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ECOWAS Warns Over Ivorian Peace Deal

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
September 15, 2003
Posted to the web September 15, 2003
Abuja
ABUJA - The executive secretary of the west African regional bloc warned this
weekend that the reconciliation process in Ivory Coast is in danger and accused
Ivorian leaders of undermining a peace deal. Almost one year after civil war
broke out, Mohammed ibn Chambas, chief official of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), said: "The situation is not evolving as it should
be."
He complained that Ivorian politicians had made "very unhelpful statements" and
warned that the international funding pledges for an ECOWAS peacekeeping
mission would run out before the end of the year. "We need to look at that," he
told reporters Friday. "As soon as things start improving in Liberia we have to
refocus on Cote d'Ivoire. We seem to be moving at too slow a pace there," he
said, using the French-speaking west African country's official name. ECOWAS
also has a peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast's neighbour Liberia, where it is
working to bring an end to another civil war.
Ibn Chambas was speaking before Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo on Sunday
urged his supporters to mount protests against the rebel groups which were
brought into government under an ECOWAS-mediated peace deal. Civil war erupted
in Ivory Coast on September 19 last year when an army mutiny developed into a
full-scale rebellion against Gbagbo's rule. Fighting officially ended on July
4, after a peace deal signed in the French town of Marcoussis, and the rebels -
rebaptised the "New Forces" - have joined a new government of national unity.
But tension persists and the New Forces have protested the president's
appointment of "neutral" ministers of defence and security. Gbagbo replied
Sunday by challenging the rebels to take action against him, "I appointed the
ministers of defence and interior, you say you are not happy: so one must act.
... A man does not say things unless he can accept the consequences," he said.
Ibn Chambas did not criticise anyone by name, but complained of "some very
unhelpful statements by high profile politicians in Cote d'Ivoire which don't
send a good signal that the spirit of Marcoussis is shared. "Yet the framework
in Marcoussis remains the only framework to bring about peace in that country.
We need to see a stronger commitment to move forward in implementing certain
aspects of Marcoussis," he said. In particular, he called on Ivorian lawmakers
to proceed with making legislative and constitutional changes that would
strengthen the hand of Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, head of the fragile unity
government. Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler France and ECOWAS member states
have sent peacekeepers to monitor the Ivorian ceasefire, with financial and
logistical support from the United States, Britain and Belgium. Ibn Chambas
said that current international commitment would support the troops "up to
November and into 2004". Diplomatic sources told AFP that ECOWAS was seeking
new funding promises from Europe to keep the force in the field.

   

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