The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. Rene Lemarchand

crimes and ask forgiveness, there can be no basis for reconciliation. Negotiations, no matter how carefully orchestrated, are no substitute for healing. In the words of Frank Chikane, former Secretary-General of the South African Conference of Churches, “negotiations can result from political pressures or from a mutual decision by parties to avoid a war because the costs are too great. This does not necessarily mean that the parties have had a change of heart—they are simply relocating the battleground to the negotiation table.”¹⁶