Coup is announced within Ivory Coast

By Alexandra Zavis
Associated Press

December 25, 1999


ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Ivory Coast, long a bastion of stability in a region wracked by war, was shaken Friday by an army revolt that its declared leader described as a coup d'etat.
Army troops and civilians together looted parts of the capital, Abidjan, a day after soldiers went on a rampage. Many soldiers said they were owed back salary and perks, while others on Friday said the revolt was aimed at ousting the president.
Calm prevailed over the city, punctuated by bursts of gunfire as renegades, many wearing bandannas and with faces covered in black soot, cruised by in cars commandeered from civilians. A group of soldiers carrying shopping bags full of plundered goods yelled, "We won!"
Wearing a blue beret and camouflage uniform and surrounded by soldiers brandishing automatic weapons, Gen. Robert Guei appeared on state television, saying the military was taking over the reins of power from President Henri Konan Bedie.
The West African country's constitution, courts and parliament have been suspended, Guei said. The retired general appealed to citizens to remain calm.
"Power is in my hands," he said. "I will take care of everybody. You should not be worried."
State television on Friday evening used subtitles under Guei's image identifying him as "His Excellency, Robert Guei, President of the Republic of Ivory Coast."
Ivory Coast, a country of 19 million people, has long been considered a model of stability that unlike its neighbors has never experienced a successful coup. But in recent months, the country experienced growing political and social turmoil amid a government crackdown on opposition groups and allegations of corruption against President Bedie.
Exactly who was originally behind the revolt is unclear, although one rebel said Friday more than 500 of his comrades had joined. Ivory Coast's military has at least 6,000 members.
"We must avoid the spilling of blood. In this country, personal dialogue can always find the solution to every problem," Guei said in a later TV broadcast.
State radio and television, which went off the air Thursday, returned Friday with Guei's broadcasts, patriotic music and reruns of public jubilation in Abidjan neighborhoods.
Independent confirmation of the takeover could not be immediately obtained.
Mobs of youths took advantage of the lawlessness, hijacking cars and mugging commuters. One gang carrying knives and sticks attacked two journalists, an Associated Press photographer and a Dow Jones financial writer, robbing them of money, cell phones and camera equipment.
Western embassies informed their foreign nationals to observe a curfew that Guei said required all citizens to stay indoors between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A U.S. Embassy official speaking on condition of anonymity said the mission had not yet decided to evacuate American citizens.
From the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the coup, saying "the use of violence to disrupt a country's political process is unacceptable," according to his spokesman, Fred Eckhard.
Bedie's fate was uncertain. A soldier speaking on condition of anonymity at the Ministry of Defense said the president had been detained in his residence in Abidjan's Cocody suburb. Other soldiers said several other senior government officials were also under house arrest.
A foreign news agency reported Bedie had taken refuge in the French ambassador's residence. A spokeswoman for France's Foreign Ministry, Anne Gazeau-Secret, said she could not confirm the report.
Radio France-Internationale quoted Bedie as telling the network that he remained free and that he called on his allies, including traditional chiefs, to organize an armed resistance.
France, the former colonizer of Ivory Coast, condemned the coup and issued a statement calling for the "immediate re-establishment of order and security in Abidjan."
Despite the chaos, many citizens said they hoped the uprising would improve Ivory Coast's economic and political fortunes.
Citizens huddled around their radios in the streets, listening to the military announcement, some jumping up and down in excitement and chanting, "No more Bedie."
"I'm really happy. We are tired of (Bedie)," said Marie Anieie, a 27-year-old university student in Abidjan. "He couldn't run the country. Nothing works anymore, life is expensive and he only worries about politics."
Aside from claiming to be in control, Guei was vague about the rebels' future plans, saying only that he would accept the country's presidency if the citizens of Ivory Coast "have trust in me."
A longtime soldier, Guei was replaced as Ivory Coast's military chief in 1995 during unrest surrounding elections won that year by Bedie, apparently after questioning the president's use of soldiers to assist police in quelling anti-government protests.


December 25, 1999
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