Côte d’Ivoire’s former rebel leader Guillaume Soro was on Monday to hold talks in the main city Abidjan with President Laurent Gbagbo, sources said.
Soro, who serves as Communications Minister, was absent from last week’s first extraordinary session of the full council of ministers since the former rebels launched a boycott of government meetings in September.
The boycott was called to protest Gbabgo’s failure to implement peace accords signed in January 2003 to bring an end to the conflict in the West African state.
Prime Minister Seydou Diarra would also attend the meeting, which was likely to focus on the reservations expressed by the former rebels after Gbagbo announced he would call a referendum on a series of Bills that emerged from the January accords.
The Bills, some of which addressed land ownership and eligibility to run for president, were fundamental issues identified as root causes of the crisis that began in September 2002 when a failed bid to oust Gbagbo boiled over into civil war.
While recognising the constitutional right of the president directly to petition the public on matters of state, the former rebels have said ”putting these questions to a referendum runs the risk of blocking the implementation of the peace accords”.
The council of ministers delayed until this week a final day of meetings to debate the contentious Bills. Soro was due to attend this week’s sessions, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, said the former rebels.
Elections for Côte d’Ivoire, which until a first coup in 1999 was considered a beacon of stability and prosperity for West Africa, are set for October 2005. — Sapa-AFP