"THE people of the Ivory Coast have lived through a period of fascism since winning independence from France in 1960.
The regime, established by president Houphouët Boigny, was supported by successive French governments. The country fell into a one party system. Anyone who opposed the regime was assassinated.
In 1970 attempts were made by Dr Kragbe Gnagbe to create an opposition party, but he was assassinated along with 4,000 people from his tribe. They were killed by the Ivorian security forces and French soldiers, and buried in a communal grave in Gaba, Gnagbe's native village.
In 1990 students arose spontaneously to protest and demand a multi-party system. We won it by the sacrifice of lives of our comrades who were killed during that struggle. But multipartyism does not equate to democracy.
The democratic left parties decided not to enter the 1990 elections if the Ivorian youth fled the country The Ivory Coast regime is supported by French armed force government refused to adopt a fair electoral system. Gbagbo's FPI decided to enter the presidential elections without informing the other three parties. It weakened the left, and allowed the weak ruling party to 'legitimate' itself through the fraudulent elections.
Young people and students kept on fighting against the dictator. He decided to attack, and if possible to kill, the student leaders. We still remember the invasion of 17 and 18 May 1991 when the police and the soldiers descended on the university campus of Yopongon.
Yopongon is one of the biggest campuses in the capital city, Abidjan. The most determined militants in combatting the present regime live there-you can find Maoists. Leninists, Marxists, Trotskyists and Guevaraists.
The dictator sent special forces to combat us and kill the leaders who lived there. Comrades were killed, torpeople were released because of national and international pressures.
After the dictator Houphouët Boigny died in December 1993 his son Henry Konan Bedie proclaimed himself president. He chose the most dangerous assassins as ministers of defence, security, and of the interior.
They made a list of the opponents to the dictatorship and aimed to assassinate us. That is why Ivorian youth fled the country.
Today most are living in Britain, Norway, Canada, Finland, the USA -but not in France.
October 1995 was the date for the general election. The people protested against the unfair electoral laws, and demanded an independent committee to supervise the elections.
The opposition forces formed an umbrella movement called The Republican Front, which launched a demonstration. They intended to boycott the elections if their requests were not accepted.
Unfortunately the dictatorship decided to attack the demonstrators. More than ten people were killed by the security police. Women once again were publicly raped by the security police.
Just like his father, the dictator proclaimed himself the elected president.
What has been painful and shameful for us is that the opposition leaders went to see the self-proclaimed president to sign an agreement in order to be included in the legislative elections— of course they were defeated.
Along with other PPS branches in Europe, we consider this a shameful betrayal of the people. The opposition parties abandoned their previous position-for which people have been killed-to finally sign an agreement with the dictatorship in order to go to the elections, become MPs, and increase their monthly income.
We are now organising an extraordinary congress to create our own political party: to find our own way for the total liberation of the Ivory Coast."