III. BACKGROUND

The current government in Côte d'Ivoire was elected in presidential and parliamentary elections in late 2000. These elections-held following a military coup in late 1999, whereby General Robert Guei had become president-were marred by widespread violence and intimidation that left over 200 people dead and hundreds wounded.⁴ In addition, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Rally of Republicans (Rassemblement des Républicains, RDR), Alassane Dramane Ouattara, was prohibited from standing in either the presidential or parliamentary elections on the grounds that he was considered a foreigner of Burkinabé extraction. Many northern Ivorians, who form the principal body of supporters for the RDR and were the main victims of the election violence, thus felt disenfranchised. Despite the very serious concerns surrounding the legitimacy of the elections, Laurent Gbagbo, leader of the Ivorian Popular Front (Front Populaire Ivorien, FPI), was installed as president-though only after General Guei had attempted to proclaim himself the winner and been forced to flee amid popular demonstrations. Since assuming office, President Gbagbo has failed to acknowledge the flawed manner in which he became head of state, to promise new elections, to seek an end to impunity for the vast majority of those who committed the violence, or to take steps to reduce ethnic tensions. The largest economy in francophone West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire hosts many foreigners, including at least 135,000 Liberian refugees⁵ and 2.3 million Burkinabé migrants.⁶ With recession in recent years, these foreigners have increasingly become the target of xenophobic rhetoric and attacks, including during the 2000 elections.

The current crisis began with the racial difficulties raised around the 2000 elections, themselves based in the increasingly divisive politics that have taken hold of Côte d'Ivoire since the death of the country's first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. The immediate background, however, was an attempt by the government to demobilize many of the soldiers who had been brought into the army by General Guei. On September 19, 2002, some of the affected soldiers, calling themselves the MPCI, took hold of the northern Ivorian town of Korhogo and the central town of Bouaké. There were attacks in several parts of Abidjan. The former coup leader and head of state General Guei was killed, as well as Minister of the Interior Emile Boga Doudou, but government troops retained control of the economic capital. The government has referred to the attacks as an attempted coup. It claims the Ivorian soldiers who mutinied are being supported by a "rogue state" from the north, widely interpreted as referring to Burkina Faso. The government has also sought to implicate the RDR in the rebellion.⁷ Information suggesting that there are Anglophone people fighting alongside dissident soldiers has led people to treat nationals from Liberia and Sierra Leone as suspected opponents of the Ivorian government.

Since September 19, the MPCI has succeeded in retaining control of Korhogo; Bouaké has been fiercely contested but remains under MPCI control. Government troops have regained control of Daloa, but the MPCI controls many other towns, including Odienne, Tiebissou, Didievei, Sakassou and Seguela.⁸ A ceasefire officially came into force on October 18, 2002 and appears to be holding, while talks aimed at resolving the crisis are held in Lomé, Togo, under ECOWAS auspices (the talks were ongoing at this writing).

4 See, "The New Racism, The Political Manipulation of Ethnicity in Côte d'Ivoire," Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 13, No. 6(A), August 2001.

5 "Côte d'Ivoire: Government, UNHCR to conduct refugee census," U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), May 10, 2002, at www.reliefweb.int (accessed November 6, 2002).

6 Figures from 1998 census, as quoted in "Ivorian peace hopes grow," news.bbc.co.uk, October 12, 2002.

7 Alassane Ouattara is currently sheltering in the French Ambassador's residence.

8 "Instability in Côte d'Ivoire," U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Situation Report No 7, October 2, 2002, quoting international media reports.