Ivorian President Gbagbo meets New Forces

In Côte d'Ivoire, President Laurent Gbagbo has met with a delegation of the opposition New Forces movement to relaunch stalled peace talks. And a delegation from Niger visited Gbagbo and explained why they launched their recent coup d'etat.

Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo (left) welcomes Maman Souley, the head of the Nigerien delegation in Abidjan on 30 March, 2010. AFP / I. Sanogo

Gbagbo on Tuesday received representatives of the New Forces coalition in Abidjan.

The former rebels had asked for an audience with the head of state to relaunch talks about how to exit the current political crisis.

Talks between the two camps had come to a standstill because of a row over provisional electoral lists and pre-election disarmament of the New Forces movement.

Gbagbo and the New Forces have already agreed to meet again soon.

Gbagbo is set to travel to Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso on Thursday to meet with President Blaise Compaoré, the mediator in the crisis.

Meanwhile, Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister Guillaume Soro – the former head of the New Forces – is expected in Burkina Faso Wednesday, meaning both signatories of the Ouagadougou peace agreement dating from 4 March 2007 are now resorting to the “facilitator” to pursue dialogue.

They are looking for advice on how to deal with the question of pre-election disarmament, which has increasingly been a cause of conflict for the two camps over recent weeks.

Gbagbo on Tuesday also received a delegation from Niger’s Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy. They outlined the reasons behind the coup d’etat on 18 February, in which President Tandja was overturned by the military and the parliament dissolved.