Main Opposition Party Opts Out Of Cote d'Ivoire's New
Cabinet
January 5, 2000
ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - One of the main
opposition political parties
in Cote d'Ivoire, the Ivorian People's Front has
refused to join the
transition government announced Tuesday by the
country's military leader,
Gen. Robert Guei.
In the announcement, five ministerial positions were
given to the military,
four to the front, three to the Republican Rally while
the rest in the
22-member cabinet went to civilians who are not
politicians.
The front's leader, Laurent Gbagbo, said his party
would not take part in
the government because of what he called preferential
treatment given by the
military to the Republican Rally, the second
opposition party led by former
Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara.
As the country's oldest opposition party, Gbagbo said
he felt his party
should have received the lion's share of the
portfolios.
"I have already communicated our position to Gen. Guei
and, therefore,
ministers appointed from my party would not be present
at the first
ministerial council today," Gbagbo told reporters.
"We thought the soldiers would take a cue from the
examples of (Daouda
Malam) Wanke of Niger as well as the Malian soldiers
who, on forming the
government, also announced their timetable at the same
time. But we are
beginning to realise that it is a coup d'etat by the
Republican Rally," he
added.
He said his party that had refused to serve in the
"one-sided governments of
late President Houphouet-Boigy and ousted President
Henri Konan Bedie will
never do so in a Republic Rally government.
"How can one explain the fact that till 1500 hours, I
was pencilled down as
the power and mines minister only to be robbed of the
position by 1730 hours
and without even informing me of the development,"
Gbagbo lamented.
He said that only "adjustable" positions such as
justice, higher education
and scientific research, technical education and
professional formation, as
well as public works, employment and national
education were given to his
party.
"I had thought that as a senior opposition party, we
are going to have the
same number of ministers," he declared.
He said, however, that the party had drawn up some
recommendations for the
formation of an independent electoral commission and a
new constitution for
the country and that it would make these views known
to the ruling National
Public Salvation Committee and other parties.
In the new cabinet, Guei himself retains the defence
portfolio, while his
second in command, Air Commander Abdoulaye Coulibaly,
takes the transport
and infrastructure ministry.
A member of the junta, Gen. Lansana Palenfo, takes the
security ministry.
The secretary general of the Republican Rally,
Henriette Diabatte, freed
from serving a two-year prison sentence by the
military, has been given the
culture ministry.
Former minister Albert Agre now holds the post of
secretary to government.
N'Golo Coulibaly, also just released from prison, has
been given finance and
economy ministry.
Levy Niamkey, a journalist and editor-in-chief at the
state television, who
was forced to resign under the Bedie administration,
is now the
communication minister.
Yahi Constance is the new women promotion and
solidarity minister, N'Gatta
Essy, Ouattara's lawyer, becomes justice minister, and
seasoned diplomat
Seydou Diarra is foreign minister.
=====
21st Century African Youth Movement
International Coordinating Secretariat
P.O.Box 8582
Madison, WI 53708-8582
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." -- Einstein
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