Thousands march in support of Bozize

Thousands of people, estimated at 50,000, staged a demonstration on Friday in the streets of the Central African Republic (CAR) capital, Bangui, in support of Francois Bozize, the new CAR leader who took power in a coup on 15 March. The demonstration was organised by the Concertation des partis politiques d'opposition (CPPO), a 12-party alliance that has declared its support for Bozize. The mostly youthful placard-carrying demonstrators, from the eight districts of Bangui, converged at city centre in the morning to begin the demonstration. On the way to the city centre, about 3,000 marchers from the third district stopped in front of the Nigerian embassy, where they sang the national anthem. Leaders of the Mouvement de liberation du peuple centrafricain (MLPC) of the now-ousted President Ange-Felix Patasse - among them former ministers, members of parliament and their families -have sought refuge at the Nigerian embassy since the coup. The chairman of the CPPO, Abel Goumba, who was recently appointed prime minister to head the transitional government, addressed the demonstrators before they left the city centre for Barthelemy Boganda Stadium. He said, "What happened on 15 March was not a military coup ... but a patriotic jump, a revolution of the people." During the demonstration, the marches chanted: "Patasse assassin, Bozize liberator". At the Barthelemy Boganda Stadium, representatives of political parties, the youth, women and religious communities addressed the crowd, and thanked Bozize for his "salutary" action. Bozize, who made a surprise appearance at the stadium, spoke in Sangho, the local language, and thanked the demonstrators for their support. He urged them to resume work. The MLPC was the only political party that did not take part in Friday's demonstration. It has denounced what it terms "the lack of consensus" in Goumba's appointment as prime minister. "The MLPC executive board realises that through that non-consensual appointment, the president of the republic has forced the MLPC into the opposition. That opposition will be a responsible one," the party's executive board said in a memorandum issued on 24 March and signed by the party's first vice-chairman, Hugues Dobozendi. Meanwhile, Jeune Afrique L'Intelligent, a privately owned Paris weekly magazine, reported that Patasse, who has been in the Togolese capital, Lome, since 20 March, had said he would soon form the "Front de liberation du peuple centrafricain" to remove Bozize from power.