Bemba’s intervention during coup was “needed”

Central African Republic’s foreign minister, Agba Otikpo Mezode reiterated on Tuesday in an interview with the Congolese TV that the intervention by rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba’s troops to quash the coup in that country in May, was much “needed”. “We were faced with a life-threatening situation, or rather a crucial situation, which needed to be settled,” the minister explained. “Bemba brought assistance, as you know, unconditional assistance. We did not make any strong commitment to Bemba in exchange for anything I know of. It is true that we bneeded his intervention to avoid the appearance of a major front in central Africa,” he said. Medoze said that the country needed Bemba’s assistance was necessary to “avoid a civil war”. “But it is all over now. By the fourth day, Bemba’s troops withdrew unconditionally to the other bank.” “People quipped about this. Some tried to make use of it to create some sort of tension between out two countries. But, thank God, I think that our statesmen are intelligent enough to elude this trap, and the case is being settled without a hitch,” he said. Mezode said that his country would not agree to any action against the DRC being conducted from its soil. “I believe that Bemba’s assistance has always been needed, but he asked us to dialogue with the central government. In this regard, there was no change,” he added. He noted that the current agreement between the DRC and the CAR government in which DRC agreed to supply the latter with fuel was for the benefit os CAR citizens and would contribute to the resumption of CAR economic activities. “If economic activities pick up, people would be busy and would think less of rebelling or organising coups, and so on. So if the region has security, our common border will automatically be secure,” he explained. “Have no fears, we cannot decently agree to carry fuel to Bemba, especially as we need it, we have a great need for it. What we want actually is what you do not need. We have huge needs,” he said. Bemba intervened to help CAR government quash a coup attempt in May in which at least 20 people died. There have been reports that at the same time, he was housing the CAR coup leader, Kolingba. There have also been fears from the DRC government side that CAR government may start supplying Bemba’s rebel Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) with fuel.