Abidjan — The president of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, has been designated the coordinator for the contact group of regional leaders, created by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to try to end the conflict in Cote dIvoire.
General Eyadema is the longest serving leader in the region, having launched West Africas first coup detat in 1963.
The decision came at a mini-summit in Abidjan, Wednesday, of leaders from Togo, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, as well as the current chairman of the African Union, President Thabo Mbeki. The heads of state and delegation called on the Ivorian government and the rebels to prepare for the "'necessary compromises and sacrifices to be made by all concerned, during the process of negotiating for reconciliation."
In the final communiqué, the Cote dIvoire authorities were asked "to adopt a spirit of forgiveness and tolerance, whilst the insurgents were asked to exhibit moderation in their demands."
But many questions remain unanswered. No mention was made of when the rebels might be disarmed - a requirement President Laurent Gbagbos government has implied is not negotiable. And what of the rebels insistent political demands that Gbagbo resign immediately, pending fresh elections? All these issues have yet to be addressed in detail.
What is now almost certain is that a West African ceasefire monitoring force will be sent in to Cote dIvoire, to replace French troops currently supervising the truce but it is not clear when they will arrive.
These are some of the questions allAfricas Ofeibea Quist-Arcton and other journalists put to the Ecowas executive secretary, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, after the talks ended in Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital, Wednesday night.
Would you say something positive came out of the heads of states summit Wednesday?
Absolutely, the decision to immediately commence contact between the government and the insurgents to engage in negotiations to end this crisis is a very, very important decision from the contact group meeting.
When do you expect talks to start?
Immediately means, I think, that we can expect from tomorrow that we can see signals about this decision being implemented. Both sides want to use dialogue and negotiations to end the crisis, so we have to seize that good faith on both sides and encourage and create the opportunity for them to meet and we will be working for them to do that in the next day or so.
Was any light cast on who precisely the rebels are, because of accusations that they are backed by foreign forces, which is obviously sensitive within Ecowas?
We will be seeing that very soon, because the rebels will designate their representatives. The government is agreeable to meet any persons designated as the leaders or the representatives of the leaders. So we hope in the next day or two to actually make contact with such leaders or representatives to facilitate the face to face contact with the governments side.
Your final communiqué uses quite emotive language, speaking of compromises and sacrifices to be made by all concerned. It says the Ivorian government must "adopt a spirit of forgiveness and tolerance" and that the rebels must show "moderation" in their demands and that there has got to be a "conducive" atmosphere for dialogue. Is this an appeal or do you feel you already have the sincere commitment of both sides to the end of the rebellion?
Tolerance is absolutely essential. People who have been at war must appreciate the need to tolerate each other, to live together, to reconcile, to forgive and to move forward. We hope that these sentiments will be appreciated by all Ivorians, to learn to live together, to accept each other for their differences, to see that as a source of strength and to forge ahead in unity and cohesion, to preserve democracy in this country, the rule of law and constitutional order.
Has either side "modified" its demands? The rebels have repeatedly called for the resignation of President Gbagbo, and fresh elections, and the government has been insisting that the rebels lay down their arms.
We have asked, on the one hand, for the government to be willing to forgive certain transgressions and, on the other hand, for the rebels to moderate their demands. So, we will work to find common ground. Compromise on both sides will be essential if we are to make progress.
Are you convinced the rebels will agree to surrender their arms?
There has to be a laying down of arms to return this country to normalcy. So at some point, yes, there absolutely has to be a laying down of arms if this country is to return to legality and constitutional order.
If it is not done willingly, will it be done by force?
They will put down their weapons. We will impress on them the need to put down their weapons and to build peace in Cote dIvoire.
And what progress was agreed on the deployment of a West African ceasefire monitoring force?
The (regional) chiefs of staff of the various countries will be meeting on Friday. They will be telling us the size of the force and when and where they will be positioned. But as we speak now, there are officers in the field who are doing the necessary technical work, the reconnaissance work, along with the French forces, to present a report to the chiefs of staff when they come on Friday. So I think things are on course for the introduction of the Ecowas forces in Cote dIvoire.
What about the charged atmosphere in the country and the anti-French demonstration in Abidjan this week that prompted the government in Paris - whose troops are currently supervising the ceasefire between Ivorian government loyalist and rebel forces - to warn that the French military ceasefire monitoring operation could be threatened if its citizens were attacked again?
We believe that, at this point, the population should also support the search for peace and should avoid any action that might send wrong signals particularly to our partners, many of whom have been very helpful and have pledged to continue our search for peace.
But do you think that the march against the French military base will jeopardize the presence of French troops in Cote dIvoire?
We need French troops on the ground to monitor the ceasefire. And, hopefully, even when an Ecowas force comes in, we will continue to work with our partners, with the French, hopefully with the Americans, with the Germans, with the British. So, lets avoid anything that will create difficulties between Ivorians, between us as West Africans and our partners with whom we are working to search for peace in Cote dIvoire.
There are currently about 1,000 plus French troops on the ground in Cote dIvoire. So what are we talking about 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 Ecowas forces to replace them?
That will be a decision for the technical committee which is working now, the officers who are now in the field. Their recommendations will be studied by the chiefs of staff.
Dr Chambas, what has changed the Ivorian governments mind? At the emergency Ecowas summit in Accra, Ghana, less than a month ago, President Gbagbo indicated that he wanted logistical and diplomatic support from Ecowas, but not military forces on the ground and that his own soldiers could fight the battle. What changed and how come the Ivorian government has come round?
We have a ceasefire on the ground and both sides are respecting it. There is a clear need for an interposition force. The French troops have been doing that, but it has been clear from the beginning that they were only doing it temporarily until a West African force can take over. So we are happy to have the cooperation of the government and hope that the rebels understand the need for an interposition force which we hope to see within the next week or so.
Did it take a lot of convincing the Ivorian government that an Ecowas ceasefire monitoring force would have to be deployed?
Once you have a ceasefire, you do need an interposition force and the French troops can only perform that role temporarily. So there is a need for the Ecowas troops to come in and we are working to ensure that they come in as quickly as possible to maintain the ceasefire and to monitor a peace agreement, which will follow.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
You have said 'within two weeks', does that stand or do you think it will take a lot longer than that before West Africans can replace the French soldiers?
We are on course, the officers are on the ground, doing the necessary reconnaissance work. The Ecowas chiefs of staff will meet on Friday and I believe we can reach our set target.
President Mbeki talked about Ivorians having to deal with the deeper, fundamental problems that divide them, once the immediate military issues have been resolved. Can that happen, or has Cote dIvoire gone too far?
It should happen. Once people have gone to war with each other, obviously they have some deep-seated differences, but they have to accept to resolve their differences through a peaceful process, through negotiation, through dialogue. And for that to happen, there has to be understanding, there has to be goodwill on both sides and a willingness to forgive each other and to forge a sense of community and tolerance to live together as a country, as one people. They have to preserve what they have here, which is rather impressive if you compare Cote dIvoire to most other, not just West African countries but other African countries.
So they have to see that they have more in common, they have something at stake and something worth preserving and that war and military solutions will not resolve whatever differences they have. They will only deepen them and destroy this country. That is not a viable or a rational option.
So are we on the road to peace in Cote dIvoire?
I think so. We feel very hopeful this meeting has been a good success. You can see that there is determination on all sides to end this crisis, through dialogue and negotiations and we look forward to seeing some very concrete developments in the next few days towards that.
