IVORY COAST: FROM REBELLION TO COUP TO CIVIL WAR

IVORY COAST: FROM REBELLION TO COUP TO CIVIL WAR

What is the latest news about the situation in the Ivory Coast?

Ivory Coast's second largest city of Bouaka was reported to be tense but quiet on Wednesday after an attempt by government forces to take the city from rebel forces failed. On Monday the government claimed to have dislodged the rebels holding the town, but President Laurent Gbagbo conceded on Tuesday that Bouake was “not totally under the control of the army,” reported the Guardian newspaper. The battle for Bouaka followed a mediation attempt last week by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in an attempt to resolve the crisis, which began on September 19. However, the peace mission reached stalemate when Gbagdo refused to sign a ceasefire accord with the rebels, arguing that sitting at the same table with the rebels would legitimize them. Gbagdo this week hinted at a fresh West African peace effort led by Senegal. Senegal's president Abdoulaye Wade is the current chairman of the regional community and Ecowas leaders fear the conflict could spread to other countries in the region. The rebels now appear to control significant sections in the north of Ivory Coast.

What are Ivory Coast's statistics?

The information portal www.worldinformation.com lists GDP per capita for 2000 at US$573. Real GDP growth for 2000 was at negative 2.3% and at negative 0.9% in 2001. GDP in 2000 was $10.4 billion. Foreign debt for 2001 was estimated at US$11.2 billion. Naturaul resources include petroleum, diamonds and gold mining. Agriculture made up 26% of he GDP in 1999 with the main crops consisting of cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, corn, rice and tropical foods. According to the US State Department country fact sheet, literacy is at 51% and life expectancy at 46 years.

The administrative capital city is Yamoussoukro, with Abidjan acting as the economic centre. Bouake in the north and Daloa are other major cities. Out of a population of 16.4 million, www.countrywatch.com says 34% are Christian and 27% Muslim. Of the more than five million non-Ivoirian Africans living in Ivory Coast, one-third to one-half are from Burkina Faso; the rest are from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Liberia, and Mauritania, says the US State Department.

What is the Ivory Coast's post-independence track record?

The country became independent from France on August 7, 1960, with the post independence period dominated by Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President of the republic and leader of the Parti Democratique de la Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) until his death on December 7, 1993. He was followed by Henri Konan Bedie as president, who was toppled from power by General Robert Guei in the country's first ever coup in December 1999.

Guei, who was found shot dead shortly after the current crises began, formed a government of national unity and promised open elections. In the elections of 2 000 and with early polling results showing Gbagbo in the lead, Guei claimed polling fraud, stopped the process, disbanded the election commission, and declared himself the winner. Gbagbo supporters took to the streets of Abidjan. A bloody fight followed as crowds attacked the guards protecting the presidential palace. Many gendarmes and soldiers joined the fight against the junta government forcing Guei to flee. Hundreds were killed in subsequent unrest, says the US State Department country briefing.

Who are the rebels?

Three weeks after the conflict started it is still not completely clear who the rebels are or what they want. One theory says that the soldiers were part of a group recruited when Guei was in power in 2000. This year the Gbagbo government decided these soldiers – thought to number about 1 000 - were surplus to requirements. The dissatisfaction of these soldiers led to a mutiny, says this theory. However, as the BBC pointed out in a September 27 report, simultaneous attacks on Abidjan, Bouake and Korhogo would appear to suggest something more than just a mutiny. This was confirmed when the government said it was facing an attempted coup. The government also strongly hinted at the involvement of a foreign state, pointing the finger in the direction of Burkino Faso to the north, without naming them. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso have for many years had strained relations because of what Burkina perceives as the oppression of fellow Muslims in its southern neighbour.

What was/is the human rights situation in the country?

According to the Ivorian Human Rights Movement dozens of Ivorian nationals, including politicians and ordinary citizens, have been in custody for the last two weeks. Its vice president, Ibrahima Doumbia, told BBC News Online that many other people were unaccounted for. Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that the conflict has heightened ethnic and religious tensions in the country between Christians in the South and Muslims in the North. In addition, the BBC said that soon after news of the uprising spread and government forces began to regain control of Abidjan, security forces and supporters of Gbagbo attacked shantytowns in the city which house West African immigrants. The country’s recent human rights record has not been sparkling. US-based research group Africa Analysis has previously pointed to weaknesses in upholding human rights in the country, especially with regards foreigners or immigrants. The organisation says the country lacks a viable civic consciousness and says there is a need for the awareness and conditions of human rights to be created throughout the country. In September 2000, Amnesty International published a report entitled ‘Cote d' Ivoire: Some military personnel believe they have impunity above the law’ which denounced human rights violations. According to Amnesty International, during Guei's reign certain military groups committed grave attacks on family members of Bedie, and against lawyers and journalists - with complete impunity. The armed forces also delivered up to summary execution presumed lawbreakers, sometimes in public and after these individuals had been stripped naked.

What has Ivory Coast's role been regionally and what will the impact of the current conflict be on West Africa?

A BBC report from Ivory Coast on September 26 pointed to the danger of Ivory Coast becoming the centre of a regional power struggle as rebel and government forces fought over the country and foreign armies intervened to protect their interests. The BBC report said Ghana and Nigeria had already pledged military assistance to the Ivorian Government but the position of others was less clear. While no evidence had been provided to prove Burkina Faso’s involvement, the country had shown sympathy to the Muslim opposition in Ivory Coast. In addition Ivory Coast has been seen as an economic hub in West Africa and destabilisation could have a serious impact on the entire region.

Links:
* Thousands flee Ivory Coast city
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2079211,00.html
* The BBC's Ivory Coast coverage
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2315537.stm
* AllAfrica.com's Ivory Coast page
http://www.allafrica.com/cotedivoire/
* Other Links
http://www.countrywatch.com
http://www.worldinformation.com
http://www.africaanalysis.org
http://www.abidjan.org