In a message dated 1/7/00 10:27:53 AM Central Standard Time,
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<< Troops unhappy with Cote d'Ivoire junta
by Stephane Orjollet
ABIDJAN, Jan 6 (AFP) - Military discontent with the new junta in Cote
d'Ivoire burst into the open Thursday, with extra soldiers deploying around
the state radio station here in response to "rumours."
Some businesses closed their doors for the day.
Strongman Robert Guei visited the disgruntled troops to justify his
transitional military-civilian regime, in which the top positions are held
by
non-active-list officers and which is accused of being weighted too heavily
in
favour of the former opposition Rally of Republicans party (RDR).
"Have confidence in us," General Guei urged soldiers at the Akouedo
barracks, where a December 23 mutiny led to the coup which ousted president
Henri Konan Bedie the following day. Guei, who came out of retirement to
lead
the coup, was going on to other barracks.
The junta's press service said the additional soldiers were deployed
outside the radio station in response to unspecified "rumours."
The several dozen soldiers who arrived at the premises in Abidjan's
Plateau
district shortly before noon caused concern among lunchtime passers-by.
Dissent among troops at Akouedo has been on the rise, reflecting
political
dissatisfaction with the new regime, which was named on Tuesday.
Shots were fired into the air at the Akouedo barracks late Wednesday, and
sources close to the army said deep discontent was evident among the troops.
One of their complaints is that a popular officer, Colonel Mathias Doue,
regarded as the main coordinator of the coup, was given only the youth and
sports portfolio -- second-last in the ministerial pecking order.
He was absent from the inauguration ceremony, officially on sick leave
due
to over-work.
The main opposition to Bedie's government -- the Ivorian Popular Front
(FPI) -- has refused to join the transitional administration because it sees
it as dominated by the RDR, led by former prime minister Alassane Ouattara.
The Ivorian Workers' Party (PIT) also joined the chorus of disapproval,
with its leader Francis Wodie -- a minister in Bedie's government --
denouncing the transitional regime as biased toward the RDR to the exclusion
of other parties.
Guei, in his address to the Akouedo troops, said the Economic Community
of
West African States had given Cote d'Ivoire until June 20 to restore
democracy.
"We don't have time to play politics," he said, adding: "From time to
time
we shall refuse to cede to the caprices of certain people who think only of
themselves and not of the people."
That was taken to be a veiled reference to Laurent Gbagbo, the leader of
the FPI.
The disputes over the make-up of the regime are being exacerbated by
division between the largely Muslim north, presumed to back Ouattara, and
the
mostly Christian south.
Gbagbo, a Bete, comes from the southwest, as does Doue, a Guere, and
Guei,
a Yacouba.
A meeting between Guei and Gbagbo was scheduled for Wednesday evening,
but
cancelled when the tension among the troops rose, sources said.
A delegation of officers conducted shuttle diplomacy between the
strongman
and the colonel, military sources told AFP, after which plans for Guei's
meetings with the soldiers were announced.
Several Akouedo soldiers told AFP they had been impressed by Guei's
address, but some said he should not have appointed civilians to the regime.
so/hn/gj
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