While CCD does not have an official position on current events in Cote d'Ivoire, we are watching with concern and interest, hoping only that democracy is able to reestablish itself in this once-prosperous African nation. This interest in the situation leads us to present to our readers a closer look at events in Cote d'Ivoire, which, like Ukraine, has experienced a true "challenge to democracy" and is still reeling from its effects. Sadly, most of the global media has ignored the continuing situation in Cote d'Ivoire, leaving only fragmented bits and pieces to the public imagination.

In May of 2000, the CCD held a conference on the upcoming Community of Democracies meeting at Warsaw. Among the issues discussed? The growing troubles in Cote D'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast. "...A fourth working group will focus on a response to threats to democracy. And this is a problem that clearly will not go away. Since planning for the conference was underway we have had threats to democracy manifest themselves in... Cote D'Ivoire..." Since this time, the Ivorian conflict has grown and festered, leaving this once-hopeful state in a shroud of darkness.

In 1990, after a local drought and global recession brought the Ivorian economic "miracle" nearly to its knees, hundreds of civil servants and students went on strike, protesting rampant corruption in Ivory Coast. The protests and related unrest forced the Cote d'Ivoirian government to officially support multiparty democracy, though their first election, after the death of their long-time leader in 1993, brought only fragmented opposition to the official candidate. The newly-elected President, Henri Konan-Bédié, quickly acted to disrupt his opposition and destroy much of the progress after the 1990 protests.

On December 25, 1999, a military coup, the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history, overthrew President Henri Konan-Bédié's government. Konan-Bédié was replaced by Junta leader Robert Guei, who held "elections" in 2000, but excluded the majority of his opposition and blatantly rigged the polls. Due to popular revolt, however, Guei was quickly ousted and replaced by Laurent Gbagbo, who spent his first two years in office removing obstacles to his power.

In September of 2002, troops from northern Ivory Coast mutinied and, after a failed coup, gained control of the northern half of the nation. By January 2003, a "unity government" was created and rebel forces were granted ministerial positions, creating a tense peace in Cote d'Ivoire. French troops, sent in after the cease-fire, maintained agreed-upon boundaries and kept the peace.

On November 4 of 2004, nine French peacekeepers were killed during an air raid by Ivorian forces on northern rebels. Though the government later referred to the incident as an "accident," France immediately responded by destroying the entire Ivorian air force and the airport tarmac where they were based. In the days that followed, Ivorians were seen attacking French interests in their nation, while French soldiers killed up to one hundred and wounded nearly 1,000 protesters.

On April 6, 2005, army and rebel commanders met in Pretoria, South Africa and established a new plan for achieving a peaceful solution to the continuing crisis in their nation. Despite a number of previous agreements that have since been broken, leadership on all sides remained optimistic; "It is the start of the process and not the end," said Omar El Khadir, U.N. military information officer, in Bouake. "I think after the Pretoria agreement, both sides are showing the will to go to peace." As part of the Pretoria agreement, President Laurent Gbagbo's troops and rebel New Forces agreed to stop fighting, disarm militias and hold presidential elections in October. April 21, 2005 found that one of the provisions - withdrawal of heavy weaponry - was being carried out, as both rebels and government forces acted in accordance with the treaty's requirements.