Calm returns to Abidjan

An apparent calm settled over Abidjan on Thursday following an agreement between the Conseil National de Salut Public (CNSP) and representatives of protesting soldiers that ended two days of unrest in Cote d’Ivoire. Up to mid-Thursday, there were no details of the agreement, concluded the day before. The protest began on Tuesday, with soldiers firing shots into the air, then commandeering private vehicles and taxis. On Tuesday, Information Minister Captain Henri Sama said it was the work of “some soldiers of the Ivoirian army who, for some weeks now, have been demanding six million CFA francs (just under US $9,000) each as war booty”. The soldiers’ spokesman, Captain Alain Kacou, said on Wednesday that the protest “was an exclusively military affair” but both Sama and CNSP leader General Robert Guei said politicians were behind it. “What has just occurred,” Guei said on state television on Wednesday evening, “is a coup d’etat that was prepared and, unfortunately, certain political parties are behind it.” No names were mentioned. He said investigations were continuing but that, although the CNSP had some evidence, it did not want to detract from the electoral calendar, which kicks off on 23 July with a referendum on a new draft constitution, followed by presidential elections in September and legislative and municipal polls later in the year. Guei also accused unnamed politicians of going as far as to consider using mercenaries to prevent the referendum from taking place. He said the CNSP had proof of this. “The CNSP had banned politicians from leaving the country,” he said. “If by any chance any of them tried to impinge on the security of the state by introducing weapons into Cote d’Ivoire, I would like to warn them that when the first shells explode, they themselves will receive the shrapnel.” His statements came came just weeks after the CNSP accused the opposition Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR) of plotting against the state. RDR spokesman Aly Coulibaly said on radio on Thursday that “these are groundless accusations” and that the RDR had become a political scapegoat. He pointed out that the soldiers’ representative, Captain Kacou, had said that the protest was a purely military affair. Humanitarian sources said there was still a climate of uncertainty in the Ivoirian capital and that the situation could not be described as stable.