Badji remains interim Secretary General

Senegal's armed opposition group, the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC- French acronym) has reiterated that its current leader, Sidy Badji, was chosen by the group's executive bureau and has effectively replaced former head Jean-Marie Francois Biagui who resigned earlier this month. The MFDC's clarification follows reports in the Senegalese press that Biagui and the group's honorary president Augustin Diamacoune, a Roman Catholic deacon, were leading the organisation. Biagui, who had been elected Secretary General in replacement of Diamacoune at the MFDC's latest convention, resigned from his post on 5 November. On 6 November, Sidy Badji was chosen as the group's interim secretary general (SG). A statement from the MFDC on Tuesday said Diamacoune, now honorary president, on 8 November re-appointed Biagui to the post he had just vacated. One week later, Biagui created a new executive bureau. "Jean-Marie Francois Biagui resigned on 5 November 2001 and his acts have no effect for the Movement"the statement said. The statement also said that "Deacon Diamacoune Senghor has no decision-making power and is not supported by any of the structures of the Movement". Two dailies, le Soleil and Sud Quotidien, reported on Monday that the group was now headed by Biagui and Diamacoune, adding that current SG Badji had proclaimed himself head. The papers also reported the spokesman, Alexandre Djiba, and others as having been dismissed from the group, an allegation Djiba denied. The MFDC accuses Diamacoune, aided by government authorities, of fomenting this latest crisis. It denied what the dailies called "a leadership struggle", saying it is an artificial one created by those who want to destabilise it. The MFDC, an armed organisation, has been fighting since 1982 for the right to self-rule for the Casamance area, virtually cut off from the rest of the country by the Gambia. Peace talks between the MFDC and the government have been postponed several times for numerous reasons, including continued fighting between the groups and government troops and disagreement over the location of the talks and the choice of facilitators. The armed group said on Tuesday that it is ready for peace negotiations on "neutral territory".