GABON: Central African Republic's government and rebels agree to form a unity government and President Bozize vows not to stand for re-election

Record ID: 349655

  • Title: GABON: Central African Republic's government and rebels agree to form a unity government and President Bozize vows not to stand for re-election
  • Date: 11th January 2013
  • Summary: LIBREVILLE, GABON (JANUARY 11, 2013) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** ***AUDIO AS INCOMING*** VARIOUS OF SELEKA REBEL COALITION LEADER MICHEL DJOTODIA (WEARING RED TIE) SIGNING PEACE DEAL WITH CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC OFFICIALS SELEKA REBEL COALITION LEADER MICHEL DJOTODIA AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC PRESIDENT FRANCOIS BOZIZE SHAKING HANDS VARIOUS OF CENTRAL AFR
  • Embargoed: 26th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Gabon
  • Country: Gabon
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8BPZH3TB8PZ0QYCRXRWBZ6872
  • Story Text: Central African Republic's government and rebels agreed to the formation of a national unity government under a ceasefire deal on Friday (January 11) to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital.
    The agreement, signed in Gabon's coastal capital after three days of negotiations mediated by regional neighbours, eases the biggest threat yet to President Francois Bozize's decade in charge of the minerals-rich former French colony.
    The deal calls for the new transitional government to have a prime minister drawn from the opposition and for a parliamentary election to be held within 12 months.
    The Seleka rebel coalition also asked for the release of political prisoners and the withdrawal of most of the foreign forces deployed to reinforce the country's military.
    The rebels had previously insisted that Bozize's resignation was a precondition for peace and that the president, who seized power in a Chadian-backed 2003 coup, should stand trial at the International Criminal Court.
    Chad President Idriss Deby, who attended the signing ceremony, said the deal would allow Bozize to complete his mandate, which expires in 2016.
    "The mandate of President Francois Bozize is a constitutional question. The constitution of the Central African Republic wasn't the subject of our debate. President Bozize is elected for a mandate of five years. And he should go to the end of his mandate in 2016. If the affairs of the Central African state mean that the right conditions are created in 12 months for legislative elections, so much the better. That's what we are looking for."
    A representative of the Seleka rebels told Reuters by phone that the ceasefire is contingent on their demands being met.
    Deby said the success of this deal also hinged on the support from the many heads of state present at the negotiations.
    "The new transitional government which will be set up will need our support, from us, the region. It will need our solidarity not only from the sub-region but outside the region, and we will turn to our traditional partners, on a multilateral as well as bilateral level."
    Seleka launched its insurgency in early December, accusing Bozize of reneging on a 2007 peace deal supposed to provide jobs and money to insurgents who laid down their weapons.
    Central African Republic is one of a number of countries in the region where U.S. Special Forces are helping local soldiers hunt down the Lord's Resistance Army, an unrelated rebel group that has killed thousands of civilians across four nations.
    The country remains one of the least developed nations on the planet despite rich deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium.
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