Eyadema chosen to head negotiations

The Economic Community of West African States on Wednesday designated Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema to lead negotiations with the Ivorian government and the rebels. The decision capped the first high-level meeting of a contact group mandated at last month's ECOWAS Summit to conduct the negotiations, aimed at bringing peace to Cote d'Ivoire. Three of the group's six members, Mali, Togo and Niger, were represented by their heads of state at Wednesday's meeting, held in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan. Ghana and Nigeria sent senior government officials while Guinea-Bissau was not represented. "The heads of State and Government designated His Excellency Gnassingbe Eyadema as coordinator of their group, who in consultation with other members of the Contact Group and the Chairman of the African Union, would facilitate day-to-day management of mediation activities," the summit's final communique said. "They further called for the commencement of negotiations immediately." The Contact group also called on the government of Cote d'Ivoire to "adopt a spirit of forgiveness and tolerance" and asked the insurgents for "moderation in their demands", according to the communique. AFP reported ECOWAS Executive Secretary Mohammed Ibn Chambas as saying in a briefing that the rebels were also expected to form a negotiation team which the contact group would contact in the next few days. The rebels welcomed Eyadema's nomination as chief negotiator, AFP also reported on Wednesday. The insurgents have occupied parts of northern and central Cote d'Ivoire since 19 September. On 17 October, they signed a ceasefire agreement which was brokered by Senegal's foreign minister, witnessed by Ibn Chambas and approved by Gbagbo. French troops have been monitoring the ceasefire pending the arrival of a West African force. The contact group called for the "urgent deployment" of the force, known as the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). It was awaiting a military evaluation mission that went to areas where fighting took place to map an eventual deployment of the force and decide when it be deployed. A decision could come at week's end. Wednesday's summit, which also saw the participation of South African President of Thabo Mbeki and representatives of the United Nations and the African Union, took place amid allegations by the national army that the rebels had violated the ceasefire. IRIN's coverage on Cote d'Ivoire