Ivory Coast: the Genesis of the Current Political and Civil Strife - Term Paper Example

IVORY COAST: THE GENESIS OF THE CURRENT POLITICAL AND CIVIL STRIFE INTRODUCTION Cote d’Ivoire was a French colony until 7 August 1960, when she was granted independence. The country has an area of 322,462 sq km with an estimated population of 20,617,068 in 2009. ("Côte d'Ivoire", The World Factbook, CIA Directorate of Intelligence). Ivory Coast is a member of African Union (AU), La Francophonie, Organisation of Islamic conference (OIC) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Cote d’Ivoire is a bounded on the east by Ghana, to the north by Burkina Faso and Mali, to the west by Guinea and Liberia and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The country is relatively rich country with a large expanse of land and a relatively small population. Cote d’Ivoire is one of the largest producers of cocoa and coffee in the world. It also grows cotton, pineapples, rubber and oil palm. Other sources of income are fishing, lumbering, gold, diamond and some offshore crude oil. The commercial capital of Cote d’Ivoire is Abidjan while Yamoussoukro is the administrative capital. The country is further sub-divided into 19 x regions and 81x departments. Political History Rule of First President. There was relative peace and tranquillity in the country for about 33 years under Late President Felix Houphouet-Boigny. However, President Boigny ruled for too long and did not resolve concerns about citizenship before he died. The country’s economy flourished with Government enjoying tremendous support from the French Government. However, there was a downturn in the economy in the 1980s as result of the sharp decline in the international prices of cocoa and coffee. Ivory Coast faced a financial crisis and became heavily indebted to various financial institutions and the French Government. Many unemployed people were forced into farming only to discover that the immigrants already had the advantage. This led to a rift between the Ivoirians and the neighbouring poorer countries such as Mali and particularly Burkina Faso. Many of these immigrants had already been Ivorian inhabitant for 2 generations or more. President Boigny granted Burkinabes Ivorian citizenship, but this policy was unpopular among many Ivorians. In the long run, President Boigny appeared to have only suppressed the citizenship crisis. The political structure was also weak with a one party system until 1990. This laid the bedding for the current political crisis in the country. Post President Boigny era. After the death of President Boigny in 1993, the Head of the National Assembly, Henri Konan Bedie became president, in accordance with the constitution of the country. President Bedie soon initiated and promoted the policy of ‘Ivority’. The policy discriminated against the large Muslim population from the northern part of the country accusing many of them being foreigners. This policy initiated land disputes and divided the country based on various ethnic and religious groups. The elections which were boycotted by the opposition were also upheld during the same period thus derailing the process of democracy. The country began to face turmoil and instability as a series of demonstrations amongst different factions rocked the country. A successful military coup on 24 December 1999 brought General Guei to power. He similar to his predecessor, promoted the policy of Ivority which prevented some notable politicians like Alassane Dramane Ouattara from contesting the October 2000 elections. The situation got worse when General Guei dissolved the electoral commission during the 2000 elections and declared himself the winner. This was followed by unprecedented violence in the history of Ivory Coast and led to a mutiny in which General Guei was assassinated. (Journal Officiel de la République de Côte d’Ivoire 42 (30): 529–538, 3 August 2000).Subsequently, the only opponent in the elections, Laurent Gbagbo declared himself the winner and became the president. Many armed groups sprang up to resist the policy of Ivority and the Government of President Gbagbo. One of the most important events was the creation of Force Nouvelles. On 19 September 2002, three rebel factions (MPCI, MPIGO and MJP) unified under the name of Forces Nouvelles (FN) and attempted to carry out another coup d’état. This eventually degenerated to an armed conflict between the Government Forces and the rebels. In the end a ceasefire was called due to the intervention by French Government and French military ("France's 'Little Iraq”. CBS News. 15 November 2004). The standoff ended resulting in the rebels taking control of the northern part of the country (about 60 percent) of the country with their capital in Bouake. The southern part of the country was still controlled by the loyal government troops with capital in Abidjan. In an attempt to reconcile the belligerents, the International Community organized meetings in Lome, Marcoussis and Accra I, II and III, which resulted in the installation of a government of reconciliation which saw Mr. Laurent Gbagbo as President and Mr Guillame Soro (the leader of the rebels and the overall commander of Forces Nouvelles) as the Prime Minister (Accord politique de Ouagadougou, Presidency of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, 4 March 2007). United Nations played their part in bringing peace to the war torn country by the deployment of the International Forces, empowered by the UN Security Council Resolution 1528. The efforts of United Nations were supported by Licorne Forces (France). This resolution established the Mission of the United Nations in Ivory Coast (MINUCI) and supported a quadripartite agreement for the delimitation of a zone of confidence to be held by Impartial Forces (International Forces and Licorne) which will separate the two belligerent groups. MINUCI was transformed to