President and Prime Minister in disarmament stand-off

Cote d'Ivoire's President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny appear to be locked in disagreement over the thorny issue of disarmament, the main stumbling block to holding presidential elections, according to statements made over the weekend and on Tuesday. Last week key players meeting under African Union mediation agreed that a programme for disarmament of rebels and pro-government militia could run alongside an identification programme for up to 3 million disenfranchised Ivorians. That consensus looked to have removed two major obstacles to elections before the end of October. But Gbagbo, who gave the thumbs up to simultaneous identification and disarmament back in February, appears to have changed his mind insisting on Sunday that the New Forces rebels holding the northern half of the divided nation must hand in their guns before any voter cards can be issued. "We must proceed with disarming the armed gangs. That's why we say it is out of the question to organise public [identification] hearings behind the iron curtain with no one to supervise the process," Gbagbo, referring to the rebel-held north, told supporters in his home region of central Bayota. "As head of state, I will not warrant the huge fraud that is being prepared," added Gbagbo, "I say no to holding public hearings meant to cheat with nationality." On Tuesday, Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny responded publicly by saying it had already been agreed during a visit by AU Chairman and Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, that both operations should go ahead simultaneously. "On 28 February, the leaders agreed that identification and disarmament are to be carried out at the same time and concurrently," Banny told reporters after a government meeting. "President Sassou-Nguesso came to Abidjan and this fact was confirmed, so the elections will take place and the Ivorian nationality will not be sold off." The start of the disarmament process has been delayed several times since the rebels first agreed to hand in their guns by signing the French-brokered Marcoussis peace agreement in January 2003. Also this week, UN chief Kofi Annan repeated a call to the Security Council to reinforce the 7,600 UN peacekeepers in Cote d'Ivoire by nearly 4,000 additional troops and police. Annan said there were "some encouraging prospects" for peace but warned that the fragile security situation could deteriorate rapidly and spill over into neighbouring countries, Liberia in particular. "It should also be emphasised that the window of opportunity is very narrow, and time is running out," Annan said in his report to the Council. Elections originally scheduled for October 2005 were postponed and Gbagbo's mandate extended for 12 months following international intervention under UN resolution 1633. "Any further delays or disruptions in the peace process will mean that there will not be sufficient time to complete all the critical tasks, if elections are to be held by October."