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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Cote d'Ivoire prepares to disarm pro-government militia groups |
| 2008-07-10 |
| (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's Integrated Command Centre (ICC), a joint military body bringing together former rebels and government troops, has held discussions with pro-establishment militia groups in readiness for disarmament, according to official sources. The meeting, which was attended by senior military officials and representatives of self-defense groups in the western part of the country, was held in the political capital of Yamoussoukro, the official Ivorian News Agency reported Tuesday. The meeting is a prelude to the implementation of the long-delayed process to Disarm and Dismantle Militias (DDM), one of the most important issues in the Cote d'Ivoire's peace process, according to keen observers. Formerly one of the most stable democracies in sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d'Ivoire plunged into a serious political-military crisis six years ago after the New Forces rebels seized the northern part of the country in the wake of a botched coup against President Laurent Gbagbo. Since then, the world's largest cocoa producer has been divided in two and is currently in the middle of implementing a peace process that is expected to culminate in free and fair presidential elections later this year. Speaking with reporters shortly at the end of the meeting, Col. Nicolas Kouakou, a senior ICC commander, said the meeting was intended to provide some useful information and also lay the basis for the official start of the DDM process. 'We have specifically agreed to begin with the disarmament of self-defense groups in the Grand West, because for us, this is one of the regions that have suffered the horrors of this terrible crisis,' said Col. Kouakou. 'The DDM activities have actually started in the presence of the head of state (Laurent Gbagbo). That is why, in an agreement with our partners, some heads of departments in places such as Blolequin, Guiglo and Toulepleu were chosen to carry out this mission,' he said. A little more than a dozen groups, chief among them, the Front for the Liberation of the Grand West (FLGO), the Movement for the Liberation of Western Cote d'Ivoire (MILOCI), took part in the meeting, led by their leaders. At the height of the political-military crisis, currently in its sixth year, The country embarked on a process to end the crisis after President Gbagbo and the FN leader Guillaume Soro, the country's prime minister, met and agreed to sign a comprehensive peace agreement in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in March 2007. Despite suffering a few setbacks and challenges, the latest being a rebel-led mutiny in the central parts of the country, the West African nation is well on the right path and there are hopes that it will emerge from the bitter crisis. |
| Posted by:Fred |