DJCI† President expresses concern with Ivory Coast situation on eve of 5^th anniversary of the country’s rebellion

Since March 2007, a false sense of peaceful resolution of the now 5 year old Ivory Coast conflict has been promoted by the Ivorian government after the Head of State managed to co-opt the leader of the rebellion to become Prime Minister under the much hailed “Ouagadougou Peace Accord” brokered by President Compaoré of neighboring Burkina Faso. 

Reflecting on the implementation process of the accord, Mr. Modeste Seri, President of DJCI said in Abidjan “a spectacular show has been produced during these last six months to make the Ivorian people and the international community believe that a genuine resolution of the conflict that divides the country is under way. The time has come to denounce it”.  

Tragically, the reality is that the root causes of the current conflict, namely the attempted exclusion of an important part of the population from full participation in civic life because of their immigrant ancestry, as well as the poor governance quality shown by the current authorities, are not being honestly addressed. The consequence has been that the country remains effectively divided, showing a near paralysis of activities in most important sectors such as health and education, a shrinking economy and consequent joblessness, the widespread pauperization of the population, a dysfunctional judiciary allowing impunity of criminals, massive corruption, the rise of armed groups and a climate of internal insecurity, the general decay of civic values, etc., etc.  “The once exemplar Ivory Coast has become a miserable failed state” added Mr. Seri.

DJCI is convinced that the situation has already deteriorated so far, that the simple holding of elections in the current context will not heal the country’s profound ills and will not lay the conditions for the genuine peace and reconstruction that the population so ardently long for. Firstly, judging from the lack of corrective measures undertaken by those in charge, there is no guarantee that elections would be inclusive and honest. Secondly, the choice alternatives likely to be offered to the population would mostly come from the same political class which has failed so badly in the past. Third, there is a wide gap between this political class of mostly self-seeking members, and the interests of the wider population which they do not properly represent.  

The Ivorian population needs to realize that the long-awaited elections will be pointless unless profound changes urgently take place. It is now increasingly clear that the “Ouagadougou Peace Accord” like the previous schemes that have been proposed by the current political actors, will not bring sustainable peace and good governance to the country. The international community backers of the current plan should note this fact and reassess their support for the accord. “How much more time do we have to waste with futile efforts until this becomes evident?” asked Modeste Seri. A transitional government of clean, capable and honest technocrats to cleanse the country and reconstruct its institutions is urgently needed. Only after this can meaningful elections take place, to bring lasting peace, good governance and prosperity to Ivory Coast.  “Ivorian civil society and its backers need to act now for this to happen”, concluded Mr. Seri.

Abidjan 18 September 2007

For comment:  Modeste Seri +225-08-58-69-48
Email modestseri@aol.com or movdjci@aol.com.

† DJCI is an organization bringing together Ivorian civil society groups. It was initiated by the Ivorian Diaspora together with members of local Ivorian youth. It has set up a citizen movement in Ivory Coast committed to total ethnic and religious inclusiveness. It aims to: (1) end the current artificially generated political impasse, and (2) promote the advent of a new administration to ensure peace, unity and prosperity.