Patasse warns would-be "putschists and terrorists"

The office of President Ange-Felix Patasse of the Central African Republic (CAR) said on Wednesday that he was "astonished by the stance taken by opposition political parties, who have made themselves accomplices of putschist terrorists" by not only calling for amnesty for Gen. Francois Bozize and his followers, but for the withdrawal of Libyan troops from the country and for the dissolution of a judicial commission of inquiry set up to investigate the events of the failed coup of 28 May.

"The Office of the President of the Republic strictly cautions all political opposition parties and those who give in to putschist and terrorist temptations," the statement continued. "There is no place in the CAR for terrorism and terrorists. The people of the CAR want peace in order to implement a national programme of development."

Bozize, the former chief of the CAR armed forces, was relieved of his command on 26 Oct. as part of an ongoing governmental effort to restructure its defence and security apparatus following the failed coup. On 2 Nov., the judicial commission issued a warrant for Bozize's arrest. Soldiers loyal to Bozize came to his defence, and several days of fighting ensued before he and his troops were forced to retreat northward toward the Chadian border.

Asked on Wednesday by Radio France Internationale (RFI) whether he was planning a rebellion with "several scores" of troops loyal to him in locations along the Chadian border, Bozize said: "Everything will depend on the attitude of the CAR authorities. For the time being, we have confided in the Chadian authorities who want to initiate negotiations and undertake discussions with the ruling government, and we will see what is next."

Bozize, speaking from his refuge in Sarh, Chad, also told RFI that before he was forced to flee, he had told Lamine Cisse, the UN Representative of the Secretary-General in the CAR who was leading mediation efforts, that he agreed on three points for his surrender: the cancellation of the summons for Bozize's arrest, the opening of road traffic, and the declaration of pacification by Patasse. However, Bozize said he was "surprised by the attack by the government troops" on 7 Nov. who claimed he was prolonging negotiations in order to launch a coup with the aid of unnamed foreign backers. Government forces proceeded to dislodge Bozize and his supporters from the barracks where they had been based in northern Bangui.

Responding to recent reports from Bangui that an alleged accomplice had told CAR authorities that Bozize was plotting a coup against Patasse, Bozize told RFI that he did not know the supposed informant. "This is something they cooked up while I was away from Bangui. I do not know anyone by the name of Youssouf Sar, this is another one of their [CAR government] inventions," he said.

Meanwhile, CAR Prime Minister Martin Ziguele told AFP on Thursday that last week's standoff between government forces and those loyal to Bozize was likely to result in a 40 percent drop in tax revenues in November. According to the UN Development Programme, CAR ranks 166th out of 174 on the human development index. It is burdened by debt of more than US $800 million and an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 14 percent.