Rebels from Côte d’Ivoire wrapped up two days of talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki on Friday, pledging they will not stand in the way of peace in their war-divided West African country.
Mbeki, who was asked by the African Union to mediate in the conflict, persuaded the government and rebels earlier this month to agree to a new timetable to carry out a long-stalled peace plan. It included steps to be taken on disarmament, security and legislative reforms, and other divisive points.
The rebel New Forces came to South Africa to present their suggestions to move the process forward, Mbeki told reporters after the meeting.
”I am very pleased indeed that they have come, because it was important, I think, that the New Forces communicate its own view as to what it is that needs to be done,” Mbeki said.
He said he now plans to consult with other concerned parties, including the government and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire.
Louis Dacoury-Tabley, the insurgents’ deputy chief, said their forces are ready to lay down their arms but want assurances that government-allied militias will also disarm.
The insurgents are also seeking security guarantees for their members in a power-sharing government meant to oversee the reunification of Côte d’Ivoire and fresh elections.
”We have already lived through two years of procrastination. It is therefore full of hope that we received his [Mbeki’s] plan and we don’t want it to fail,” Dacoury-Tabley said. ”It is not the New Forces that will prevent this process from moving forward.”
Mbeki said he is sending reinforcements to South Africa’s embassy in Côte d’Ivoire to help drive the process. Among other steps, South Africa has offered to review legislative reforms to ensure they comply with a French-brokered peace deal.
Côte d’Ivoire, a former bastion of peace and prosperity, has been split between the rebel north and government south since a failed coup attempt in September 2002.
Both sides agreed to the January 2003 peace accord but failed to carry it out. President Laurent Gbagbo’s government last month reopened hostilities with three days of air strikes on the rebel-held north, citing insurgents’ failure to disarm.
A November 6 air strike killed nine French peacekeepers and an American aid worker, prompting brief, unprecedented battles between Côte d’Ivoire’s forces and those of its former colonial ruler, France, and the evacuation of thousands of foreigners. — Sapa-AP