IVORY COAST: Power struggles emerge between President Laurent Gbagbo and interim Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny

Record ID: 181870

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Power struggles emerge between President Laurent Gbagbo and interim Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny
  • Date: 29th November 2006
  • Summary: (AD1) ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (NOVEMBER 28, 2006) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RTI (RADIO TELEVISION IVOIRIENNE) BUILDING WITH SOLDIERS IN FOREGROUND. VARIOUS OF NEW RTI DIRECTOR, BROU AMESSAN, IN CONFERENCE ROOM INSIDE RTI BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 14th December 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1FI8C9GRDJOVUSA4DU5XPAAXF
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday (November 28) accused the interim prime minister of making a "seditious" statement, escalating a power struggle that is hampering peace efforts in the war-divided nation.
    Gbagbo's spokesman Desire Tagro announced the dismissal of the head of state broadcaster Radio Television Ivoirienne (RTI) for airing the remarks, which criticised Gbagbo's reinstatement of officials implicated in a toxic waste scandal.
    Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny was named in 2005 under a U.N. road map to elections in the West African state, divided into government and rebel zones since a brief 2002-03 civil war.
    A U.N. resolution broadening his powers in October set him on a collision course with Gbagbo, who has denounced foreign meddling in the world's biggest cocoa producer.
    Troops in around a dozen armoured vehicles swarmed over the state TV premises in Abidjan late on Monday (November 27) after Banny's statement was aired on the main evening news. They prevented it being re-broadcast on a later bulletin though staff refused to hand over the cassette.
    Analysts say that unless Banny has the backing of the armed forces, who are generally seen as favouring Gbagbo, he holds little real power.
    A senior RTI official confirmed the broadcaster's director Yacouba Kebe had been removed. A new interim chief was due to be named later on Tuesday.
    Gbagbo announced on Sunday (November 26) he was reinstating three senior civil servants suspended by Banny pending an inquiry into the dumping of poisonous waste in the main port city, Abidjan, in August that killed 10 and made thousands ill.
    In his televised statement on Monday, Banny rejected the move as damaging to the fight against impunity, after the men -- seen as Gbagbo loyalists -- were accused of negligence by a commission established by the premier.
    Several hundred tonnes of oil slops were unloaded from the Panamanian-registered Probo Koala tanker and dumped in 17 mostly open-air sites around Abidjan.
    ''We are very afraid of the situation now because if a President of the Republic says something and the day after, the prime minister says something different to tell the President to change his mind,I think it is deeply worrying for us," said Naki Dohoure, a teacher, in a street in Abijan.
    Another person said it was important to find a solution to the crisis.
    "With resolution 1721, it would be better for all Ivorians to join in in a peaceful process so they can find a solution with an open mind and so that everyone can show some goodwill to respect its guidelines, so a solution can be found to get out of the crisis," said Lamine Mohamed, a transporter.
    Banny, a former banker regarded as politically neutral, was given a renewed 12-month mandate last month after a second deadline for polls by the end of October was missed as squabbling continued between the rebels, Gbagbo's supporters, the army and the political opposition.
    Gbagbo has opposed attempts to instigate parts of the peace plan which his supporters fear might give an electoral advantage to his political opponents and favour the rebel forces who took up arms to try to topple him.
    The president has instead embarked on a round of public consultations to find a solution to the crisis and he is expected to make his conclusions public soon.
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