afrol News / IRIN, 4 September - The main parties in Côte d'Ivoire's conflict were set to gather tomorrow for a fresh round of talks on the faltering peace process ahead of a key United Nations meeting in New York later this month.

Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is to meet with rebel New Forces leader Guillaume Soro and the two main opposition leaders, Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedié. Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, who organised the gathering, is to mediate. The talks were scheduled to begin today in Côte d'Ivoire's political capital Yamoussoukro but were postponed because Mr Soro was abroad meeting African heads of state.

"I would like the five parties to find a consensus - that they think of the destiny of Cote d'Ivoire and that they send a message to the Ivorians that after a certain date there is not just a winner but a sense of solidarity," Pierre Schori, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire, recently told reporters.

The mini-summit comes ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York later this month, where African leaders are to discuss the progress made under UN resolution 1633, the blueprint for peace in Côte d'Ivoire. As President Gbagbo’s mandate was set to expire in October last year, the UN resolution gave him another 12 months in office provided he worked alongside a newly appointed Prime Minister in charge of disarmament, identification and organising elections. Mr Banny fills that role.

But with delays in disarmament and identification, Mr Schori has said the presidential and legislative polls, due in October, likely will have to be postponed again.

Côte d'Ivoire has been split in two since an attempt to topple President Gbagbo failed in September 2002, after his government had excluded prominent representatives from the North in the election process. Some 10,000 UN and French peacekeepers monitor a buffer zone between the rebel north and the government south.

The rebel New Forces pulled out of talks with the Ivorian military last month after President Gbagbo suddenly announced that Ivorian citizens would no longer receive permanent nationality papers under the identification scheme.

Both identification and disarmament are nowhere near completion. Only one-fourth of the mobile courts issuing identity papers are currently operational, and the disarmament of pro-government militia has been indefinitely suspended because too few weapons were handed in.

But mediators and diplomats say a lack of political goodwill, not technical delays, is the main cause of the deadlock. Last year, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Côte d'Ivoire's stalemate was to blame on the intransigence of Ivorian leaders. One year on, diplomats say that little has changed except for what they call "a few symbolic gestures." "It has nothing to do with technical obstacles," a Western diplomat told the UN media 'IRIN'. "There is just a flagrant lack of political goodwill on all sides."

Analysts say, however, that there has been a shift in the Ivorian political landscape with the emergence of an alliance between the two largest opposition parties, the former ruling Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), headed by ex-President Bédie, and Mr Ouattara's opposition Rally of the Republicans (RDR). They strongly oppose a new extension of President Gbagbo's mandate after 31 October, and there is concern their militants could fill the streets to demand his departure.

Meanwhile, many Ivorians have lost faith in the willingness of their leaders to compromise and put the peace process back on track. "They will just make promises they won't keep like they have done for the past four years and the people will continue to suffer," said a retired teacher in the main city Abidjan who declined to give his name.

The national satirical newspaper 'Gbich!' reflected the general weary mood with a call on readers to chip in so that the leaders could be sent to a far-away holiday destination. "Please, politicians - leave on vacation so we can all breathe a little," the paper said.

By UN media IRIN

© afrol News / IRIN

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