Johannesburg — The former rebel ministers in Cote d'Ivoire have ended their three month boycott of the coalition government in Abidjan. Now known as the New Forces, most of the ministers returned to the commercial capital on Tuesday and took part in formal meetings with President Laurent Gbagbo, the first such sessions since late September.
The national unity cabinet was set up after the peace deal that was agreed in a meeting at Marcoussis, outside Paris, last January, to try to end the bitter conflict in Côte d'Ivoire which began in September 2002.
"We want to make a fresh start," New Forces' Minister Issa Diakite told reporters outside the presidency in Abidjan. "We're back with a very positive attitude." Diakite is responsible for land administration.
He was one of six former rebel ministers who attended the council of ministers with Gbagbo in Abidjan. Absent were the New Forces' political leader and information minister, Guillaume Soro, and two others. Journalists were told that Soro and the other absentees were delayed by family and health reasons and should attend more government sessions that are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Gbagbo opened the meeting with a handshake for each of the ministers, walking round the table in a reportedly crowded room.
Fundamental questions, raised during the Marcoussis negotiations in France, the former colonial power, nearly one year ago, still need to be explored in Côte d'Ivoire. These include the many concerns voiced by the New Forces. Land ownership, the laws on the eligibility of presidential candidates and the sensitive nationality issue have caused deep rifts within Ivorian society.
The New Forces withdrew their participation in the national unity government back in September, charging Gbagbo with hogging power and violating the terms of the Marcoussis accord. Soro and others were also unhappy with their personal security arrangements.
A new prime minister, Seydou Elimane Diarra, was appointed after the Paris peace talks. But the rebels accused Gbagbo of refusing to delegate effective authority to him. Last month, the Ivorian leader signed a decree confirming Diarra as prime minister until elections scheduled in Côte d'Ivoire in 2005.
In July, the war was formally declared over and a ceasefire agreed to, although Cote d'Ivoire remains divided in two, with the south in the hands of pro-Gbagbo loyalists while the north is controlled by the New Forces.
Feverish diplomatic negotiations in late 2003 brought together West African leaders in desperate attempts to seek a peaceful settlement to the Ivorian crisis, which threatened to spread throughout the region, and prevent a return to war.
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For decades, Côte d'Ivoire was considered the most stable and prosperous country in West Africa. But that illusion was shattered, first with a coup d'état in 1999, followed by the outbreak of war three years later. A once-strong economy has been brought to its knees. Thousands of people have been killed and more than one million displaced during the conflict.
More than a thousand West African peacekeepers joined 4,000 French troops to try to keep the peace in Côte d'Ivoire last year, policing a weapons-free buffer zone running through the heart of the country, between the rival zones.
Recently, former rebel fighters agreed to the deployment of regional and French troops in the north, deep inside the zone held by the New Forces. This is seen as one of the first steps leading to reuniting the country and eventual disarmament.
