Ivory Coast’s rebels and government negotiators prayed together for peace on Saturday, and despite signs of deadlock in talks to end a bloody uprising in the West African nation, a top official insisted it was too early to talk of failure.
”The talks are definitely on course and it would be premature to talk about failure at this stage,” Laurent Dona Fologo, the head of the government delegation said in Lome, where peace talks are taking place.
More than two weeks after the negotiations began, however, there were few signs of a swift end to a conflict that has forced tens of thousands to flee and crippled one of West Africa’s leading economies.
The peace talks have stalled on the rebels’ demand that President Laurent Gbagbo resign to clear the way for new elections, and on the government’s insistence that the insurgents must lay down their arms.
Gbagbo said on Saturday the talks should be given every chance to succeed but again warned his army was ready to act if compelled.
”Our troops can end the rebels’ insane dream of taking power by force. When the time comes, they will go into battle,” he said in a message sent to Ivorians living in former colonial power France.
Any renewed fighting in Ivory Coast is seen as threatening crisis for West Africa. Ivory Coast is the world’s largest cocoa producer and its port, at Abidjan, is one of the region’s largest.
This week, the rebels rejected a draft accord proposed by regional mediators. They are preparing a new paper to clarify their response.
At a prayer service in Lome on Saturday, rebels dressed in traditional long robes, government negotiators and Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema, wearing his signature sunglasses, listened as Christian and Muslim church leaders prayed for an end to war.
Togolese soldiers sang songs for peace, waving the green, white and orange flags of Ivory Coast, as the congregation applauded.
Ivory Coast’s rebels, who include about 800 recently dismissed soldiers, have seized half the country since a failed coup attempt on September 19. They say they will disarm only when the crisis is over.
The rebels say they are fighting to protect the rights of predominantly Muslim northern Ivorians, who complain of discrimination and harassment by the Christian and animist southern tribes that traditionally have dominated the government.
In his message, Gbagbo urged Ivorians in France to tell people there is no xenophobia in Ivory Coast.
”Tell them as well there is no system of apartheid, to classify the citizens of our country as Ivorians of first or second category,” he said.
Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged in Ivory Coast since the war started, prompting tens of thousands of immigrants to flee. The government has blamed neighbouring Burkina Faso for backing the rebels, and has also said mercenaries from other countries are fighting with them.
Mali and Burkina Faso, both impoverished countries north of Ivory Coast, have launched government-funded evacuations to get their citizens out of Ivory Coast — once a favoured destination for immigrant workers.
Eyadema, who is hosting the peace talks, met Ivorians living in Togo on Friday night and said he would do everything he could to ensure peace.
”Ivory Coast is very dear to our hearts in the sub-region and no sacrifice will be too great in order to bring back normal life,” he said.
The peace talks have been poisoned by distrust, with rebels and the government accusing each other of executions and other atrocities.
A month-old cease-fire is holding, however, and is monitored by more than 1 000 French troops. A West African force is due to take their place before the end of the month. – Sapa-AP