Yearbook 2008
Central African Republic. In June, the government and
three rebel groups signed a ceasefire agreement aimed at
stopping years of armed conflict in the country's northern
parts. However, the formal peace talks that followed the
ceasefire went slow, and an amnesty for war crimes adopted
by Parliament in September was received with doubt by the
rebels, who considered the amnesty too tight. Meanwhile,
smaller rebel groups, which were not covered by the
ceasefire, continued to attack villages in the north.
Extensive strikes among teachers and other public
servants caused Prime Minister Élie Doté to resign in
January in the face of a threatening declaration of
confidence in Parliament. The dissatisfaction was great
among the government employees who did not receive a salary
for six months. Faustin Archange Touadéra, Professor of
Mathematics and Rector of the University of Bangui, was
appointed as new Prime Minister.
According to
Countryaah reports, a newspaper editor sentenced to six months in prison for
writing about corruption among ministers was pardoned by the
president. On the other hand, it was three years in prison
for two civil servants who falsified the president's
signature on a document ordering the education authorities
to approve 44 student bachelor's degrees. Both men must have
been paid by the students' parents to produce approved
grades.
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