NEUTRAL TRANSITION GOVERNMENT NEEDED IN LESS THAN A MONTH IN
IVORY COAST
New
York, 01 October 2005
Almost
one year ago a Peace Plan
was proposed by D.J.CIand CUP-CI,
its grass-roots civil society partner organisation in the
Ivory Coast (see www.cwps.org
for full document text). It
was enthusiastically received by many inside and outside the
war-torn country. As the Ivorian situation becomes dramatic, the
wisdom of this proposed peace and reconstruction strategy has
become obvious. It is evident that the alternative path pursued
so far has failed. The costs of this failure have been
significant. The D.J.CI proposal should thus be implemented
without delay. The future costs of not doing so at once will be
immense, for the Ivory Coast as well as for many of the up to 80
million people living in the West African region.
The
D.J.CI/ CUP-CI Peace Plan
calls for a transitional government for the Ivory Coast strongly
supported by the international community through the UN with
the co-operation of the African Union.
The members of this government would be non-partisan
Ivorian professionals of competence and integrity, not
implicated in the destruction of the country perpetrated by
previous political actors. International experts would
complement them where necessary.
The
main objective of this
caretaker government would be to detoxify the population
from the current climate of division and political violence that
is destroying the state. By creating the necessary space for a
return to peace and harmony, conditions can be set for
national reconstruction, and a return to the rule of law and
democratic life.
Only
after this is achieved, is the holding of national elections
meaningful. Any elections held under present conditions in a country experiencing an
armed rebellion and a deeply divided population would be a
meaningless ritual, opening the door to ongoing violence and
instability.
On
October 30, 2005 the mandate of incumbent President Laurent
Gbagbo ends. There is little point to waste time debating whether according to the
Ivorian Constitution his mandate can be extended or not. His
side says it can. The rebels and the G7 Associations say it
can’t. A power vacuum will ensue and violence will further
escalate. The results will be tragic for the Ivorian people and
for their neighbours.
D.J.CI
and CUP-CI call on the international community to increase their
involvement in the Ivory Coast without delay.
The UN Security Council should (a) increase peacekeeping troop
presence; (b) extend the ONUCI mandate by one year; (c) select a
transitional government to prepare for elections (understood in
the widest sense) to include a caretaker administration, promote
reconciliation, civic education, repair of state institutions
etc. There is no
time to loose to avert a major West African tragedy.
Modeste
Seri, President, D.JCI/ CUP-CI
Cell: 1 646 3208779
E-mail: modestseri@aol.com
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