Lekota off to Ivory Coast
2005-03-13 18:52
Johannesburg - Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota will travel to Ivory Coast on Sunday, leading a team of international lawyers who will give their view on legal changes needed to advance peace in the west African nation, a spokesperson said.
Lekota is to meet with all political parties during his two-day mission and "will also deal with security-related matters" during his trip, said presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo.
"They are going there to present the findings of the international legal team on whether the laws that have been passed by parliament comply with the Linas-Marcoussis agreement," Khumalo said without providing details.
The Linas-Marcoussis peace accord brokered by France in 2003 provided for changes to the nationality laws but no progress has been registered on that front over the past two years.
Ivory Coast, which has been divided since a September 2002 rebellion against President Laurent Gbagbo, is due to hold elections in October.
But rebel and opposition groups are demanding that nationality laws restricting Ivorian citizenship and candidacies to the presidency be changed as a condition for advancing the peace process.
Other than Lekota, the legal team also includes a Rwandan and a Burundian judge who are all due to arrive in Abidjan on Sunday evening. Their departure is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
President Thabo Mbeki has been leading an intense diplomatic effort to restore peace to Ivory Coast since November when the African Union asked him to be its chief mediator.
Mbeki submitted a five-point roadmap or peace blueprint during a mission to Ivory Coast in December that provides for disarmament and restoring a power-sharing government, among other issues.