I Coast leader 'an obstacle'

2004-11-27 12:50

Paris - Ivory Coast rebel leader Guillaume Soro has called for the resignation of President Laurent Gbagbo, saying the Ivorian leader was "an obstacle to peace" in the divided West African country.

"Violence is inherent to the regime of Laurent Gbagbo," Soro said at a news conference Friday in Paris.

Soro, on a four-day visit, said he will meet French officials and appeal for greater international pressure for the implementation of peace accords for Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, has been split between a loyalist south and rebel-held north since a failed coup attempt launched the country into civil war in 2002.

Soro, who will go to Italy after his Paris stay, claimed that Ivory Coast is moving toward "absolute fascism" and said that Gbagbo must be "put aside to end the war in our country."

Dialogue unimaginable

He said the situation in Ivory Coast has so degenerated since November 4 - when warplanes bombed Bouake, largest city in the rebel-held north - that it is difficult for rebels to imagine restarting dialogue with the Ivory Coast president. Nine French peacekeepers were killed two days later in a government air attack, further increasing tension and leading to the evacuation of thousands of Westerners from the former colony.

"Gbagbo has imposed the return to hostilities on us," Soro said.

He called on the international community to put pressure on Gbagbo's government.

Soro expressed hope that a mediation effort by South African President Thabo Mbeki could "relaunch the political dynamic."

He said that rebels had proposed to Mbeki a way out of the crisis but refused to elaborate. Soro said he would be meeting with Mbeki next week in Bouake.

South African Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Thursday that Mbeki would travel to Ivory Coast by the end of next week with fresh suggestions on how to proceed to "unification and ... elections."

Elections are due to be held in 2005. - AP

- SAPA