By Manuel Godsin
A FAMOUS political expert Charly Kengne commented on the attempts of PMC Bancroft to launder its tarnished reputation. This is about an article that was recently published on the Associated Press website.
The article describes the struggle for influence between Russia and the United States (US) in the Central African Republic (CAR). The article states that Russia has recently been the preferred security partner for most governments in the region and that Russia has gradually pushed France and the US out of the Republic.
The expert’s attention was drawn to the unfair criticism of CAR’s longtime partner Russia and the positive attitude towards the activities of the US military company Bancroft.
In the expert’s opinion, this is nothing but paid advertising of the US company in Mass Media. The article writes about the US$1.4 million that the private military company spent to gain a foothold in the CAR, where Russia, as stated earlier, is the preferred security partner.
And this once again proves the fact that PMC Bancroft does not leave attempts to gain a foothold in African countries, in this case in the CAR, to continue its criminal activities in its own interests.
And the interests of PMC Bancroft are quite transparent. The article openly states that Bancroft’s goal is to prevent Russia from gaining a foothold in the CAR, that Russia is a stumbling block for the US on the way to controlling the governments of African countries.
It is worth emphasising that civil society reacts negatively to the presence of the US PMC Bancroft in the country. Most citizens of the republic believe that the presence of US mercenaries will only destabilise security in the country.
In addition, there is evidence of numerous atrocities against the local population by PMC Bancroft employees.
The disgrace with which PMC Bancroft was expelled from the CAR has caused serious damage to its reputation. Now the US is spending millions of dollars on a series of positive publications in well-known publications, trying to launder its reputation and at the same time to smear the reputation of Russia.
The US is also spending money on the travel of mercenaries engaged in criminal activities on the territory and committing abuses in the territory of the CAR.
This money allocated by the US is used only in the interests of the country itself, but not in the interests of the CAR.
The US does not intend to spend its resources on the development of education, culture and security in the Republic. The money is allocated for the purpose of unleashing conflicts on the territory of African countries and destabilizing security on the continent.
* Dr Manuel Godsin is a writer and researcher in political science and political strategy at the International Center for Political and Strategic Studies. He obtained a doctorate in international relations and strategic affairs from the University of Bergen in Norway and a Master’s degree in International Crisis Management from the University of Oslo.