Cape Town — Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of Côte d'Ivoire wants to begin disarmament in the north of the country with a high-profile ceremony at which weapons would be burned in the presence of guests, including President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.
"From that ceremony onwards, the actual disarmament process will start over the whole of Ivorian territory," Soro told a joint news conference with Mbeki in Cape Town today.
He said part of the purpose of his visit to South Africa had been to invite Mbeki to what he called the "Flames of Peace" ceremony in the northern city of Bouaké, formerly a stronghold of the rebel group he led.
Soro became Prime Minister on April 4 as part of a power-sharing peace deal his rebel group les Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (New Forces) signed one month earlier with the government of President Laurent Gbagbo.
Soro and Mbeki both presented an upbeat scenario of the Ivorian peace process, suggesting that obstacles can be overcome.
Mbeki said the pace of implementation of the process was speeding up. Soro said the recent appointment of new local administrators is clearing the way for the issuing of proper identification papers to Ivorians to begin by June 30.
The recognition of northerners descended from immigrants from other countries as citizens has been a key demand at the heart of the country's conflict.
Soro also told the news conference that everybody in the country, including President Gbagbo, agrees that the United Nations should oversee the electoral process and validate the results.
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"The problem which remains is whether the UN High Representative in charge of elections... is to remain or whether his mission would be transferred to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Côte d'Ivoire," Soro said.
Reportedly, President Gbagbo has accused the current High Representative for Elections, Swiss diplomat Gérard Stoudmann, as behaving as if he had the power to govern the country.
Soro, who met members of the UN Security Council in Abidjan yesterday, said in Cape Town he understood the council would take a decision on this matter after consulting President Blaise Compaoré of Burkino Faso. Compaoré mediated the peace talks between Gbagbo's government and Soro's rebels.
Soro declined to set a timetable for elections. He said an independent electoral commission would decide the date and "elections will be held when all Ivorians are ready to participate... The main challenge at the moment remains to ensure peace and security."
