Government retains dialogue coordination team

The new administration in the Central African Republic (CAR) has retained the team appointed by former President Ange-Felix Patasse to coordinate plans for national dialogue, due to be held within the next two months. The dialogue coordinator, Bishop Paulin Pomodimo, and his deputy, Henri Maidou, met Communications Minister Parfait Mbaye on Monday to discuss the planned dialogue. "We are presently thinking about the new form for the national dialogue," state-owned Radio Centrafrique quoted Pomodimo as saying after the meeting with Mbaye. He said that the team would present the government with a number of proposals on how the talks should be conducted. He added the government would then chose one proposal for adoption. Patasse initiated the national dialogue in November 2002 to end the rebellion of the former army chief of staff, Francois Bozize, that had broken out in October. Bozize overthrew Patasse in a coup on 15 March and soon after dissolved the government, the national assembly and the constitution. He formed a government of national unity and established the National Transitional Council, of which Pomodimo is a member, to prepare for the national dialogue, among other duties. Pomodimo said Patasse "had given the impression of favouring a military solution" and urged the new administration to "go up to the end of its logic". He added that the dissolution of the constitution had made it easier to prepare the dialogue. On 25 June, Bozize announced that the dialogue would take place in two months and that Pomodimo's team would "reactivate" the donor community's support for the talks. Gabon and China have granted 100 million francs CFA (US $166,000) and 65 million francs ($108,000) in February and March, respectively.