An announcement like the one made yesterday by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States that it would not abandon its search for peace in the Ivory Coast should be, normally speaking, a cause for optimism — for the people of that country as well as the outside world. However, there is little evidence of any such optimism so far. That could be because ECOWAS has already got its fingers burned once. That was a week ago, when President Laurent Gbagbo reneged on a pledge he had made to sign a cease-fire with the rebels.
Against this background, especially, ECOWAS must be complimented on its decision to return to the peace efforts. No African organization can afford the luxury of allowing one more of its members to become a killing field. The continent has too many of them already. Perhaps the failure of the government forces to recapture Bouake may have contributed to Gbagbo’s decision to drop the condition that the only talks he would hold with the rebels would be on the terms of their surrender. There are times when prestige should give way to practical considerations. That time came for Gbagbo when the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast took physical control of most of the north after three weeks of fighting. Further, he is only partly right in claiming that talking to rebels before they disarmed would give the rebellion legitimacy and could encourage similar movements across the continent. The cause of rebellions, anywhere, is never concessions; it is the perception of discrimination and injustice. Hence, the way to discourage rebellions is to remove the causes of the discontent.
Of course, that is a remedy easier prescribed than administered. Even political systems of the most advanced of nations have not been able to remove the sense of discrimination many of their minority groups nurse against dominant groups. But that is no reason why an African country cannot make an honest effort to take a first step toward creating a system that would show a willingness to accommodate all its various component groups.
The fault line in Ivory Coast seems to be regional and religious — the Muslim-majority north and the Christian-dominated south. But the dividing line may be more apparent than real. This composition of its population had not prevented the country from living in peace all these years. It had earned for itself such a reputation for stability that it had become home to many foreign-owned and operated commercial enterprises.
Obviously, as in the case of many other nations of Africa, Asia and elsewhere, the religious and regional dimensions may have been introduced by those forces that seek to gain from creating instability by fueling divisive passions. That is why the solution sought should never be a military one, which will produce two classes of citizens: one victorious and the other vanquished. That is no foundation on which a nation can be built. What is needed is a negotiated solution where the common people of all segments would feel that they have a stake in the peaceful future of their country. That is what Gbagbo should strive for. In this, Ivory Coast would need the help of its neighbors, ECOWAS in particular, to work as a pressure group and also as a mediator both the groups can trust.
