Monday, March 19, 2007
Cautious Optimism
The Ivory Coast government and the rebel movement inside the country have a long record of unsuccessful peace agreements that have been aimed at ending the civil war that has divided the country for a number of years. Earlier this month, two sides signed a new deal to form a power-sharing government and set up a joint army command within the country. The new integrated command center will be composed of and equal number of both government troops and the rebels. The agreement was made under the conditions that the two groups will work to demobilize militias from both sides. BBC reports that this joint army command structure is the “first and relatively painless sign that the two leaders intend to keep their word this time round.” Many believe that this peace accord has a better chance of succeeding where others have failed because the top leaders have been directly involved in the process. However, with such a long history of failed peace deals between politicians who are famous for not respecting their word, how can the Ivorian people be expected to be truly optimistic about the current agreement?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured Post
Turkey's Ban on Insults against Erdogan
Since 2005 Turkey has had a law against insults against Erdogan known as Article 299. The article declares that citizens can be imprisoned ...
-
Great news! Now you can sit back in the comfort of your own home and actually see (provided you have access to high-speed internet) the phys... -
From 600,000 to 1 million souls slaughtered in just 100 days in Rwanda. Thousands killed, raped and mutilated in Darfur, Sudan. On-going civ...
-
Darfur Sudan. Many Americans don't even know where that is. For many in Darfur, it is hell on earth. An estimated 2.6 million people ha...
1 comment:
I spent some time looking over this article and then I read the section where people were able to respond as to whether they thought the peace accords would work. Interestingly enough, there was only response from an resident of the Ivory Coast. It follows:
I definetly believe that the lastest accord signed in burkina faso will work.
It will work first all because it is made by Africans,and only Africans know how to settle matter with another African.
secondly because all Ivorian parties agree to bring peace in their beloved country,moreover they all fed up machines sound and guns.for those reasons I think the accord can work and bring peace in the country.The other accord failed because there were too many persons involved in the talk process.
konan hubert, Abidjan, Cote dIvoire
This response is extremely interesting for two reasons. First of all, it demonstrates that the people of Cote d'Ivoire have confidence in the peace agreement because it was formed and negotiated by Africans on African soil. I think that the fact that the president of Burkina Faso took the time to negotiate the peace settlement is a strong indicator that some countries may be moving towards peace. The absense of external influences in the peace process is commendable and notable as well. Konan states that because of this, the accord will be taken more seriously by the inhabitants of Cote d'Ivoire.
The second interesting point in this response is that Konan notes that the people are sick and tired of the guns and conflict. This is very important because ultimatly it will be the people who force the government to change. If the people are truly interested in achieving and maintaining a peace, then the peace process may have a fighting chance. What Konan fails to recognize is that it is in the interest of Gbagbo to maintain a corrupt government for his personal gain.
Post a Comment