Northern Ivorians want national reconciliation

BOUNDIALI, Ivory Coast (Reuters) -- Barricades, burning tires and smashed ballot boxes which prevented a parliamentary vote across most of Ivory Coast's Muslim north bear testament to the country's deep ethnic divisions.

But as life returned to normal after Sunday's election, people in the northern town of Boundiali -- where protesters burnt ballot boxes and computers in the local administrative office -- said what they really wanted was peace and reconciliation with the south.

In the cold light of day, the secessionist demands that led other towns to expel government officials lost their appeal.

"We must continue to live together and respect each other's differences," deputy mayor Losseni Dao told Reuters.

Dao is a prominent member of the Rally of the Republicans party (RDR), which called a boycott of the poll after the Supreme Court barred its leader, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, citing doubts over his nationality. Critics say Ouattara is a national of Burkina Faso to the north.

"To the people from the north this (exclusion) was a symbol," Dao said. "It is what we call the politics of the rider and the horse. We don't want to be the horse always. We have lots of university graduates, not only Ouattara."

Dao said it was now up to the government of Socialist President Laurent Gbagbo and the RDR leadership to find a way to resolve Ouattara's status and reintegrate the RDR.

Farmer Fougatrie Kone, from the nearby village of Kounoumou, is the head of the local branch of the former ruling Democratic Party (PDCI). He said he had wanted to vote on Sunday.

"We want to vote, we want to be inside the parliament," he said as he waited for a bus at a roadside stall.

"Reconciliation is possible. We'll get a grip on ourselves. That is what politics is all about. I have friends in the RDR. Everybody has a good relationship with everybody in my village."

Links too strong to sever

Yao Kouadio, Boundiali's prefect and most senior official of central government, says secession is unthinkable.

"The problem must be solved on a national level. There must be talks and a consensus must be found. The population has other things to do than to throw stones and fire at each other. They are farmers and transporters," he told Reuters.

Kouadio, originally from the mainly Christian and animist south, says government policy since independence in 1960 has strengthened regional links, encouraging people from the north and neighbouring northern countries to move to the southern forests and grow cocoa, making Ivory Coast the top producer.

"In the minds of the people it has never been a question of dividing the north and the south. It is not clear who would win what in the event of a secession. Too many northerners have farms in the south," he said.

Partial elections will have to be held sooner or later in Boundiali and for 31 other parliamentary seats in the north, where protesters stopped Sunday's poll taking place.

Kouadio said it was vital to achieve a political solution to allow the RDR to participate in the vote to ensure it went well.

"Otherwise we will need a lot of security forces," he said.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Organization of African Unity
Amnesty International 2000 country report, Ivory Coast
U.S. Dept. of State, Human Rights Reports for 1999: Cote d'Ivoire
Library of Congress, Country Study, Ivory Coast

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