AFRICA/IVORY COAST - Intifada in northern Ivory Coast against disarmament, which should start tomorrow

Abidjan (Fides Service) - The process of disarmament process has provoked “a real Intifada with stone-throwing” a local Church source in Bouake, Ivory Coast told Fides. For more than a week in this main town in the central northern town in the hands of New Forces rebel troops for the past two years, people have been protesting against a programme to disarm the rebels which should begin tomorrow, 15 October according to an agreement reached in Accra, Ghana in July 2004. Before handing in their weapons the rebels want to see the other points of the agreement respected especially changes to article 35 of the Constitution which states that only a person with both parents born in Ivory Coast can be elected President.
“The demonstrations were more lively on Thursday 7 and Monday 11 October. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the UN barracks in Bouake and started throwing stones. Most of the people hurt were soldiers and officials who were trying to re-organise the local hospital, the sources told Fides. “The funny thing is that disarmament will not start here in Bouake. According to the plan rebels in the west and the east of the region will be the first ones to hand over their arms and in fact the slogans chanted by the demonstrators urged rebels leaders in those areas not to disarm”
“These demonstrations are not spontaneous. On national television a rebel spokesman urged the people to block roads leading to the UN military barracks, lying on the ground if necessary” the source told Fides. “Bouake television studios are in the hands of the rebels and only very rarely they allow state TV programmes be relayed. All they usually relay are a few foreign satellite stations or their own press statements. On the rare occasions when national programmes are relayed the difference is obvious. State TV calls for peace and national reconciliation whereas all the rebels do is to incite the people to war”.
The sources say there is a split between the political and military rebel wings: “Most military wing leaders are former members of the regular army. They still have friends among troops loyal to the government; they want to avoid bloodshed so they are in favour of disarmament since they signed an agreement in Yamoussoukro the country’s political capital some weeks ago. Whereas the political rebel leaders want to use military force to obtain their own ends. But as always the ones who declare a war are never killed in war”.
“What is more even the military wing itself is divided. To settle internal disputes some commanders have been killed, others stepped aside to avoid the same fate,” the sources told Fides. “In effect the rebellion has degenerated at least in part into criminality. Some have taken advantage of street demonstrations in recent days to rob banks”.
With regard to the future the sources say “the situation is calm at the moment but anything could happen. Who knows if the UN peacekeepers will decide to use force to impose the disarmament plan. Yesterday the Imam Council, the highest Muslim authority in the country, made a conciliatory gesture advising the troops to hand in their weapons. The rebel leaders are nearly all Muslims, let’s hope they heed the call”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/10/2004 righe 46 parole 610)