Peace eludes Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — The United Nations has yet to restore peace to war-divided Ivory Coast, but a Nov. 1 resolution of the Security Council can boast of one achievement: It has reinforced the loose unity of those who oppose President Laurent Gbagbo.

His chief opponents consist of the rebel New Forces, the former ruling Democratic Party of Ivory Coast and the northern and Muslim-supported Assembly of Republicans.

Although each yearns for political supremacy and believes in its own cause, they all support U.N. resolution 1721 as a compromise that can resolve the conflict that plagues the diminished economic heart of West Africa.

“We are not trying to oppose anyone,” said Alphonse Djedje Mady, secretary-general of the Democratic Party. “We think all Ivorians must make mutual concessions and give mutual forgiveness to obtain peace.”

Peace has eluded Ivory Coast for nearly a decade because of two political events. The first was the 1999 military coup that ended the rule of elected then-President Henri Konan Bedie, the Democratic Party’s successor to founding President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who ruled for 33 years.

In the 2000 election, coup leader Gen. Robert Guei disqualified almost all major candidates and then declared himself the winner. Subsequent protests put Mr. Gbagbo in power.

In 2002, rebel groups, now collectively called the New Forces, seized control of half of the country, including the north and parts of the west.

Though that war officially ended in July 2003, control in Ivory Coast is still split between the government and the rebels. The absence of war or peace left a political deadlock that keeps Mr. Gbagbo as president, although his mandate expired in 2005. The government and the rebels can’t agree on rules for new elections.

Two attempts to organize elections — in 2005 and this October — have failed.

The latest U.N. resolution aims to push Ivory Coast toward elections on Oct. 31, 2007, by extending the term of the transitional government for a second year and by granting Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny additional powers to prepare them.

Spreading the blame

Mr. Djedje Mady accused Mr. Gbagbo of refusing to implement the new resolution because the president found it inconvenient.

“He’s searching for another way to solve the crisis. That’s not going to work,” Mr. Djedje Mady said.

It is not the first time Mr. Gbagbo has ignored international agreements regarding Ivory Coast.

Sidiki Konate, a New Forces spokesman, said Mr. Gbagbo is in no rush to leave office because he and his partisans are reaping economic benefits from his presidency.

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