Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abidjan (Fides Service)- In Cote D’ Ivoire army and rebel leaders have agreed on a calendar for disarmament, an important step on the path towards presidential elections scheduled for 30 October. According to the agreement, reached after 3 days of talks, 40,000 military in the rebel field and 15,000 regular army troops will be disarmed and de-mobilised between September and 3 October.
Men from both groups found suitable will be recruited to form a new national army the size of which has yet to be established
Disarmament of the factions was a central point in the latest “Pretoria 2” statement issued on 29 June (most of the talks were held in South Africa charged by the African Union to mediate the crisis in Cote D’ Ivoire.) Another major point of the “Pretoria 2” statement was the security of ministers members of the New Forces rebellion which controls the north and west of Cote D’ Ivoire whose representatives have not attended government meetings for some time.
There have been previous attempts to reach an agreement with regard to disarmament, the most recent reached in May was supposed to start on 27 June, but because of the political impasse the rebels refused to disarm on that date.
In fact the New Forces accepted to disarm on the condition that by 15 July Parliament must pass certain legislative amendments concerning the electoral provess and in particolar the creation of an independent electoral commission to follow presidential elections.
Since the outbreak of civil war in September 2002 and despite peace agreement signed in January 2003, Cote D’ Ivoire is still divided in two, with the north and west in the hands of a number of rebel formations grouped under the banner of the New Forces. In Cote D’ Ivoire there are three groups of peacekeepers: 6,000 sent by the United Nations, 12,000 by the West African Economic Community and 4,000 sent by France. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/7/2005 righe 33 parole 354)