the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (ONUCI) in 2004. BACKGROUND TO THE IVORIAN CRISIS The problem has its roots in the fact that the late President Houphet Boigny had granted Burkinabe’s Ivorian citizenship, which was an unpopular policy not supported by the Ivoirians. This created tension and caused so much discord between the Ivorians and the immigrants, resulting in much hatred. Furthermore, many immigrant farmers who had acquired farmlands were quite prosperous but, their hosts wanted them to leave and even denied them voting rights. These mainly Muslim Burkinabes are mostly based in the Northern and Western parts of the country. While in power, President Boigny appeared to have only suppressed the citizenship crisis. The crisis however, resurfaced after his death and still persists up to this moment. When President Boigny died, the then Prime Minister Mr.Alassane Dramane Ouattara wanted to take over as the president. But after some disagreements the Head of the National Assembly, Henri Konan Bedie became president, in accordance with the constitution of the Country. President Bedie initiated and promoted the policy of ‘Ivority’, a policy which discriminated against the largely Muslim people from the northern part of the country accusing many of them of being foreigners. The opposition parties boycotted the October 1995 presidential elections because of the restrictions of the then new electoral laws. The elections were still conducted and Bedie won. His party also won about 80 percent of the National Assembly seats in the December 1995 legislative elections despite the end of the opposition boycott of the elections. The policy of Ivority coupled with the upholding of elections which were boycotted by the opposition led to political instability and unrest. The ruling party split into 3 parties, with Ouattara and later General Robert Guei forming 2 separate parties. Shortly afterwards, there was a successful military coup on 24 December 1999 which brought General Guei to power. He also promoted the policy of Ivority which prevented Mr. Ouattara from contesting the October 2000 elections. The situation got worse when General Guei dissolved the electoral commission during the elections and declared himself the winner. It was alleged that he took this step because it was obvious that the opposition was heading for a clear victory. This led to various demonstrations and mutiny by the soldiers, especially in the northern regions. As a result, General Guei and several other politicians were assassinated and the only opponent in the 2000 elections Laurent Gbagbo declared himself the winner and became the president. The circumstances under which this took place were awkward and the credibility of his presidency was disputed. President Gbagbo pursued a policy of national reconciliation and decentralization of state authority. However, there was an attempted coup on 08 January 2001, which was blamed on the ‘foreigners’. Mr. Alassane Dramane Ouattara, whose nationality was under question, was soon resolved in his favour. The verdict was delivered by the Supreme Court on 26 July 2002, which gave him the citizen certificate and hence a right to contest in the elections. From 19 to 22 September 2002, there was an attempted coup which degenerated into large scale mutiny and then insurgent attacks in Abidjan, Bouake and Korhogo. As a result, the rebels known as Patriotic Movement of Cote d’Ivoire (MPCI) seized Bouake and Korhogo. They also gained control of the northern parts of the country. These incidents were blamed on ‘foreigners’ and the northerners, who claimed that they were being politically marginalized. Eventually, France sent more troops to reinforce those on ground. There was a cease-fire agreement between the Government and the rebels on 17 October 2002 which was not respected. On 28 November 2002, another 2 sets of rebels one known as Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West (MPIGO) and the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP) seized Man and Danane, dividing the country into 2 parts. This left the rebel groups controlling about 60 percent of the Ivorian territory. The MPIGO and MJP Forces declared that their main objective was to avenge the death of Gen Guei and compel President Gbagbo to resign. MPCI, MPIGO and MJP eventually merged to form the New Armed Forces, otherwise called Forces Armies Forces Nouvelle (FAFN). The FAFN led by Mr Guillame Soro became a very formidable force that seemed capable of overrunning the country but for the intervention of the French troops and the UN. Eventually, four pro-government militias emerged in the western part of the country to help the Government resist the rebels. They included Ivorian Movement for the Liberation of the West of Cote d’Ivoire (MILOCI) led by Yahi Octave and Patriotic Union for the Resistance of the Great West (UPRGO), led by Pastor Gammi, both in Guiglo. The others are Patriotic Alliance of WE (APWE) led by Ouehan Mompeho Julien (alias Colombo) in DUEKOUE and Front for the Liberation of the West of Cote d’Ivoire (FLGO) led by Maho Glofei Denis (Alias General Maho) in Guiglo. These militias were later jointly known as Force of Resistance of the Grand West (FRGO). There had been a number of peace agreements aimed at resolving the crisis amicably. The main peace agreements include the Accra, Linas-Marcousis, Pretoria and Ouagadougou agreements. Each of the earlier agreements met some challenges and had to be reviewed in subsequent agreements. The OUAGADOUGOU Political Agreement was the working agreement in which President Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso was the facilitator (Accord politique de Ouagadougou, Presidency of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, 4 March 2007). The agreement also faced some delayed implementation of some of its provisions leading to some reviews. The role of UNOCI in the