afrol News, 6 April - During peace talks in South Africa, all major parties to the conflict in Côte d'Ivoire have agreed to a new and comprehensive ceasefire, which outlines "the end of the war throughout the national territory." All principal Ivorian leaders, including President Laurent Gbagbo, have signed the agreement.
Since Sunday, South African President Thabo Mbeki has hosted peace talks for the Ivorian conflict parties in Pretoria. Participants in the discussions included Ivorian President Gbagbo, Prime Minister of national reconciliation Seydou Diarra, former President Henri Konan Bédié, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara and Forces Nouvelles leader Guillaume Soro.
Today, these men agreed to a new peace initiative to end the war that has split Côte d'Ivoire since September 2002. The new agreement is replacing an unpopular two-year-old French brokered peace deal, which never has been fully implemented. President Mbeki, who acts on behalf of the African Union (AU), was to find an African alternative to the French peace deal and vowed not to let the Ivorian leaders leave Pretoria until they found a solution.
The Pretoria peace agreement outlines a new commitment that "the war is over," thus obliging all parties to observe a nation-wide ceasefire. The parties "solemnly declare the immediate and final cessation of all hostilities" in the joint statement signed by all the present Ivorian leaders. Further, the joint statement recommits the parties to disarm and disband all militias on Ivorian territory as soon as possible.
The delicate issue of eligibility to the Ivorian presidency was not solved, but the parties agreed to a timetable to settle the dispute. Opposition leader Ouattara is believed to have won the October 2000 presidential poll if he had not been excluded due to allegations that he was not an Ivorian citizen. Also Mr Bédié was excluded from the poll due to his Parisian exile. Presidential elections should be held later this year, but the eligibility of Mr Ouattara is still not solved, causing constant conflict.
While the eligibility debate will go on, the Pretoria agreement seems to have re-established confidence between the government of President Gbagbo and the Forces Nouvelles led by Mr Soro, which still control the northern part of Côte d'Ivoire. This comes at a time when there were growing signals of a new government offensive against the northern rebels.
A report released last week had documented that the regular armed forces of President Gbagbo were aiding pro-government militias in recruiting demobilised fighters from neighbouring Liberia. Political tension in Abidjan had also been increasing the last months, causing the UK to close down its Embassy in the city citing growing security concerns. London showed no confidence in the South African peace initiative.
The AU and the UN however had put all their hopes in President Mbeki's efforts. Earlier this week, the UN extended by one month the mandate of its 6,000 peacekeepers in the country. Initiatives that could harm the peace process, such as possible UN sanctions against Ivorian leaders, have been put on ice to give President Mbeki's initiative a chance.
The Forces Nouvelles have already announced that the results of the Pretoria talks were a victory to their case. President Mbeki had supported the basic views of the rebels. According to the Forces Nouvelles, their representation in national institutions, such as the electoral commission, will be increased if they start handing in their weapons. The electoral commission also influences the outcome of the eligibility dispute.
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