'We should pick up the pace'
2005-06-30 09:26
Johannesburg - Ivory Coast's warring sides have agreed on a new timeline for implementing a stalled peace plan after two days of talks brokered by President Thabo Mbeki.
The timeline agreed on Wednesday included an August 20 deadline for the dismantling of pro-government militias and a pledge to start gathering combatants from both sides at disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration sites from the end of July.
The faltering peace process, which is supposed to culminate in elections in October, was dealt another blow when a deadline for the start of disarmament passed on Monday with no efforts by either side to lay down their weapons.
All parties recommitted
Leaders of the government, rebels and political opposition recommitted themselves on Wednesday to holding the October vote after two days of talks in Pretoria, South Africa.
They also agreed the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) security council should impose sanctions against any party that fails to live up to its obligations under the deal brokered by South Africa in April.
"We are all of us very concerned that what had been agreed should proceed," said Mbeki. "Indeed, there has been progress, there has been movement, but all of us are concerned that we should pick up the pace."
Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo in April reversed a ban that would have kept opposition leader and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara out of the elections.
Not doing enough
Though Gbagbo's move met a key demand of the rebels, Ouattara accuses him of not doing enough to ensure voting will be fair.
Mbeki said the government had agreed that necessary legislative reforms should clear parliament by July 15, failing which he would step in and take "exceptional measures" to ensure the legislation is approved.
All sides also agreed to resolve matters relating to the security of rebel ministers, including their leader Guillaume Soro, by July 7 so they can take up their posts in a transitional government.
The five Ivorian leaders — Gbagbo, Soro, Ouattara, Prime Minister Seydou Diarra and former President Henri Konan Bedie — appeared in a jovial mood after signing Wednesday's declaration.
They shook hands and exiled Ouattara jokingly asked Gbagbo if there was room on his plane to fly back to Abidjan.
"Of course," Gbagbo responded with a broad grin.
In Ivory Coast, however, prospects for peace and reconciliation appear less certain. Since the rebels and government signed the April deal, the latest in a series of broken agreements, the crisis has only become worse.
- AP