AFRICA/IVORY COAST - “Dialogue at deadlock” locale Church sources told Fides commenting the battle in Ivory Coast between President and Premier

Abidjan (Fides Service)- “Dialogue has reached a deadlock and there seems to be no way out” said a local Church source in Abidjan, Ivory Coast where the political crisis between the President Laurent Gbagbo and the Opposition is ever more serious. “ For 3 months the cabinet of the national unity interim government has been unable to meet because of a protest by Opposition party ministry leaders” the source told Fides. “Last week the President’s decision to dismiss 3 ministers heightened the tension. Now the dispute between President Premier Seydou Diarra is on all sides”. Diarra wrote an open letter to the President expressing disapproval for the sacking of the three ministers and accusing the President of lying when he said that the Premier agreed with the dismissal.
The Opposition Parties accuse the President of failing to respect the peace agreement signed in France in January 2003 to put and end to civil war started in 2002. Since then Ivory Coast has been divided into the northwest in the hands of New Forces rebels and the rest of the country under government control.
“It is difficult to foresee what will happen now” local sources told Fides.
Relations between the President of Ivory Coast and the United Nations are also compromised after a report by the UN High Commission for Human Rights on violence committed during an Opposition demonstration on March 25. The UN report accused the police, paramilitary groups and “the highest state authorities” of organising “carefully planned operation” to repress the demonstration organised by the Opposition (see Fides 4 May 2004). The episode aggravated the situation because the presidency and opposition failed to agree with regard the number of people killed: 37 according to the president at least 200 according to the Opposition.
Yesterday May 24, the police dispersed women demonstrating in support of President Gbagbo in front of the UN offices in Abidjan. Another pro-President demonstration is expected today May 25 according to Fides sources.
Polemic with regard to the UN threaten to jeopardise the mission of about 6,000 UN peacekeepers being deployed in Ivory Coast to monitor the process of disarming the New Forces rebels. An indispensable move for the re-unification of the country. This operation of disarmament has been often announced but never started “and under the present circumstances it is almost impossible” local sources told Fides. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 25/5/2004, righe 39 parole 492)