Johannesburg — Ivorian rebel representatives left the Togolese capital, Lome, to return to their stronghold in Cote dIvoire's central city of Bouake , to consult their colleagues and supporters on a West African-brokered plan to try to restore peace to their beleaguered country.
The rebel Patriotic Movement of Cote dIvoire (MPCI) walked out of the peace talks in Lome at the weekend, after the discovery in Abidjan, Friday, of the body of Dr Benoit Dacoury-Tabley, the younger brother of a senior rebel official. His corpse was found riddled with bullets, less than two days after he was taken away from his surgery by men in uniform.
Benoit Dacoury-Tableys brother, Louis, a former close associate of Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo and co-founder of his Popular Front party (FPI), defected to the rebellion from his base in Europe last week and flew from Paris to join the negotiations in Lome.
The rebels unilateral decision to suspend their participation in peace talks with the government delegation led to fears that the negotiations were close to collapse. West African mediators fought hard to save the talks between the rival Ivorians, brokered by the Togolese leader Gnassingbe Eyadema.
And though the rebels hastened to assure their hosts that despite "unacceptable actions" by the Gbagbo government in Abidjan, they were committed to continue the talks, their frustration was clear. They said they needed time to mourn the death of Dacoury-Tabley and reassess their negotiating position.
The departure to Bouake of Guillaume Soro, the MPCI secretary-general, and some of his team came after another meeting with President Eyadema in Lome on Monday. Journalists reported rebel spokesmen saying that they were "willing to restart the dialogue at any time," with government negotiators "as soon as the conditions were right (and) immediately (President) Gbagbo showed a change in attitude and demonstrated that he was sincere about the peace process."
Soro told reporters Gbagbo must publicly apologise for killings, kidnappings and atrocities by the security forces against government opponents and people perceived as rebel sympathisers in Cote dIvoire. The rebel leader also said the Ivorian government must give a public undertaking that it would provide adequate security measures to halt the killings.
For its part, the government has accused the rebels of summary executions and other abuses against civilians, as well as moving their positions closer to the front line.
The rebels have been calling for Gbagbos resignation and the organisation of fresh elections. The Ivorian leader insists the rebels must disarm before any meaningful peace talks can be held.
"Gbagbo is only buying time. He is keeping us at the negotiating table while he is busy acquiring more arms, helicopter gunships and recruiting mercenaries to escalate the war," said Soro.
A small rebel delegation remained behind in Lome.
While the government and the dissidents have been talking in Togo, both sides have intensified the war of words, and appear to be preparing for a possible return to fighting. Reports from Abidjan said both the loyalist army and the dissidents were busy rearming and reinforcing their troops back home in Cote dIvoire, almost two months after the rebellion began on 19 September.
And despite their assurances to the peace brokers, an MPCI rebel commander, Cherif Ousmane, who attended the first round of peace talks in Lome, told Reuters on Saturday: "If the mediators are not able to bring the government into line, then let them leave us to fight it out."
It is this kind of bellicose talk that the negotiators are desperate to hush as they strive to end the conflict in Cote dIvoire.
Before the suspension of the dialogue by the rebels on Saturday, both delegations had been exploring the possibilities of a comprehensive peace plan drawn up by regional mediators. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the executive secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), had hoped the two sides would sign the agreement at the weekend.
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Obstacles notwithstanding, a three-week ceasefire is still holding, monitored by French troops in Cote dIvoire. The French force is due to be replaced by a West African peacekeeping operation.
Last week West African defence chiefs agreed to the deployment of the regional force, with an initial 1,264 troops drawn from the military in Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
An advance team was expected in Cote dIvoire by the end of this week, to be followed shortly afterwards by other peacekeepers. But no final decision has been agreed on which West African country will command the force which will have to win the confidence of both sides, as well as government and rebel supporters, keep the warring sides apart and supervise the ceasefire.
