Central African Republic President Refuses To Leave Power, Defying Rebels
https://nigeriaafrica1.blogspot.com/2013/01/central-african-republic-president.html
Central African Republic President Francois Bozize will refuse to leave power during talks with rebels, his spokesman said on Thursday, rejecting the insurgents' main demand and raising the prospect of a return to fighting.
The Seleka rebel alliance, which has accused Bozize of reneging on a past peace deal, advanced to within striking distance of the mineral-rich nation's capital this week before bowing to international pressure to start negotiations.
A week before those talks were due to start, a spokesman for Bozize's ruling KNK party said the president's departure would not be on the agenda.
"The question of President Bozize leaving ... will be rejected systematically if it is proposed," Cyriac Gonda told Reuters.
"For us, the solution is to form a unity government with everyone," he added, reiterating a previous offer by Bozize to give government posts to the rebels.
The spokesman for the CPSK, one of the rebel groups that form Seleka, said on Thursday a peace deal would not be possible without Bozize's unconditional exit.
The advance by Seleka, an alliance of five armed groups, was the latest in a series of revolts in a country at the heart of one of Africa's most turbulent regions.
CAR remains plagued by poverty and underdevelopment despite its reserves of diamonds, gold and other minerals.
French nuclear energy group Areva mines the country's Bakouma uranium deposit - France's biggest commercial interest in its former colony.
A week before those talks were due to start, a spokesman for Bozize's ruling KNK party said the president's departure would not be on the agenda.
"The question of President Bozize leaving ... will be rejected systematically if it is proposed," Cyriac Gonda told Reuters.
"For us, the solution is to form a unity government with everyone," he added, reiterating a previous offer by Bozize to give government posts to the rebels.
The spokesman for the CPSK, one of the rebel groups that form Seleka, said on Thursday a peace deal would not be possible without Bozize's unconditional exit.
The advance by Seleka, an alliance of five armed groups, was the latest in a series of revolts in a country at the heart of one of Africa's most turbulent regions.
CAR remains plagued by poverty and underdevelopment despite its reserves of diamonds, gold and other minerals.
French nuclear energy group Areva mines the country's Bakouma uranium deposit - France's biggest commercial interest in its former colony.
