IRIN Focus on the start of national reconciliation talks

A forum aimed at finding solutions to Cote d'Ivoire's main political and social problems opened on Tuesday in Abidjan with the noticeable absence of three of the country's most important politicians. The National Reconciliation Forum, which is scheduled to last two months, involves representatives of political parties, religious communities, non-governmental organisations, human rights groups and other bodies. Its mandate is "to analyse in depth the causes of the socio-political troubles that are prevalent today in Cote d'Ivoire," its chairman, Seydou Elimane Diarra, told the hundreds of delegates who attended Tuesday's opening session. Diarra made an appeal to the three big absentees, ex-president Henri Konan Bedie, General Robert Guei and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara to "show some humility" by attending the talks. "The people are watching you", he said. Bedie and Ouattara, head of the Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR), have listed fears for their security among their reasons for not attending. Both live in exile in France: Ouattara since mid-2000; Bedie since being overthrown in December 1999. Bedie's ouster in a bloodless coup on 24 December 1999 brought Guei to power and ushered in what was arguably one of the most turbulent periods in Cote d'Ivoire's history. It was punctuated by army mutinies, reports of assassination and coup attempts, anti-foreigner demonstrations, electoral violence, human rights abuses and generalised instability. During this period, ethnic and religious division was heightened, while relations with neighbouring countries as well as the broader international community were severely strained. The forum will focus on six themes: political problems; governance; socio-cultural problems; security; immigration and foreign relations; and Cote d'Ivoire's image. "Nothing will be taboo," Diarra told the weekly 'Jeune Afrique /L'Intelligent' a few weeks ago. However getting the meeting off the ground has not been easy. One of the hurdles has been the forum itself. Many say its mandate and purpose are vague. Moreover, its recommendations are not binding. Another hurdle was opposition to the choice of Diarra, nominated by President Laurent Gbagbo, to preside over the talks. He was appointed in August, but up until last week, there were still calls for a new facilitator, including from Jean-Jacques Bechio, a senior RDR official who spent four months in jail this year for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. Bechio said the Forum needed an "internationally known facilitator". While the RDR attended the opening session, its participation had been in doubt until the last minute since it had set a number of preconditions, including the rehabilitation of its leader, a rerun of legislative elections and the release of RDR detainees. Ouattara, a former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), served as Cote d'Ivoire's prime minister in 1990-1993. However, in September 2000, the Supreme Court barred him from running for president on the grounds that he was not an Ivorian by descent. The 22 October presidential election was won by Gbagbo. When, on 24 October, Guei claimed victory, thousands of people took to the streets. Many were killed by security forces but Guei was forced to relinquish power. However, on 25 October, RDR supporters began demonstrating against Ouattara's disqualification and called for fresh elections. This led to clashes with supporters of other parties who, according to human rights groups and other sources, were backed by members of the gendarmerie and police. On 27 October 2000, one day after Gbagbo was sworn in, the bodies of 57 young men were discovered in a clearing in Yopougon, an Abidjan suburb. The RDR and human rights groups said the bodies belonged to RDR supporters and people killed for being northerners, like Ouattara, and thus presumed to support his party. Fresh protests erupted in December, when Ouattara was disqualified from parliamentary elections, once again on nationality grounds. Then, in early January 2001, the government reported that an attempted coup had been foiled. Government officials initially blamed it on the RDR. The 2000-2001 upheavals caused 303 deaths, according to the official tally, while hundreds of RDR supporters were arrested. Some were tried. Others,like Bechio, were detained and eventually released without appearing before a judge. Gbagbo announced at the Forum that the political prisoners would soon be released. He appealed the RDR to join his government because "you have your seat" in it. The government comprises Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI - French acronym), Bedie's Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA] and the Ivorian Workers Party (PIT). Foreign dignitaries who attended Tuesday's opening session included the presidents of Ghana, John Kufuor, and Mali, Alpha Omar Konare, OAU Secretary General Amara Essy, UN Under-Secretary-General Ibrahima Fall and French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin. Slogans on the front pages of various dailies reflected the hope that the forum would help heal the divisions in Ivorian society. "Hand in hand, let's build a united Cote d'Ivoire," read one. "Do not let politics divide us," and "At the bedside of a dying mother, her children don't fight, they make up," ran others. State TV has been running a vox pop in which people say they want it to be a success. Some observers have expressed the hope that the Forum will at least provide participants with an opportunity to talk openly. For Diarra, however, that would not be enough. "If the Forum does not end with a real republican pact, then I fear for my country," he said recently.