Civil War
In the early hours of 19 September 2002 troops, who were mainly originally from the north of the country, mutinied. They launched attacks in many cities, including Abidjan. By lunchtime they had control of the north of the country. Their principal claim relates to the definition of who is a citizen of Ivory Coast (and so who can stand for election as president), voting rights and their representation in government in Abidjan. The events in Abidjan shows that it is not a tribal issue, but a crisis of transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, with the clashes inherent in the definition of citizenship. Forces involved in the conflict include:
- Government forces, the National Army (FANCI), also called loyalists, formed and equipped essentially since 2003
- The Young Patriots: nationalist groups aligned with President Laurent Gbagbo
- Mercenaries recruited by President Gbagbo:
- allegedly, Belarusians
- some former combatants of Liberia, including under-17 youths, forming the so-called "Lima militia"
- New Forces (Forces Nouvelles, FN), ex-northern rebels, who hold 60% of the country; their political expression is the Mouvement patriotique de Côte d'Ivoire, or MPCI
- French forces: troops sent within the framework of Operation Unicorn and under UN mandate (United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire), 3000 men in February 2003 and 4600 in November 2004;
- Soldiers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), White helmets, also under the UN.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Ivory Coast
Famous quotes related to civil war:
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“The principle of majority rule is the mildest form in which the force of numbers can be exercised. It is a pacific substitute for civil war in which the opposing armies are counted and the victory is awarded to the larger before any blood is shed. Except in the sacred tests of democracy and in the incantations of the orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)