BBC NEWS:  Monday, 27 December, 1999, 04:42 GMT

The deposed president of Ivory Coast, Henri Konan Bedie, has been flown out
of
the country to Togo by French forces. The man replacing him, General Robert
Guei,
says he is to discuss the country's future with all the main political
parties.  From 27
December work will resume normally

General Robert Guei

General Guei, a former army chief once sacked by the man he overthrew last
week,
says the army wants real democracy for Ivory Coast. In a televised speech
the general
said: "We want Ivorians to live in peace, unity and African fraternity."

Mr Bedie fled from the commercial capital, Abidjan, to Togo aboard a French
helicopter.
The former president arrived in Togo with his wife Henriette and children.

A Togolese Government official said it had accepted Mr Bedie on humanitarian
grounds
but that it was not known how long he would stay in the country.   He had
originally sought
refuge at a French military base near Abidjan after the largely bloodless
military coup.

But General Guei insisted Mr Bedie leave the country, warning that some of
his sodliers
may try to harm him.

The issue threatened to develop into a diplomatic row between the new leader
and France,
the country's former colonial power.

The general also banned France from sending reinforcements to its permanent
military
garrison in Ivory Coast for a possible evacuation of about 20,000 French
citizens who live
in the former colony.

Normality returns

Reports say life in Abidjan is now returning to normal with the junta
consolidating its hold
on the power.

Shops, which have been closed since last Thursday have re-opened and market
stalls
have been doing a lively trade.  Buses and taxis have also re-appeared on
the streets.

General Guei said he wanted life to return to normal in the country by
Monday.

Mr Guei has appointed nine senior military officers to the National
Committee of Public
Salvation, with himself as chairman, which he says will be to oversee the
country for a
transitional period.

The unrest started as an army mutiny, with troops protesting over unpaid
salaries, poor
living conditions and what they called the 'bad governance' of the country.

It is the Ivory Coast's first coup since independence in 1960, and has been
condemned
by France, the United States and various African countries.

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