Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abidjan (Fides Service)- “For the moment, the emergency is over and all is calm” a missionary in Bouake told Fides Service. Bouake is the main town in the northern region Ivory Coast in the hands of the New Forces rebel group. As Fides reported on 19 November rebel troops were on the alert after a high ranking army office had declared that fighting could resume any moment. “The rebels paraded their heavy military equipment along the southern roads of the northern area under their control” the missionary told Fides. “On the road to Yamoussoukro I myself saw 7-8 pick ups carrying troops armed with rocket launchers and light guns. Now however the relative calm which characterised recent months has returned” said the missionary.
“To speak of a return to normality is in fact rather a paradox, seeing the conditions in which people in rebel controlled areas are forced to live. Here only the few who have some savings still live more or less decently but the majority of people have been forced to move away to find work. No one wants to invest in the area because of the lack of security. By day the situation is bearable but by night robberies, sacking and looting are regular occurrences. At 7pm the curfew starts and people stay at home also out of fear of being robbed. If this situation continues I fear that we may have to celebrate Christmas Mass at four in the afternoon on the 24th December or else we will be faced with an empty church.”
“Sadly there is still no sight of a solution at the political level” local sources told Fides. “Both sides, government and rebels, are intransigent. On the part of the government, bellicose declarations by some political and military leaders show a temptation to solve the political impasse with force. While the rebels have asked too much from President Gbagbo (including Defence and Home ministries), and now cannot go back to more moderate positions for fear of losing face.”
“Also the request for autonomy for rebel controlled areas must face considerable difficulty, without full accord with Abidjan” our sources say “It is enough to think of what happened when the schools in the region were preparing for end of school exams. For the results to be accepted all over the country, the ministry of education in Abidjan was to send an official to Bouake, but he never arrived due to problems with security ”. “
“The rebels, aware of their weakness, insist on a UN intervention with a peacekeeping force. But so far the international community has shown no signs that make us hope in a rapid solution to the crisis” our sources conclude. (L.M.) (Fides Service 20/11/2003 lines 42 words 565)
