Agreement reported on second day of soldiers’ protest

Information Minister Captain Henri Sama said agreement had been reached on Wednesday between Cote d’Ivoire’s ruling junta, the Conseil National de Salut Public (CNSP), and protesting soldiers demanding millions of CFA francs in bonuses. Sama said on Radio France Internationale (RFI) that the agreement would be announced on state television in the afternoon. The protest, which prompted the CNSP to impose a curfew from 19:00 to 07:00 GMT, began on Tuesday with soldiers firing shots in the air to press for the payment of a bonus of six million CFA francs (about US $9000) per person, reportedly for their role in the coup that ousted President Henri Konan Bedie on 24 December 1999. The protesters also attacked a bank in the central town of Bouake and one in Korhogo (north), on Tuesday, the authorities reported. There was gunfire in various Abidjan neighbourhoods on Tuesday night and on Wednesday, area residents told IRIN. The protesters also commandeered private cars and taxis on Tuesday, prompting many people to leave their vehicles at home or at the office. There were reports, including by western embassies, that vehicles were still being seized on Wednesday. On Tuesday evening CNSP Chairman General Robert Guei, who is also Cote d’Ivoire’s president and defence minister, called for calm and dialogue in an address on state television. He was followed seconds later by a purported representative of the protesters, Corporal Kone Aboubakari, who announced that a commission comprising representatives of all uniformed corps would be formed to “implement the decisions made by the President of the Republic with a view to satisfying our demands”. Kone, who was flanked by five other soldiers, urged his comrades in arms throughout the country to lay down their weapons and return to the barracks. However, on Wednesday morning, a marine officer, Quartermaster Alain Kakou, told RFI he had been elected by the protesters to speak on their behalf and that Kone had no mandate to do so. He added that the protest was an “exclusively military affair”, and that Guei knew why the soldiers were in the streets. He did not elaborate, but this may have been a reference to the six-million-FCFA bonus. On Tuesday, Guei had denied that any such amount had been promised to the soldiers. He also said they had received salary increases and that housing units they had been promised were in the pipeline. Offices and businesses have remained closed since Tuesday, despite a call on Wednesday from the CNSP for people to report to work. There was little movement on the streets of Abidjan. At around 0800-0830 GMT on Wednesday morning, a few vehicles could be seen in some areas, such as the middle-income neighbourhood of Deux Plateaux, but by mid-morning, vehicular traffic had ground to a halt after it became apparent that the protest was continuing. Diplomatic missions have been warning their nationals to remain at home. The US Embassy said early Wednesday afternoon that the situation remained “very fluid and movement around town is difficult and potentially dangerous”. According to the authorities, at least one person has been killed so far - a civilian hit on Tuesday by a stray bullet in Bouake. The US Embassy said there was “an increased military presence and road blocks on all major roads and the bridges across the lagoon” around which Abidjan’s various neighbourhoods are situated and that it had “reports of confrontation between elements of the military”. It also said that businesses had reportedly been looted, the Felix Houphouet Boigny International airport was not accessible and all international flights had been cancelled.