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Bacar may apply for asylum: court

A man holds a sign reading ''Bacar, you are a dead man'' in Saint Denis, Reunion, on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

A court on the French island of Reunion has annulled proceedings against a deposed rebel leader from the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros, opening the way for Mohamed Bacar to apply for asylum in France.

Ousted four days ago by African Union forces, Colonel Bacar fled to the French island of Mayotte by speedboat with 22 supporters and the group was then transferred to Reunion. They were charged with illegally entering French territory and breaking weapons laws.

On Saturday, the court cited a technical glitch and annulled the case. The top official in Reunion, Prefect Pierre-Henry Maccioni, then ordered the group expelled from French territory, but first put them under "administrative house arrest."

The move effectively gives Bacar time to formally apply for asylum after making an initial request in Mayotte.

The group was taken to military barracks to shouts by some 60 people outside the court of "assassins" and "judicial masquerade."

"We want Mohamed Bacar to be sent home and judged in the Comoros," said Amina Housseine, one of the Comoros demonstrators.

The Comoros government had called on France to hand over Bacar for trial there, and French Defense Minister Herve Morin told France Inter radio on Friday that France was discussing the extradition request. France and the Comoros do not have an extradition treaty but that does not exclude such a move, the Foreign Ministry said.

Officials in Comoros did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on Saturday.

Bacar first gained control of Anjouan -- one of the Comoros' three main islands -- during a 2001 military coup and suggested he would seek independence from the archipelago. He was elected Anjouan's regional president in disputed polls in 2002 and in May.

Bacar was ousted on Tuesday by Comoros government troops supported by African Union forces and with logistical help from France, which transported Tanzanian troops to Comoros for the operation after mediation with Bacar failed.

The Comoros islands have experienced a series of coups and political upheavals since gaining independence from France in 1975.

The late Bob Denard, a French mercenary, controlled the Comoros behind a figurehead leader for most of the 1980s.
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