LIBREVILLE, Oct 1, 2008 (AFP) - A law passed in the Central African Republic to protect rebels and certain goverment officials from prosecution for some crimes is 'unacceptable,' rebel leader Jean-Jacques Demafouth said Wednesday.

The parliament of the Central African Republic (CAR) adopted Monday an amnesty law aimed at laying the foundations for a process of 'inclusive political dialogue' between the government and rebels.

Acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes do not apply under the new law, which also calls for an immediate ceasefire and for rebels to disarm.

'It is unacceptable. I will try to reopen the monitoring committee in Libreville (Gabon) so that we explain our position to the government again. We're not closing the door,' Demafouth told AFP.

Demafouth, a former defence minister in the country, lives in exile in Paris. He leads the rebel group the People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy (PARD) and the New Alliance for Progress (NAP) party.

'The conditions of the amnesty are not acceptable and risk provoking a reaction contrary to the PARD's wish for peace,' Demafouth said.

Demafouth said his party agreed that rebel elements should be restricted to the north of the country, but he stressed that this 'could not be done within two months' as the law requires.

'Two months is really too short,' Demafouth said.

He called upon Gabon and the United Nations to intervene to see that the text is redrafted. On August 1, The PARD withdrew from peace discussions, after opposing the draft amnesty legislation being discussed in parliament.

Seventy-two out of CAR's 104-member parliament voted to adopt the law, while one deputy abstained and 31 opposition members who refused to participate were counted as 'absent.'

One of the world's poorest nations, CAR is plagued by insecurity in its northern territories, where rebels and bandits have been battling government troops since President Francois Bozize's election victory in 2005.