45 VIII/ THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE C.A.R. IN THE APPLICATION OF THE CHARTER 1/ Political Problems Any viable political system should contribute towards providing a meaningful life for its citizens. From independence to date, the CAR has had different regimes: Single Party, Dictatorship and Multiparty systems. The political history of the country had been marked by a succession of dictators and single party regimes, the consequences of which had been the seizure of the political power by the Rulers, the deprivation of the fundamental rights and liberties of the citizens, the non participation of the population in the management of the nation’s affairs. Since the advent of democracy in the CAR in 1993, the country has known a series of militaro-political crises: - April 1996, first mutiny of the soldiers demanding the payment of their salaries; May 1996, new mutiny of the soldiers accompanied by rioting, looting and destruction; 15th November 1996, third mutiny by a section of the Central African Armed Forces (CAAF), demanding the deposition of the President; 27-28 May 2001, Coup attempt; 25-30 October 2002, Failure of the Coup attempt; 15th March 2003, toppling of the regime by a Coup d’Etat putting an end to the suffering of the Central African people. In effect, throughout all of the above listed gloomy and turbulent periods, there was restriction of the rights protected by the Charter in the country. Thus, blatant cases of human rights violations took place, which were deplored by the Government and human rights defenders. To the detriment of peace and social cohesion, several perpetrators who had been brought to justice and condemned benefited from an amnesty and presidential pardon. 2/ Economic Difficulties The economic problems experienced by the CAR had negative repercussions on human rights. The country undoubtedly has enormous potential in terms of resources (ground and under ground) but the lack of appropriate infrastructure to exploit them is a problem. Furthermore, the recurrent militaro-political crises in the CAR have brought about the deterioration of some of the economic fabric of the country. In effect, the national and international investors can be counted on the fingers of one hand. All the resources channelled towards the CAR are used to manage the conflicts that are generated and do not contribute in any way to the development of the country so as to ensure the well being of the citizens.