Military

DATE=10/27/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-268511

TITLE=IVORY COAST (L)

BYLINE=LUIS RAMIREZ

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT:

VOICED AT:

INTRO: In Ivory Coast, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, whose supporters staged the latest bout of violent demonstrations, says he will not accept a part in the country's newly installed civilian government. V-O-A's Luis Ramirez reports from Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan.

TEXT: Former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara made the announcement after he was summoned to a meeting Friday with newly inaugurated President Laurent Gbagbo, who was in the process of forming a new government.

Mr. Ouattara's supporters staged violent demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday to demand that the presidential elections that put Mr. Gbagbo in power be canceled, and new ones be held.

Followers of Mr. Ouattara's Assembly of the Republicans Party are angry that he was barred from running in the elections last Sunday. The government of former military ruler General Robert Guei earlier this month disqualified Mr. Ouattara, saying he did not meet strict nationality requirements as spelled out by a recently approved constitution.

Critics of the now toppled Guei government say the general pushed the constitution in a calculated move to exclude Mr. Ouattara, who enjoys wide support among northern Ivory Coast's Dioula-speaking Muslims.

The Dioulas have long complained that Christian southerners are unwilling to share power.

On Wednesday and Thursday, street clashes pitted Dioulas against non-Muslim Ivorians. Several churches and mosques were attacked.

Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in as president of Ivory Coast Thursday, ending ten months of military rule that began with the country's first coup last December. The coup put General Robert Guei in power.

The general was forced to flee Wednesday when thousands took to the streets to protest after he tried to declare himself the winner in Sunday's presidential elections. A later count of the votes showed General Guei trailed far behind Mr. Gbagbo in the final tally.

In his inaugural address (Friday), President Gbagbo said he would not order new elections despite calls from the United States and other members of the international community urging the new government to do so. (SIGNED)

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