Analyst Condemns Alleged Mobilisation of Head of Civil Society Group in CAR for Protest

Mary Nnah

A popular socio-political activist and analyst, Severin Medard Fouda, has condemned the alleged request by the United States, calling on the leadership of Civil Society Organisations, (CSOs) to embark on a protest in the Central African Republic, CAR.

Fouda, while condemning the request made by the U.S., made a particular reference to an incident which happened in early April this year.

He said, “In early April 2024, Paul Crescent Beninga, representative of the Groupement de la société civile (GTSC), addressed his compatriots via a video on social networks, calling for a large-scale demonstration.

“The rally, which took place on April 12 in Bangui, brought together around a hundred participants at the Martyrs traffic circle and was due to head towards the Central Energy Agency (ENERCA) building.

“It was later revealed that the American diplomatic service had paid for the organisation of this rally. French cell phone operator Orange leaked a telephone conversation dated April 15 between GTSC spokesman Paul Crescent Beninga and Pedro Campo-Boue, a Bangui-based U.S. State Department foreign service officer. In this conversation, Campo-Boue, buoyed by the success of the GTSC demonstration on April 12, asked Beninga to organise another, much larger gathering in Bangui.

“Beninga agreed to attract around 10,000 people and asked for $12 million, 15,000 bottles of water and white flags.

“But can we trust this information? Malijet’s investigative journalists believe that the French company may have deliberately put the phone recording online to denounce the negative influence of the United States on Central African society. In addition, French operator Orange has been seen on several occasions collaborating with the French Ministry of Defense, so recording the conversations of various politicians and activists is quite commonplace for Orange.

“It is obvious that the USA wants to destabilize peaceful life in CAR through demonstrations, as it has already done in many other countries, to consolidate its influence in the region and its total control of resources. After all, the United States is trying to take France’s place in Africa and monopolise the market. The competition between these two countries in the region is growing by the day,” he wrote and sent to the media Saturday evening.