Humanitarian Intervention, Or Militarized Quest for Resources?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/12/05-9



As violence spirals in Central African Republic, UN authorizes deployment of African Union, French forces

Humanitarian Intervention, Or Militarized Quest for Resources?
- Andrea Germanos, staff writer
Published on Thursday, December 5, 2013 by Common Dreams

As a "humanitarian crisis that has been largely ignored by the rest of the world" continues to grip the Central African Republic (CAR) on Thursday, new military forces are on their way to intervene, causing some to question the motives when a country with military might sends troops into its resource-rich, former colony.

The UN Security Council on Thursday authorized the deployment of African-led and French-backed forces there, the same day clashes in the capital of Bangui left over 100 dead.

The additional troops mean that France is doubling its number of forces there.

Reports about the current situation in the CAR are indeed dire. One AP photographer tweeted, "In 30 years I have rarely seen such scenes of desolation and despair." Over 400,000 people have been displaced, according to the UN, there have been reports of sexual violence, child soldiers and targeted assassinations, and the crisis has been called a "human catastrophe of epic proportions."

[pampango]

1. "In 30 years I have rarely seen such scenes of desolation and despair."

If, once again, the C.A.R. is today on the verge of collapse, as in Rwanda, France, through its unbridled greed, unending economic corporate exploitation and profound political cynicism, bears no small amount of the responsibility for the unfolding tragedy there. Having in large measure created the socio-economic conditions, the underlying causes of Central African misery, now France sends in the troops in an effort of damage control. But sending a few thousand soldiers to freeze the political crisis, done in a manner to maximize France’s public image can hardly undo the damage of six decades of Francafrique.

While it may be a good idea for the UN to intervene in this "human catastrophe of epic proportions" (which no one seems to disagree with), the choice of France to handle the military role is very questionable.