Central African Republic President Francois Bozize dissolved the government on Sunday, a decree broadcast on national radio said, after pledging to form a unity government at recent peace talks.
While no explanation was given for Sunday’s move, Bozize had promised a new unity government after peace talks aimed at halting a near civil war ended last month.
During a visit to Libreville last week, Bozize had said a government would be formed “very soon,” without providing further details.
The current government led by Prime Minister Faustin-Archange Touadera was formed in January last year.
The long-delayed dialogue at last month’s 12-day peace talks brought together some 200 representatives of Touadera’s government, opposition, civil society groups and rebel movements. It was aimed at paving the way to ending unrest in the impoverished and landlocked country.
A new “consensus” government should be tasked with “restoring peace and security throughout the country” and “work for genuine and lasting reconciliation among its citizens,” the final report from the talks said.
It admitted that “the many forums for reconciliation and dialogue have not enabled the Central African Republic to be rooted definitively in peace, stability and development, as shown by the insecurity and tragic events that occur in the north of the country.”
A highlight of the conference that brought together the country’s various factions was the return of former president Ange-Felix Patasse after five years in exile in Togo to attend the talks.
Patasse made a striking vow to recognize Bozize, who ousted him in the 2003 coup, rather than call for his removal as some of his opponents have insisted.
“The solution is not to ask you to leave power. It rests mainly in the prospect of bringing the people to democratic, transparent and fair elections in 2010,” he said.
The report recommended the holding of municipal elections this year, followed by presidential and parliamentary polls next year.
It also called for auditing several economic sectors, disarming former combatants and creating a truth and reconciliation commission.
One of the world’s poorest countries, the Central African Republic has been racked for years by insecurity with rebel groups, bandits and government troops blamed for widespread criminal activity.
Following mediation efforts by Gabon, the government signed four peace accords with rebel groups between February 2007 and June last year.
Bozize first came to power in 2003 when as armed forces chief of staff he ousted the increasingly unpopular elected president Patasse after years of political turmoil and economic woes.
Once in power Bozize found the state coffers were virtually empty and began anti-corruption measures.
In May 2005, he won an election for president after overseeing a political transition.
Several areas of Thailand’s capital city Bangkok were inundated by continuous rain from Thursday afternoon to yesterday morning that has disrupted traffic and forced some residents to evacuate. Major canals in Bangkok filled with accumulated rainfall exceeding 20cm, officials said yesterday. Floodwaters spread across the city, particularly in the central and eastern parts, blocking roads and stopping traffic. The Thai Meteorological Department warned that the heavy rain would continue in most parts of the country through today, citing a strong low-pressure system over the central region and strengthening southwest monsoon conditions. More than 84,000 people in 21 provinces nationwide were
BAD TIMING: The disclosure of the incident, which is under investigation by at least two congressional committees, comes as Xi was to meet with Trump The Pentagon is investigating how parts of the US’ most advanced fighter jet ended up in Hong Kong, with a news outlet on Wednesday reporting that China has obtained the F-35 equipment. The F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement that it and the US Department of Defense are aware of “a shipment issue” with F-35 components. “We are actively working with US authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence,” the office said. UPS was shipping a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door from an Australian military F-35 that was being
Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition early yesterday said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis toward the kingdom. The coalition said in posts on social media that the missiles were headed towards Khamis Mushait and the drones toward the capital, Riyadh, adding that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details. The Saudi Civil Defense had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha, but not for Riyadh. The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks
IN DEFENSE: Australia said it takes the protection of classified and export-controlled tech extremely seriously amid concerns over reverse engineering A US House of Representatives committee that oversees defense policy is investigating the diversion of potentially sensitive F-35 jet components this year from Australia to Hong Kong, a spokesperson said. “The committee is aware of this issue and we’ve received multiple briefings on it,” House Committee on Armed Services spokesperson Heather Vaughan said, adding that the group is “continuing to look into the incident and conduct oversight.” The Pentagon’s F-35 program office said in a statement that “we are aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 components and we are actively working with US authorities and industry partners to retrieve these
RSS