Ivorian leaders debate civil war

By Lara Pawson
BBC, Abidjan

The opposition PCDI party denies being involved in plotting a coup

MPs in Ivory Coast have began a three-day debate about the key issues which led the country to war.

The politicians will examine questions of nationality and land ownership at meeting in Abidjan.

The debate comes at a very sensitive stage of the fragile peace process which began 14 months ago.

Political tension in Ivory Coast has intensified after the ruling party accused opposition leaders of plotting a coup with rebels.

Agenda

A power-sharing government is in place but Ivory Coast remains divided between former rebels who control the north and President Laurent Gbagbo loyalists who hold the south.

"We want to talk about the important questions which have split this country for well over a year now," says Youssouf Bakayoko, head of the Parliamentary Movement for Reconciliation and Peace, and MP for the opposition Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI).

"Firstly, we want to look at land reform, secondly the question of nationality, and also the question of eligibility of the president: these are all questions which have led to a lot of misunderstanding here."

The meeting itself is taking place against a background of increasing political tension here.

Misunderstandings

The PDCI has suspended its participation in the Government of National Reconciliation, claiming that President Laurent Gbagbo is refusing to allow ministers from opposition parties the necessary freedom to do their job.

Meanwhile, the ruling party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) has accused the PDCI of forming an alliance with the rebels - known as the New Forces - and planning to carry out a coup.

One newspaper which is openly very sympathetic to the FPI has published a story this week which details an alleged coup plot, which, the newspaper, Notre Voie, claims, will begin with an attempted assassination of Mr Gbagbo. The newspaper alleges that the attempted coup will take place on 24th March.

Opposition parties deny these allegations.

"With what? PDCI does not have militia. We have no soldiers. We are going to have a march on the 25th March to demonstrate for peace, but we are not going to have a coup. If there is a coup, it will come from within the FPI," Boa Thiemele Amoakon, a leading figure in the PDCI and vice-President of the National Assembly, told the BBC at the conference.

With such little trust, it is a wonder that the three-day cross party debate - which is taking place at a scenic golf club in Abidjan's wealthy suburbs - managed to get off to a good start.

On Thursday morning, parliamentary deputies from all the political parties showed up and attended the opening session. By Thursday afternoon, not a single FPI member remained.

The meeting appears to have become another gathering of politicians opposed to the ruling party.

Some 5,500 French and African peacekeepers are monitoring the ceasefire line which cuts across the country.

A UN peacekeeping force with about 6,000 soldiers is due to help implement a peace agreement with the rebels.