entire state of affairs was to implement the agreements between various parties and oversee the free and impartial elections in the country. The disagreements on critical issues by the parties had led to some violations of the agreement in a manner that many Ivoirians’ alleged were deliberately created by the then ruling party of FPI. Many of the issues that created a stalemate had been resolved. After a prolonged delay for years the Ivoirians finally got to vote on the 31 October 2010. HOLDING OF ELECTIONS AND DECLARATION OF RESULTS The elections were held in Ivory Coast in two rounds. The first round was held on 31 October 2010, after receiving a foreign aid from various countries including USA, Japan, EU, etc of 115 billion CFA. ("Côte d'Ivoire: "Difficultés" pour financer les élections", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 9 May 2008).The first round of election had 14 candidates, out of which only 3 candidates were of importance. The party of Mr. Laurent Gbagbo with 38.04 % of the votes led the elections with RDR party of Mr. Alssane Ouattara coming a close second with 32.07 % of the votes. Ex- Prime Minister Mr. Henri Konan Bedie was the other person of importance with 25.24 % of the votes being cast for him. The three of them shared almost 95% of the votes between them. As no party had obtained majority the second round of elections were held on 28 November 2010. Soon after the second round of elections were held, the party of Mr. Laurent Gbagbo (FPI) started raising objections regarding the conduct of the elections. The declaration of the results of elections was delayed due to the tearing of the results by a supporter of FPI on the national television. Finally, the results were declared on the 02 December 2010, by the CEI President Youssouf Bakayoko. The results showed Mr. Alassane Outtara as the winner with over 54 percent of votes against Mr. Laurent Gbagbo. However, the deadline for the announcement of the results of the votes was already crossed and also the results were announced only on the CANAL plus channel of France and not on the national television of Ivory Coast. The result of the elections was soon discredited by then current administration of Mr. Laurent Gbagbo since they were not in the time frame as laid out prior to the elections. The onus then on declaring the result of the election fell on to the constitutional council of Ivory Coast. Mr. Paul Yao N’Dre, the president of the Constitutional Council then declared that the results of the elections in seven northern regions were cancelled due to various electoral disputes and frauds committed. The final result was declared narrowly in favor of Mr. Gbagbo who was credited with 51.45% of the votes. The pressure on Mr. Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to the original winner, Mr. Ouattara, as approved by the United Nations and European Union led to no results. The seeds of conflict were sown as the discontentment in the general public supporting Mr. Ouattara grew. The situation in the entire country grew tense with both the parties to the conflict claiming victory in the elections. IVORIAN CIVIL WAR The second Ivorian Civil War broke out after prolonged standoff between both the parties. As the option of taking up a military action by the African Union and by United Nations led did not materialize, the forces loyal to Mr. Alassane Ouattara decided to forcibly evict Mr. Laurent Gbagbo from power. The sporadic violence escalated into a full scale military conflict by the end of March 2011. The forces from both the sides were engaged in a battle with the newly formed FRCI (Force Republican de Cote D’Ivoire) which was pro – Ouattara taking up the political capital. Soon after the political capital of Yamoussoukro fell to the FRCIon 30 March 2011, the fighting shifted to the commercial capital of Abidjan. After a long drawn fight between both the parties with FRCI being aided by United Nations, on 11 April 2011, Mr. Laurent Gbagbo was arrested from his residence (Lynch, Colum; William Branigin. "Ivory Coast strongman arrested after French forces intervene". Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2011). THE PATH AHEAD. With the arrest of Mr. Laurent Gbagbo and reinstating of the government of Mr. Alassane Ouattara it may seem that peace has returned to the war torn country of Ivory Coast. However, it is to be seen how the path ahead is chalked out by the internationally recognized President, Mr. Alassane Ouattara to bring back peace to the country. The reconciliation between both the parties which have witnessed bloodshed will be no mean task and the wounds will take time to heal. The economy which had suffered a great deal of loss owing to various international embargoes should be brought quickly back to its feet. The internally displaced people and the citizens who had fled to various other countries need to be assured about the safety and security and need to be brought back to their homes ( BBC News - Thousands flee Ivory Coast for Liberia amid poll crisis". 26 December 2010). The process of healing the wounds of the past 5 months of conflict will take a considerable amount of time and needs to be perused diligently. CITATION 1. Accord politique de Ouagadougou, Presidency of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, 4 March 2007. 2. "BBC News - Thousands flee Ivory Coast for Liberia amid poll crisis". 26 December 2010. 3. "Côte d'Ivoire: "Difficultés" pour financer les élections", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 9 May 2008. 4. "Côte d'Ivoire", The World Factbook, CIA Directorate of Intelligence) 5. France's 'Little Iraq'". CBS News. 15 November 2004. 6. Journal Officiel de la République de Côte d’Ivoire 42 (30): 529–538, 3 August 2000 7. Lynch, Colum; William Branigin. "Ivory Coast strongman arrested after French forces intervene". Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2011. Read More