Mbeki upbeat on Ivory Coast polls
Clive Ndou
4 March 2005
President Thabo Mbeki has expressed optimism in the Ivory Coast peace process, assuring the world that elections scheduled to take place in the west African country in October will go ahead as planned.
Addressing journalists in Cape Town on Thursday after holding talks with Ivory Coast Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, Mbeki said that recent political clashes in the western part of the country would not derail the peace process.
On Monday, pro-government militia attacked a rebel-held territory in the western part of the country, fuelling fears that this would plunge the country into another period of violence.
"It is not a matter that is going to derail the process, but it is a matter that needs to be addressed in the context of ensuring that there is a general climate, a positive climate, in terms of the peace process in the country", Mbeki said.
"All parties are well aware that elections are only 32 weeks away, and are therefore working
hard in order to ensure outstanding issues are dealt with."
Prime Minister Diarra echoed Mbeki, saying that despite the latest attacks, the rebels were "still ready to discuss the peace process with the government. The volatile situation will be dealt with in order to calm the people and allay fears."
Mbeki, who has been tasked by the African Union (AU) with helping to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ivory Coast, said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota would be visiting Ivory Coast next week to assess progress on the implementation of agreements between the government and the rebels.
He added that said South Africa was ready to send troops to Ivory Coast. "We will deploy troops, but they must go there under the banner of the United Nations", he said.
Since December, Mbeki has travelled to Ivory Coast a number of times to meet with key political leaders - including Diarra, Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, and New Forces rebel leader Guillaume
Soro.
Conflict erupted in the leading cocoa-producing nation when rebels staged an uprising against Gbagbo two years ago, effectively splitting the country into a Muslim-dominated rebel north and Christian government-held south.
The rebels accused Gbagbo of disenfranchising the Muslim-dominated north.
Late last year, the country was again plunged into crisis, with looting and violence against French nationals following a government-led air offensive on rebel-held targets.
The renewed conflict had African leaders worried at the failure of the signatories to implement the Accra III Agreement.
The agreement, signed by representatives of all political parties and rebel movements in the Ivory Coast, spells out key dates for the implementation of a peace accord in the divided nation.
Source: BuaNews
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