Abidjan, June 9, 2006

Mr. Modeste Seri repeated his concern regarding the serious lack of progress with preparations for national elections, supposed to be held before October 30, 2006 in Ivory Coast.

With more than half the one year maximum time allocated to the disarmament, voter registration, and election process having passed, the disputing factions still show no clear commitment to peace. Recent advances with disarmament and registration are only cosmetic.

Mr. Seri said “The truth of the matter is that the leaders of both sides of the conflict that divides our country are profiting from the current no-war-no peace situation, and have little interest in peace. The big losers in this situation are the bulk of the population, who see the state collapsing and their welfare drastically diminishing. Security, health, education, the economy, justice all continue deteriorating to catastrophic levels for the majority of Ivorians”.

Mr. Seri repeated the main points of the DJCI Peace Plan, which calls for a greater degree of international involvement as the only effective way to overcome the current impasse and to set the stage to build sustainable peace for the future. An urgent increase in UN peace-keeping troops is needed. The international community must support a transitional government made up of technically competent Ivorians, not- implicated in the current tragedy, to take charge after October 30. This transitional government should conduct intense detoxifying, reconciliation and civic education campaigns and reconstruct the main institutions of the state, for a return of the rule of law and as a prelude to democracy and economic recovery. Only then, after two or three years, will elections be meaningful.

Mr. Seri also commented on the tragic East Timor situation that has been making world media headlines in recent days. “East Timor has shown us that UN peace building operations need to be thorough, even if they take time and expense. The investment is well worth it. We need strong international peace building support to achieve sustainable peace in Ivory Coast. I hope that the lesson taught by the East Timor example is well learned, and that the international community will provide the UN with the necessary means to successfully assist our reconstruction”, Mr. Seri said. 

For further comment: Modeste Seri + 225 08586948