Abidjan (Fides Service)- Ivory Coast is waiting to see what happens during the Opposition demonstration on March 25. “Today there is less tension then yesterday when people feared the nation was on the edge of a precipice” a missionary in Bouake, told Fides. Bouake, the main city in the north, has been in the hands of the New Forces rebels since September 2002.
“There appeared to be no room for mediation, but luckily in the evening we heard the news that President Laurent Gbagbo and the leader of the Ivory Coast Democratic Party, former President, Henri Konan Bedie were meeting” the Missionary told Fides. The Ivory Coast Democratic Party PDCI, formerly the only party in the country, founded by the father of the fatherland Felix Houphouët-Boigny, who withdrew from the interim government in mid March to protest against the non-implementation of points on the Peace Agreement signed January 2003 in France which ended the civil war. The PDCI, New Forces and other Opposition parties have organised a demonstration on March 25 to pressure the President. “The state of emergency has been revoked and this means the demonstration can take place. We hope the decision will serve to relieve tension still further” the missionary told Fides. However the army is on the alert to prevent incidents during the demonstration.
“The problems to be solved are laws on citizenship and land rights” the missionary told Fides. “In fact little progress has been made in this regard. At road blocks army troops still ask to see the old National Identity Card on which the holder’s ethnic group is indicated. The 2003 agreement in France stipulated that the Card was to be abolished and replaced with a new card on which ethnic origin is not indicated ”.
Another obstacle on the path to peace in Ivory Coast is that most militia groups are still armed. “Only a few militiamen have handed in their weapons and returned to army barracks seeing that many are mutinous soldiers. Most of the others are still armed” the source told Fides. “Here in the north the situation is complicated because there are three different kinds of troops: New Forces rebels, French troops of the Licorne Mission and African peacekeepers sent by CEDEAO Economic Community of West African States. All three carry out searches, set up road blocks and make life difficult for the people ”.
“Thank goodness as missionaries we are allowed to move around and no on stops us at road blocks. We are free to visit villages to carry out our pastoral and humanitarian work” the missionary told Fides. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 23/3/2004, righe 39 parole 491)