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My feeling is that the chronology of events you describe is fair enough. However, I am not fully in line withe the following
Like most West African countries, the Ivory Coast has a North-South Muslim-Christian divide, and ethnic divisions that have cross-border complications. Led by the same party from independence, the country was stable until the middle of the nineties, as exemplified by having a Southern President (Henri Konan Bédié) and a Northern PM (Alassane Dramane Ouattara). But the former started to play on divisions to push out power rivals.

Cohabitation between Bedie and Ouattara was only a brief moment of rest before the storm. It is really difficult to say who was the first to blame, Guei, Bedie or Ouattara. It would be however simplistic to reduce the conflict in Ivory Coast to a religious division between the North and the South.

As I already wrote, in what we call Afrique noire, ie Sub-Saharan Western Africa, people belong to an ethnic group, much more than a religious community. The ethnic group is about language, customs, rituals, the land where ancestors rest in peace. Religion is essentially an imported concept.
And it is not about race, it is about the land of your ancestors. Everyone who spent some time in Afrique noire will reckon that Nature talks to you out there.
I am afraid that ethnic divisions with cross-border complications together with reckless fight for political supremacy will shape the destiny of Ivory Coast over the foreseeable future.  


When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Sun Jan 15th, 2006 at 04:02:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Very interesting. Forgive the ignorance of someone with no direct experience of the area, but are you saying that  the strongest component in ethnicity in Afrique noir is geographical?
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Sun Jan 15th, 2006 at 04:11:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, I would be careful about this, my recollections of what I learnt of Africa's history in elementary school are not so good.

However, I can safely say that people would be better off if ethnic groups were not split up by political borders. I am not trying to brush off your question, just need to do some research before I provide a more accurate answer.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Sun Jan 15th, 2006 at 04:15:54 PM EST
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