

Throughout the entire trial, Bokassa denied all the charges against him. He attempted to shift the blame away from himself to wayward members of his former cabinet and the army for any misdeeds that might have occurred during his reign as both president and emperor. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/T Battery

Testifying in his own defence, Bokassa stated: “I’m not a saint. I’m just a man like everyone else.” As testimony against him mounted, he gave away at several times his legendary short temper. Bokassa once stood up and raged at chief prosecutor M’Boudou: “The aggravating thing about all this is that it’s all about Bokassa, Bokassa, Bokassa! Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/W Battery

I have enough crimes levelled against me without you blaming me for all the murders of the last 21 years!”

One of the most lurid allegations against Bokassa was the charge of cannibalism, which was technically superfluous. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/L Battery

In the Central African Republic, statutes forbidding cannibalism classified any crime of eating human remains as a misdemeanour. Upon seizing power from David Dacko in 1981, the current President André Kolingba had declared amnesty for all misdemeanours committed during the tenure of his predecessors. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/P Battery

Bokassa could not be punished for the crime, even if he was found guilty. The cannibalism charges against him were brought from old indictments in 1980 that resulted in his conviction in absentia, a year before Kolingba’s amnesty, so the anthropophagy charge remained listed among Bokassa’s crimes. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/T Battery

Former president Dacko was called to the witness stand to testify that he had seen photographs of butchered bodies hanging in the dark cold-storage rooms of Bokassa’s palace immediately after the 1979 coup. When the defence put up a reasonable doubt during the cross-examination of Dacko that he could not be positively sure if the photographs he had seen of dead bodies were used for consumption, Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/W Battery

Bokassa’s former security chief of the palace was called to testify that he had cooked human flesh stored in the walk-in freezers and served it to Bokassa on an occasional basis. The prosecution did not examine the rumours that Bokassa had served the flesh of his victims to French President Giscard d’Estaing and other visiting dignitaries.

The government prosecutors hired Bernard Jouanneau, a French lawyer to investigate as well as recover some of the millions of CAR francs that Bokassa had diverted from the national treasury and from both social and charity funds for his own personal use in the embezzlement charges. Sony VAIO VPCW215AG/L Battery

Late in the trial, Bokassa’s lawyers tried to bar Jouanneau from testifying. In light of the other heinous crimes Bokassa was charged with, the embezzlement indictment seemed almost insignificant, particularly since Bokassa had clearly already spent most of the money that was stolen. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC Battery

On 12 June 1987, Bokassa was found guilty of all but the cannibalism charges. The court acknowledged that many individual allegations of murder had been levelled at Bokassa but found that the evidence was unimpeachable in only about 20 cases. Bokassa was said to have wept silently as Judge Franck sentenced him to death. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/L Battery

Szpiner and Gibault appealed the verdict for a retrial on the grounds that the Central African Republic’s constitution allowed a former head of state to be charged only with treason. The CAR supreme court rejected the appeal.^[49] Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/P Battery

On 29 February 1988, President Kolingba demonstrated his opposition to capital punishment by voiding the death penalty against Bokassa and commuted his sentence to life in prison in solitary confinement, and the following year reduced the sentence to 20 years.^[50][51] With the return of democracy to the Central African Republic in 1993, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/T Battery

Kolingba declared a general amnesty for all prisoners as one of his final acts as President, and Bokassa was released on 1 August 1993.

Bokassa remained in the CAR for the rest of his life. In 1996, as his health declined, he proclaimed himself the 13th Apostle and claimed to have secret meetings with the Pope. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/W Battery

Bokassa died of a heart attack on 3 November 1996 in Bangui, at the age of 75. He had 17 wives and a reported 50 children.

Legacy

Many people in the Central African Republic, and most of the rest of the world, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC Battery

regard Bokassa as a typical kleptocrat or describe him as either an egotistical madman or a bloodthirsty dictator. In 2010, President François Bozizé issued a decree rehabilitating Bokassa and calling him “a son of the nation recognised by all as a great builder”.^[52] Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/L Battery

The decree went on to hold that “This rehabilitation of rights erases penal condemnations, particularly fines and legal costs, and stops any future incapacities that result from them”.^[52] Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/P Battery

In the lead-up to this official rehabilitation, Bokassa has been praised by CAR politicians for his patriotism and for the periods of stability that he brought the country. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/T Battery,Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/W Battery,Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/L Battery,Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/P Battery,Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/W Battery,Sony VAIO VPCW21AAJ Battery