Dismantle militia - Ex-rebels
2010-02-08 17:08
Bouake - A former rebel group in Ivory Coast on Monday demanded the dismantling of militia loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo, in line with the latest peace accord.
Leaders of the New Forces (FN), which has controlled the north of the country since a foiled coup against Gbagbo in September 2002, issued their demand after a meeting in their central headquarters at Bouake.
FN leader and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro was absent, since he had been talking at the end of last week to Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, who is "facilitator" in the long drawn-out Ivorian crisis.
"The New Forces note that the disarmament and dismantling of the militia provided for in the Political Agreement of Ouagadougou (signed late in 2007) are not yet effective," the ex-rebels said in a statement read overnight by their military spokesperson, Seydou Ouattara.
The FN "invites the CCI (the Integrated Command Centre combining the general staffs of the regular army and the FN) to show more determination and vigilance in getting this process under way".
Fraud list
The dismantling of pro-Gbagbo militias, estimated at several thousand men, has never been completed despite being agreed in the Ouagadougou accord, which was fine-tuned in 2008.
The disarmament was due to be in parallel with that of FN fighters, which is also far from finished.
Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front party regularly calls for the disarmament of the FN before a presidential election, which has been postponed half a dozen times but is due to take place this year.
The lack of an election has enabled Gbagbo to remain in power long after his mandate ran out in 2005, and new electoral rolls are being drawn up. But last Friday, Ivorian investigators appointed by Interior Minister Desire Tagro alleged fraud in the lists.
The Independent Electoral Commission refutes the allegations but has acknowledged major problems in managing voter lists.
Presidential elections
The FN meeting was confined to military matters. The former rebels called on the regime to "remedy (the lack of) human, material and financial resources" that are inadequate to ensure the security of presidential elections, stating that the command structure needed to be "fully operational".
Taking note that Gbagbo last November issued decrees aligning the ranks of rebel officers and men on those of the regular army, the FN called on the government to "enact with diligence the decrees that have not yet been signed".
The most important issue outstanding is the fate of the "com-zones", or the commanders of zones who have become the strongmen in the north of the country. They are due to be retired at the end of the crisis.
Under prior agreements, 5 000 troops of the FN are due to be integrated into the regular army. Recruitment operations are due to start in Bouake on January 20.