Special report on the disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration of ex-fighters - Continued

REINTEGRATION Once demobilised, former fighters must be eased back into the military or civilian life. Some of Bozize's 1,000 men have been disarmed and are now being trained in local and Chadian military camps. In August, 362 of them were integrated into the army after two months of basic training. But the slow pace of the process has angered some fighters, 100 of whom blocked traffic in a north Bangui suburb for hours on 18 October. "We want the General [Bozize] to honour his promise of sending us to training centres before our integration," one of the strikers, who requested anonymity, told IRIN. During his rebellion, Bozize recruited heavily among children aged 15 to 16 years. The recruits received no military training and displayed a total lack of discipline, which was illustrated by a spate of looting and human rights abuses that they perpetrated just after the coup. More successful has been the reintegration of at least 800 former CAR soldiers, most of them members of Kolingba's Yakoma ethnic group. They had fled with him in June 2001 after he failed to overthrow Patasse. Most of them had also taken part in the 1996-97 mutinies. But following the general amnesty granted to all participants in the May coup, the government body in charge of overseeing the repatriation of refugees, the Commission Nationale d'Accueil des Rapatries (CNAR) asked for them to be allowed to return, along with other refugees. On 1 August, 275 former soldiers returned from Camp Bokilio, in northwestern DRC, with the help of the UN Mission in the DRC and the UN mission the CAR, BONUCA. Many more had previously rejoined Bozize's rebellion or returned home spontaneously after his victory over Patasse. A presidential decree setting up the CNAR in May had indicated that the returning soldiers would be integrated into the army after a case-by-case examination. The integration of former mutineers was not as rapid. Nicolas Tiangaye, chairman of the National Transitional Council, the nation's legislative body, called on 4 September for the integration of returnees in the army or public service to be speeded up. He said they needed to regain "their social and professional stability". "I spent three months before integration into the public service," Anicet Sollet, an army major who led the November 1997 mutiny, told IRIN. Bozize appointed him in August as officer in charge of special duties at the Ministry of Territorial Administration. Sollet was among those sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the May 2001 coup. He said the integration of former mutineers was being delayed by "administrative hardships" motivated by ethnic considerations. Inter-ministerial teams have been set up to deal with the integration of former mutineers and Bozize fighters into the army or public service. These actions are aimed at averting frustration among these elements, thereby reducing the risk of another rebellion.

Former soldiers return to Bangui from the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the River Oubangui. 1 August 2003

A former Bozize fighter, Eric Mbelenga, 17, said he was integrated into the army on 11 October, promoted to sergeant and awarded a monthly wage of 67,999 francs CFA. Still, even among those reintegrated, such as Cpl Michel Koyessa, a former mutineer who took part in Kolingba's coup, frustration remains. He said none of the returnees had been appointed to senior army ranks and that former mutineers were still very suspicious of the government's real intentions. Moreover, he said, the government had failed to pay salaries, thereby placing returning families in precarious situations. The minister for communications in charge of the reconciliation process, Col Parfait Mbaye, who is also the CNAR deputy chairman, told IRIN on 22 October that 60 percent of the 800 former mutineers had been integrated either into the army or the public service. He said only the cases of those who had returned from Bokilio in August were still under review. But help was expected from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). UN SUPPORTS VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR DISARMED CIVILIANS The UNDP, through the country's National Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reinsertion Programme (Programme National de Desarmement, Demobilisation et de Reinsertion, PNDR), started a vocational training programme in August for 220 youths who had voluntarily surrendered their weapons. The head of the PNDR, Harouna Dan Malam, told IRIN that from 15 June 2002 to 15 March 2003, the body had recovered 209 small arms; three machine guns, 134,000 rounds of ammunition, 1,361 grenades, 27 mortar bombs, 54 rockets and one antipersonnel mine - all of which were burnt on 25 July. Harouna said the PNDR, whose authority is limited to dealing with civilians holding illegal weapons, had set aside 35 million francs CFA ($58,300) for training the 220 youths as carpenters, electricians, mechanics and tailors, and in other trades. He said the PNDR had another $110,000 to buy tools for each trainee when the four-month courses ended in December. Each trainee would receive tools and equipment worth $500, enabling him to start a new business. "We have formed a cooperative which will open a garage at the end of the training", Wilmer Nzia, 34, a former Patasse rebel fighter, told IRIN. Like 52 others, Nzia has been training as an auto mechanic since August at Bangui's Institut Moderne des Metiers Specialises. The institute's chairman, Gyslain Zangas, told IRIN that the school was also offering training for electricians, as well as training in electronics, civil engineering and welding. Former fighter Mahamat Asseyanga-Ndouba, a 40-year-old father of 10 who was training as an electrician said: "With my training, I will open a workshop and be able to feed my family." Many other vocational training centres have received ex-fighters who will be given certificates of competency at the end of their instruction in December. "They will be able to earn money, especially if they form associations and open workshops," Zangas said. EXTENSION OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING UNDER CONSIDERATION Consultations between the government and its partners, including the World Bank and the EC, are under way with a view to integrating the PNDR into a Multi-country Demobilisation and Reinsertion Programme (MDRP) encompassing seven central African states: Angola, Burundi, the CAR, Republic of the Congo, the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. [Ends]