DATE=1/6/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=IVORIAN COUP / RISKS
NUMBER=5-45186
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: LAST IN THE SERIES OF THREE
BACKGROUNDERS ON THE COUP IN IVORY COAST ///
INTRO: The new military leader of Ivory Coast,
Robert Guei, has announced (EDS: January 5) that
he is suspending payments on the country's
foreign debt in order to pay soldiers and civil
servants who have not been paid in months. Mr.
Guei came to power in a coup at the end of
December (December 24) sparked by soldiers who
were protesting their poor living conditions and
the government's failure to pay their salaries.
V-O-A Correspondent Scott Bobb examines the
reasons for the mutiny and what effect it will
have on the future of the country.
TEXT: ///SOUND OF SOLDIERS TALKING, DRINKING///
A group of young soldiers is sitting together at
one of the outdoor bars in downtown Abidjan.
Many are wearing expensive sunglasses resting on
top of their shaven heads. They are chatting,
drinking beer, and trying out their new cellular
(mobile) phones.
/// SOUND OF CELLULAR PHONES ///
The phones only ring, however. They are not
connected to the telephone system because, like
the sunglasses, they were looted during the
unrest that overthrew what had been one of West
Africa's most enduring governments.
Eyewitnesses say, during the looting, soldiers
shot the padlocks off the doors of stores and
warehouses and, after helping themselves, invited
the local civilians to the remaining goods.
Family members and business associates of deposed
President Henri Konan Bedie were the main victims
of the looting. Losses are estimated in the tens
of millions of dollars.
/// OPT /// Many foreign businessmen actually
welcomed the coup and support the military junta
that seized power. They say the Bedie government
had become corrupt and repressive and the deposed
president refused to listen to advisors who
warned of looming social unrest.
Foreign businessmen, for the most part, also like
the new military leader, General Robert Guei,
saying he is fair and honest. Yet they worry
about the future stability of Ivory Coast and
wonder if they should reduce their investments.
The mutiny by low-ranking soldiers over back pay
and poor living conditions reminded many of the
barracks coups in neighboring Liberia and Sierra
Leone, which led to anarchy and civil war. ///
END OPT ///
The soldiers in Ivory Coast complained they had
not been issued new boots and uniforms since Mr.
Bedie came to power six years ago. And they say
they are owed months of back pay.
An analyst with the African Institute of South
Africa, Herman Hanekom, says the disgruntled
soldiers represent a risk.
/// HANEKOM ACT ///
We will be naive if we do not recognize the
potential danger of not meeting the
material needs of the soldiers, that the
situation may once again explode into a
mutiny or perhaps even a far worse
rebellion with conservative motives instead
of democratic motives behind it.
/// END ACT ///
The mutinous soldiers and junior officers asked
General Guei to take power, demonstrating,
according to many, a certain degree of political
maturity and leading some to wonder if a coup had
not been planned all along.
/// OPT /// General Guei has formed a
transitional government that includes the
country's political parties. He says he wants
the transitional government to draft a new
constitution and organize free elections. The
general has also revived the memory of the
country's first president, Felix Houphouet-
Boigny, who is still deeply revered for his
ability to balance the aspirations of the
country's diverse religious and ethnic interest
groups. /// END OPT ///
An expert with Senegal's International Institute
for African Research, Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe,
acknowledges there is a risk that the young
soldiers might try to seize power again, but he
does not believe that is likely, given the
history of Ivory Coast.
/// EKWE-EKWE ACT ///
The events are ultimately intelligible or
understood in the context of the general
malaise that has occurred in society. It's
almost unlikely that perhaps 10 years ago,
let's say during the period of the
Houphouet-Boigny administration, one would
have had that level of open rebellion
against the Ivorian state. We're talking
about a very, very stable society.
/// END ACT ///
General Guei has warned the civilian politicians
that if they are unable to agree on a government,
the military is prepared to govern without them.
The military leaders know they must have foreign
aid restored, which was suspended following the
coup, and revive the economy if they are to begin
to satisfy the demands of the soldiers and avoid
any repetition of what happened last month.
(SIGNED)
NEB/SB/GE/ENE/KL
06-Jan-2000 12:17 PM EDT (06-Jan-2000 1717 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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