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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Patasse calls international arrest warrant against him "null and void"

BANGUI, 2 September 2003 (IRIN) - Ange-Felix Patasse, the former president of the Central African Republic (CAR), has declared an international warrant for his arrest "null and void", saying he had filed a complaint with the state prosecutor against the man who ousted him, former military chief of staff Francois Bozize.

AFP reported that in his complaint, Patasse accused Bozize of "interruption of the democratic process, crimes against humanity, war crimes, rape, destruction of public property and conspiring with foreign elements". The agency quoted Patasse's foreign minister, Martial Beti-Marace, as saying that Patasse also intended to file a case against Bozize at the International Criminal Court.

State prosecutor Firmin Feindiro said on 25 August that the warrant against the deposed president resulted from the work of a joint judicial commission set up on 1 August to investigate embezzlement and corruption under Patasse's administration.

Overthrown by Bozize on 15 March after a six-month rebellion, Patasse spent 10 years in power. His administration failed to pay salaries for at least 30 months, which the new administration blamed on embezzlement and corruption. Patasse was believed to own timber, oil and diamond firms, which had all been suspended for suspicious financial dealings.

In a statement issued on Monday in Paris, Patasse's spokesman, Prosper N'douba, called Bozize's regime "illegitimate and illegal", adding that the African Union had not recognized the government. He denied any diversion of state funds, and called on the international community to support a return to constitutional order and the re-establishment of democratic institutions in the country.

N'douba said that failure by the state prosecutor to pursue Patasse's complaint against Bozize would be a "denial of justice".

Theme(s): (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights

[ENDS]

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