People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy (CAR)
Encyclopedia
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
group operating in the northwest Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
(CAR). The APRD was formed in 2006 following the 2003 coup which overthrew President Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé...
. It is one of several groups which fought in the 2004-2007 Central African Republic Bush War
Central African Republic Bush War
The Central African Republic Bush War began with the rebellion by the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity rebels, led by Michel Detodia, after the current President of the Central African Republic, François Bozizé, seized power in 2003. However, the real fighting began in 2004. The Civil War may...
. Initially claiming it wished to overthrow current CAR President
Heads of state of the Central African Republic (and Central African Empire)
This is a complete list of the heads of state of the Central African Republic and Central African Empire. There have been five heads of state in the history of the Central African Republic and Central African Empire since independence was obtained from the French on 13 August 1960...
François Bozizé
François Bozizé
François Bozizé Yangouvonda is the President of the Central African Republic. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé and ushered in a transitional period of government...
, the APRD was the last of the three rebel coalitions to engage in the 2007 peace process. The group participated in the 2008 Inclusive Peace Dialog, and in early 2009 entered a coalition government with Bozizé and other civil and military oppositions groups.
2006–2007: formation and war
The APRD was initially formed of elements of the Patassé's former Presidential Guard, along with autonomous semi-armed community defense groups of the northeast of the CAR. Between these two elements, the APRD fielded around a thousand fighters, most poorly armed. The APRD initially appeared in an attack on government forces in the northeastern town of PaouaPaoua
Paoua is a town located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Ouham-Pendé. Paoua and its surrounding territories have become something of a ghost town after rebel and government soldier attacks in 2006 and 2007, with much of the population fleeing into the bush or into refugee camps. The...
in January 2006. Initially led by former presidential guard lieutenant Florian Djadder, the APRD became a coalition of former Patassé loyalists, and local northeastern groups, some armed only with homemade weapons, who had appeared after CAR army attacks on northern towns in 2006. From 2006, the APRD was one of three politico-military fronts engaged in a war against the government of the CAR. These other groups were the Democratic Front for the People of the Central African Republic (FDPC) led by Abdoulaye Miskine and the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity
Union of Democratic Forces for Unity
Union of Democratic Forces for Unity is a rebel group which fought against the government in the Central African Republic Civil War. The Central African Republic has accused the UFDR of being backed by the government of Sudan....
(UFDR) led by Zakaria Damane, both based in the northeast of the nation, near the regional center of Birao
Birao
Birao is the capital of Vakaga, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic and was an administrative post in the colony of Ubangui-Shari. In March 2007, the town was almost completely burnt down in the fighting between rebels and government troops in the area...
. During the 2006–2007 fighting, the APRD was accused of using child soldiers and a number of human rights abuses. The APRD in turn, accused the government of widespread attacks upon civilians and human rights violations. Low level fighting between the government, the APRD, and armed criminal gangs continued sporadically in Ouham
Ouham
Ouham is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bossangoa.-Geography:The prefecture is in the nord-west of the Central African Republic. In the north it has a border with the Chad. In the south is the prefecture Ombella-Mpoko, in the west the prefecture...
, Ouham-Pende
Ouham-Pendé
Ouham-Pendé is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bozoum. The region contains several ghost towns such as Goroumo, Beogombo Deux and Paoua due to government forces ransacking them and armed bandits killing all the male inhabitants over the years from 2005 to...
, and Nana-Grebizi
Nana-Grébizi
Nana-Grébizi is one of the 2 economic prefectures of the Central African Republic. It covers an area of 19,996 km² and has a population of 87,341 . The capital is Kaga Bandoro....
Departments throughout 2006, and up until the 2008 cease fire. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
has reported that APRD bands have not only attacked government targets, but systematically extorted taxation from local people, looted villages and stolen herds. In response "CAR security forces have committed serious and widespread abuses against the civilian population, including multiple summary executions and unlawful killings, widespread burning of civilian homes, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of persons, instilling terror in the civilian population."
2008 peace process
Since March 2008, the APRD began its conversion from a military coalition, to a political front. The political voice of the APRD, Captain Laurent Djim Woei Bebiti, was superseded in his political role as the group's first President, exiled former Patassé Defense Minister Jean-Jacques DémafouthJean-Jacques Démafouth
Jean-Jacques Démafouth is a political leader in the Central African Republic. He is a former Defense Minister, Presidential candidate, and is the current political leader of the APRD rebel group...
, was chosen by a congress of the party. Démafouth reported that he did not seek the post, and only accepted it as a civilian leader on the condition that "the APRD must agree to an inclusive political dialogue and sign a peace accord with the Bangui authorities." President Bozizé had proposed this "inclusive dialogue" process on 8 October 2007.
After a number of failed peace building attempts, the APRD signed a cease fire on 9 May 2008. Along with the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity
Union of Democratic Forces for Unity
Union of Democratic Forces for Unity is a rebel group which fought against the government in the Central African Republic Civil War. The Central African Republic has accused the UFDR of being backed by the government of Sudan....
(UFDR) rebels led by Michel Detodia
Michel Detodia
Michel Detodia was a rebel leader who was the leader of the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity and the Patriotic Action Group for the Liberation of Central African Republic in the Central African Republic Bush War between 2004-2007....
, the APRD then agreed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the APRD and UFDR on 21 June 2008 in Libreville
Libreville
Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in west central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region. As of 2005, it has a population of 578,156.- History :...
, in a process negotiated by Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
President Omar Bongo
Omar Bongo
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba , born as Albert-Bernard Bongo, was a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009....
.
The APRD delegation to President Bozizé's December 2008 Inclusive Political Dialogue (IPD) was led by Démafouth, APRD spokesman Bienvenue Dokoto, and APRD military leader Colonel Lakoye Maradas. Participants in this 12 day conference also included Former President Patassé, a civilian opposition umbrella called the United Stakeholders Force (UFVN), the (FDPC) rebels, and the Central African Liberation Movement for Justice (MLCJ) rebels. Planned for several months, the APRD and others had walked out of planning for the IPD in October 2008 over concerns about proposed amnesty laws. An agreement on the IPD was finally reached with the mediation of Gabonese President Omar Bongo
Omar Bongo
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba , born as Albert-Bernard Bongo, was a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009....
. The December meetings agreed a plan to form a multi-party government of national unity and to prepare for elections in 2010, along with a nationwide "truth and reconciliation" commission.
On 30 December 2008, Démafouth represented the APRD at a reconciliation ceremony in Paoua
Paoua
Paoua is a town located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Ouham-Pendé. Paoua and its surrounding territories have become something of a ghost town after rebel and government soldier attacks in 2006 and 2007, with much of the population fleeing into the bush or into refugee camps. The...
, Ouham-Pendé
Ouham-Pendé
Ouham-Pendé is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bozoum. The region contains several ghost towns such as Goroumo, Beogombo Deux and Paoua due to government forces ransacking them and armed bandits killing all the male inhabitants over the years from 2005 to...
, CAR. Démafouth addressed government, rebel, NGO, and civil society leaders and "asked for forgiveness from the population of the city and announced that all the barriers erected by the APRD would be lifted" allowing free travel from the north to the south of the country.
In January 2009 the APRD had one of its members chosen for the 32 member cabinet of president Bozizé. François Naouyama became environment minister, while one UFDR leader became minister for housing. The APRD leadership has criticized the appointments as too little.