Saturday, February 17, 2007
Cote d'Ivoire peace settlement?
It seems that the Ivory Coast is on the verge of negotiating a peace settlement with the rebel Forces Nouvelles. After five years of civil war, the country has been left ravaged. Thousands are displaced, and many more cannot find employment or the means to sustain their lives. The president of Burkina Faso and the AFrican Union have recently offered to mediate talks between the Ivorian president the the rebel forces. They hope to be able to resolve differences in order to better conditions in the ravaged state. Although peace talks sound easy, the road has been dotted with many obstacles. Pierre Schori, the UN special representative to the Ivory Coast cited specific UN obstacles to obtaining a peace agreement. Among these are the "old boys network" and the heirarchical structures which the UN relies on. I think that it is ironic because it is these exact obstacles that the UN is fighting to promote development all over Africa. Will the president and rebel forces be able to negotiate a peace agreement? Due to the conditions of the country and the already twice post-poned national elections, I think that the change of an agreement is slim. Lets hope to the contrary.
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2 comments:
An agreement would be great, but as you mentioned, it might not change anything . Although Sudan came to a peace agreement a few years ago, the country is doing even worse today. A lot needs to be done in the country. A peace agreement may be a first step if parties adhere to it. Once the peace agreement is signed, the government will have to rebuild the country. In these situations, it is hard to determine what the first step should be because there are so many different issues at stake.
I agree. A peace settlement is usually not the best option in a country with a legacy of coups and political violence. Without the proper infrastructure in place to promote peace rather than peace being used as a way to temporarily stop the violence, I am not sure how useful the settlement would be. Perhaps a transition government should be set up before there are free elections. As we have seen in many places, free elections do not always equal peace but instead partisan violence ie Zimbabwe and even the elections leading up to in Nigeria.
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