Angola is pushing forward the idea of the dialogue between the government of the Central African Republic and the rebel forces, that have been attacking the Central African civilian population and the national army since mid-December 2020.

Angola, one of the poorest countries in the world, is currently experiencing a serious economic crisis. Thus, when Luanda took a step forward to mediate the negotiations between the Central African government and the armed rebel group CPC, it raised some questions. What is Angola's role in this conflict and what is the benefit of Angolan officials?

The commentary by Gerard Grengbabo-Passi, historian and development project specialist, sheds fresh light on the situation.

One of the biggest scandals around Angola was the scandal of the secret sale and shipment of weapons from Central Europe to the Government of Angola by the French government in the 1990s, also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua affair, as it was orchestrated by Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, son of President FranCois Mitterrand, and Interior Minister Charles Pasqua.

French officials opened the supply line carrying weapons to the Angolan government via Slovakia. By the end of 1994, the Angolan government had purchased 633 million worth of arms, also opening access to its natural resources to French oil companies.

Even though the system was discovered and the highest officials involved in this illegal trade were trialled, the lower levels of management remained in the shadows, and according to experts in the illegal economy, the secret arms supply routes between Africa and Europe are still operating.

This shows that, first of all, Angola is interested in supplying arms to outlaw organizations in the Central African Republic. But the most important thing is that France still has levers of influence over Luanda and can use Angolan officials as intermediaries to promote French interests in the region. As we have seen in many other countries in francophone Africa, such as Mali, for example, Paris is desperately trying to maintain control over the continent's resource-rich places.

The instability in the country weakens the elected government of the Central African Republic, opening various opportunities for clandestine pressure from France, the former colonist in the Republic. This tactic is widely used by the former colonial powers on the continent, preventing young democracies from developing in the administrative and economical fields, as well as disallowing balance national resources management.

After the analysis, it becomes clear that the idea of dialogue with the armed groups of the Central African Republic is beneficial, first of all, to Angola and France, not to the Central Africans, who have clearly stated their position: no dialogue with terrorists.