Bishop Tutu: Central African Republic on "brink of genocide"

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 21 (UPI) -- Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said the Central African Republic is on the edge of genocide.

In a statement released by the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the Nobel Peace Prize winner noted, “The country stands on the brink of genocide. Some would say it has already commenced,” noting the beleaguered country’s internal struggles for power and resources in the past year have “degenerated into anarchy, hatred and ethnic cleansing.”

He called the United Nations’ plan to deploy a peacekeeping force a “massive relief,” and joined U.N. secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for the Central African Republic to “rekindle the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.” Armies from the region, from France and from the European Union have attempted to keep peace in the country.

Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) launched a fundraising drive earlier this month to aid the nation, saying it faced a “growing humanitarian crisis” and noting nearly one million people have been displaced in the Central African Republic.

[Johannesburg Mail and Guardian]