'We ask God everyday to end it'
2005-07-13 09:28
Abidjan - Appiah Kabran whipped a shiny 9mm pistol from a holster at his waist and explained why a bespectacled lawmaker like himself might need it in war-divided Ivory Coast.
"To kill rebels," the cigar-smoking politician said bluntly. "I don't trust anything but this."
Jest or not, the words highlight a dangerous divide between hardline supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo and northern rebels that appears to be widening as October 30 presidential elections near.
The poll represents a sliver of hope that Ivory Coast can emerge from years of crisis. But with neither side disarming and a legislature blocked on reforms the rebels have demanded, many believe the ballot will be delayed - and fear a new round of bloodshed even if it goes ahead.
Fear, uncertainty prevails
"Everybody is afraid, very afraid," said Didier Aye, a 35-year-old selling suave African-style shirts at a shop in the shadows of Abidjan's towering skyscrapers. "We don't know where our country is going. Nobody knows what's going to happen next."
Once an oasis of stability in war-ravaged West Africa, Ivory Coast began its spiralling descent with a 1999 coup, its first. Years of sporadic uprisings and violence boiled over into a September 2002 coup attempt that failed, but left the nation split between a rebel-held north and a loyalist south.
Major fighting ended with a peace deal signed in France in 2003. But peace talks have dragged on in Togo, Ghana, and last week, in South Africa again.
The impending ballot has increased pressure on both sides to implement agreements they've mostly paid only lip-service to so far. But Pierre Schori, who heads the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission here, said positions were hardening instead.
Everyone reluctant to do something
"The closer we come to October, the more reluctance there is on either side," said Schori. "There is a lack of trust, confidence. Each side is waiting for the other to do something first."
Rebels escort journalists through their headquarters, bombed in November during several days of government air-raids that left starburst shrapnel holes in buildings and collapsed roofs into twisted piles of concrete.
Keeping out of harm's way
Thousands of French, Lebanese and West African expatriates fled that spasm of violence, as they did others before it. Some stayed on alone, shipping their wives and children abroad to keep them out of harm's way.
In a country where rebel and army forces have fought to a standstill, some question how a ballot can be held at all.
Another possible outcome, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara securing the presidency, could mean more conflict.
Ouattara, a former prime minister, was barred from running in the 2000 vote because of questions over his nationality. Gbagbo has declared Ouattara can stand this time around - a key rebel demand.
- AP