president, Henri Konan Bédié’s vision of the role and position of immigrants in Côte d’Ivoire differed radically from his predecessor, who had embraced an “ethnic coalition” strategy involving the Baoulé and the northerners.10 Under Bédié, the introduction of the rural land reform law was one signal of a clear change of policy.11 A second element was the way in which Bédié reacted to the creation of the opposition party led by former Prime Minister, northerner, Muslim and presidential rival Alassane Ouattara. The ensuing debate over Ouattara’s nationality and eligibility for the presidency became a symbol of the deep-seated divisions over the issue of “ivoirité,” the question of Ivorian identity and the role of immigrants in Ivorian society. During Bédié’s six-year rule allegations of corruption and mismanagement multiplied, and he increasingly relied on ethnicity as a political tactic to garner support in an unfavorable economic climate.12 In 1999, Gen. Robert Guei, a Yacouba from the west and Bédié’s chief of staff, took power in a coup following a mutiny by soldiers. Initially applauded by most opposition groups as a welcome change from the longstanding PDCI rule and Bédié’s corrupt regime, Guei’s pledges to eliminate corruption and introduce an inclusive Ivorian government were soon overshadowed by his personal political ambitions and the repressive measures he used against both real and suspected opposition.13 Throughout 2000—another election year—Ivorian politics became increasingly divided on ethnic and religious lines. Ouattara’s candidacy remained in contention, and increasing friction between Guei and the RDR led to the RDR’s withdrawal from the single ministerial post it was accorded by Guei’s transitional government in May 2000.14 The presidential and parliamentary elections of 2000 The cumulative political, economic, religious and ethnic tensions of the 1990s erupted into violence during the presidential elections in October 2000.15 The legitimacy of the elections was seriously compromised by the exclusion of fourteen of the nineteen presidential candidates, including Alassane Ouattara and the PDCI candidate, former president Bédié. General Guei fled the country on October 25, 2000 after massive popular protests and the loss of military support followed his attempt to entirely disregard the election results and seize power. Laurent Gbagbo was installed as president a day later, but the death toll continued to mount as RDR supporters -- calling for new elections -- clashed with FPI supporters and government security forces. Under President Gbagbo’s regime, ethnic and religious splits deepened as security forces and vigilante groups again clashed with supporters of the RDR in the lead up to the December parliamentary elections. Ouattara was again disqualified by a Supreme Court decision questioning his citizenship and the RDR subsequently boycotted the elections. A state of emergency was imposed following violent clashes in Abidjan in December 2000, but the parliamentary elections went ahead in all but twelve northern districts. Over 200 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in the violence surrounding the October and December elections. Demonstrators were gunned down in the Abidjan streets by the state security forces; hundreds of opposition members, many of them northerners and RDR supporters targeted on the basis of ethnicity and 10 This strategy excluded the Bété and other western ethnic groups. 11 Bédié’s PDCI was not alone in taking the position that indigenous Ivorians should reclaim the land from the immigrant population. For over a decade, Laurent Gbagbo’s FPI has maintained a consistent stance pushing for land reform that would restore land to Ivorians, encourage Ivorian youth to return to the villages, and effectively reduce the role of long-time immigrant residents on Ivorian land. The FPI was also a key voice denouncing identity card fraud, which it claims was perpetrated on a vast scale in order to give non-Ivorians—mostly French-speaking immigrants from neighboring Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso—votes in support of Ouattara’s RDR. 12 While the Baoulé always dominated PDCI governments, even under Houphouët-Boigny’s tenure, the “Baoulization” of the government became so extreme under Bédié’s regime that political opposition groups, including the RDR and FPI, formed an alliance. Called the Republican Front, this coalition later disintegrated due to internal friction. 13 A number of army soldiers who had brought Guei to power in the 1999 coup fled to Burkina Faso in 2000 after being detained and allegedly tortured by Guei’s regime. Some of these individuals have since emerged as core members of the MPCI rebel movement. 14 Marc LePape, “Chronologie politique de la Côte d’Ivoire, du coup d’état aux elections,” in Côte d’Ivoire: L’année terrible 1999-2000, p. 35. 15 See, “The New Racism: The Political Manipulation of Ethnicity in Côte d’Ivoire,” Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 13, No. 6(A), August 2001. Human Rights Watch 8 August 2003, Vol. 15, No. 14 (A)