Less than two months ago, on February 7, 2006 international headlines trumpeted, “U.N. imposes sanctions on three Ivory Coast [Country Profile] leaders” (RealNews). The UN Security Council was justifiably angered not just by the intransigence of both sides of the nearly four-year old Cote d’Ivoire civil war, but because mobs of “Young Patriots” , totaling nearly 2,000 led by Charles Ble Goude who is loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo , attacked UN bases, residences, and vehicles in the economic capital of Abidjan and other cities. Defending themselves, UN peacekeepers shot dead four demonstrators before UN Special Envoy to Ivory Coast Pierre Schori announced the temporary withdrawal of nearly 400 civilian UN staffers from the country. The UN sanctions were aimed specifically at three prominent figures: Ble Goude and his colleague Eugene Djue were identified for orchestrating the early 2006 violence while a northern rebel commander, Fofie Kouakou , was included on the sanctions list for earlier alleged human rights abuses. Notably, the sanctions were approved by all 15 Security Council members, although both Ble Goude and Djue minimized the impact of the decision, noting that they lack foreign assets and rarely travel abroad.
Despite the civilian withdrawal, a significant international peacekeeping presence remains. At least 7,000 UN troops and another 4,000 French peacekeepers are deployed to keep the warring factions apart and were augmented in early February by another 200 soldiers of a small mechanized unit transferred from Liberia . To add an exclamation point behind the sanctions of Gbagbo’s cronies, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sent Gbagbo a bill for $3.6 million to cover damage of UN property and equipment during the pro-government riots.
The motive behind the attacks against UN facilities was anger toward the UN’s declared recommendation to dissolve the existing (or rather, remaining) Ivory Coast parliament, which is seen by many as disproportionately stacked with pro-Gbagbo MPs. UN envoy Schori’s team worries that such a voting bloc will slow or even prevent progress toward a peace settlement. International civilian advisors also hope that the dissolution of parliament will strengthen the authority of transitional Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny as a counterbalance to Gbagbo.
The 2002-2003 civil war and resulting bifurcated country has left the once comparatively prosperous country in economic shambles. The triggers igniting the conflict center on the definitions of ethnicity, origins, and identity. Currently, candidates may only take office?and civilians vote?with proof that both parents were Ivorian-born. Former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara was prevented from assuming his elected position as president in 2000 since he failed to meet that heritage clause. Subsequently, Gbagbo loyalists, often with the aid of security forces, destroyed the papers of their political enemies, thereby reducing the pool of eligible candidates and voters. A lasting peace has been elusive since northern rebels are loathe to disarm until the identity issue is resolved, thereby securing for them fair access in open polls. Conversely, undecided voters and Gbagbo supporters are not inclined to vote freely until their security is somehow ensured.
There was cause for cautious optimism, however, when rebel leader Guillaume Soro returned to his position in the government of national unity, from which he walked away in 2004, on March 16, 2006. Representing not only his own Ivory Coast Patriotic Movement (MPCI) , but now also the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP) and the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West (MPIGO) , (referred to sometimes collectively as the New Forces rebels ) Soro proclaimed, “The war is finished but the crisis, the consequences of the war continue and must be juggled with the participation of everyone.” Soro’s presence in the reformed transitional government leading up to the anticipated October 2006 national election is a direct result of UN envoy Schori’s careful patient work. As of late March 2006, the October date may, indeed, be overly optimistic. Nonetheless, if satisfactory progress can be made toward resolving the identity and disarmament issues, an early 2007 poll is much more feasible and likely.