DATE=1/4/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=IVORIAN COUP / CAUSES - PART ONE
NUMBER=5-45169
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=ABIDJAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The coup on Christmas Eve in Ivory Coast, or
Cote d'Ivoire, overthrew one of West Africa's most
stable governments. It also ushered in a period of
uncertainty and risk, although the country's new
military leaders have promised to form a transitional
government and quickly restore a civilian democracy.
V-O-A Correspondent Scott Bobb has been covering the
coup in Ivory Coast and has this report on some of the
reasons behind it.
TEXT: The military coup in Ivory Coast surprised most
people, but it has been welcomed by many Ivorians
worried that the country was about to enter a period
of collapse and civil war like that seen recently in
neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone.
At the heart of the crisis was a sense of hopeless
economic decline. Although Ivory Coast is one of the
wealthiest nations in West Africa, living standards
have been falling for years, in part because of low
prices for exports - primarily agricultural - but also
because of inflation and institutionalized corruption.
There was also the perception that the government of
deposed President Henri Konan Bedie was incapable of
responding to the crisis. In 1993, Mr. Bedie
inherited the presidency upon the death of the
country's founding father, Felix Houphouet-Boigny.
But he lacked the political skill of the man - revered
as the wise man of Africa - to mediate between the
country's many - often rival - ethnic, religious and
economic interest groups.
Mr. Bedie was elected president in 1995, but the
elections were controversial and divisive. In recent
years, he felt increasingly threatened by the late
president's last prime minister, Alassane
Ouattara. Mr. Ouattara, an economist and former
regional banking official, had developed a power base
among Muslims and northern Ivorians.
A campaign was launched against Mr. Ouattara. He was
accused of having parents from neighboring Burkina
Faso and, as a result, was banned from running in
presidential elections due to be held later this year.
An analyst with Senegal's International Institute for
African Research, Professor Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe, says
the Ouattara case was widely seen as politically
motivated.
/// EKWE-EKWE ACT ///
The attempt to disenfranchise Ouattara was no
doubt pursued opportunistically, some people
might even say, was actually bordering on
xenophobia. It was an attempt by Bedie, to
play, quote-unquote, the nationalist card.
/// END ACT ///
As part of this program, the Bedie government
introduced work permits for foreigners, which were
expensive and difficult to obtain. These documents -
and the harassment that accompanied them - angered
foreigners, many of whom had lived in the country for
decades.
The moves against Mr. Ouattara also created rifts
within Mr. Bedie's Democratic Party, which had
governed since independence. However, Mr. Bedie
reportedly refused to acknowledge the growing
discontent. Student and labor protests were
repressed. Opposition leaders were imprisoned.
An analyst at the African Institute of South Africa,
Herman Hanekom, says Mr. Bedie was becoming
increasingly autocratic.
/// HANEKOM ACT ///
Ex-president Bedie was slowly but surely eroding
the basic premise and principals of democracy
under his rule. Along with not paying the
soldiers, he developed the degree of discontent
that eventually exploded into a mutiny, which
then changed itself into a military/political
revolution.
/// END ACT ///
On December 23rd, two days before Christmas, soldiers
revolted because the government had not paid them for
peacekeeping duties in the Central African Republic.
They took over the radio and television stations and
then the international airport. The following day, in
the face of looting and a rising sense of anarchy, the
senior military leadership announced it was seizing
power.
The coup was quickly and widely condemned by the
international community. Yet, most Ivorians were
relieved. And when Mr. Bedie's call for resistance
was completely ignored, some foreign governments
softened their criticism and began calling instead for
a rapid return to civilian democracy. (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/GE/JP
04-Jan-2000 12:08 PM EDT (04-Jan-2000 1708 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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