Cote d'Ivoire rebels, govt disagree over crisis
Oghogho Obayuwana (Just back from Cote d'Ivoire)
THERE may be no end in sight yet to the crisis rocking Cote 'd Ivoire as the rebel group and the country's Prime Minister Seydou Diarra have disagreed on the issue of laying down arms.
The rebels said the rejection by Ivorien President Laurent Gbagbo of a citizens bill tabled before that country's parliament, coupled with Abidjan's inability to institute general administrative and legislative reforms have been responsible for their continued hostility.
The leaders of the rebel movement made the submission while fielding questions from Nigerian journalists in their Buake (Northern Cote d'Ivoire) base, Chief of Defence, Col. Bakayoko Soumaila and civilian secretary general Ben Souk vowed to continue the defence of their huge territory where diamond wells abound because "the people up country do not feel like Ivoriens any more... we are treated like second class citizens and they say we are Muslims".
But the country's Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, whose emergence stemmed from the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in January last year frowned at what is popularly referred to as rebel politics. He, however, expressed fears of an impending civil war if the African Union (AU) backed new initiative, which began last week fails to sheathe the swords of both sides.
"President Thabo Mbeki is on the very last attempt at finding peace in our country. If this doesn't work, I fear our country will finally drift into a bitter civil war... we have been quite powerless seeing people moving away. Europeans, other Africans and the nationals, Diarra said.
Bakayoko regretted that Abidjan thwarted political reforms (beyond) the formation of GNU) which shouldn't have gone beyond September 13 this year.
This, according to him, should easily have led to the much expected disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration (DDR).
He continued "Accra 3 already provided a road map... it is the citizens bill that is at the heart of the matter. We are saying no to the stratification of our society and we are quite prepared to defend our territory. It is our only country now... we of the forces Novelle want legal experts to look at these things and have citizens nationality granted on natural rights and not granted on the basis of elections.
President of the Ivorien National Assembly, Kolulibaly Mamadou, had earlier dismissed claims by rebels that they were not being discriminated against. Urging them to respect the Ivorien constitution of the land, Mamadou maintained that underling issues fuelling the Ivorien debacle is "the battle of colonial interest, new colonization and the rejection of the Francophone development model by Cote d'Ivoire.
