<<It seems Gbagbo has been playing games since the initial attempt to broker a peace deal between his government and the rebels.>> Jabou, It is this perception that the prinicpal players in the CI conflict have of Gbagbo even before the outbreak of hostilities which has been working against him. IMO, he could have brokered his own peace deal immediately following the Nation Reconcilation Conference in 2001 chaired by Seydou Diarra, the man appointed in Paris to head a transition government comprising of all parties in the conflict. Had he seized that opportunity, he could have retained all of his powers as President which as you know, under the new arrangement, he has ceeded a significant part to the new Prime Minister. He appears to have also lost the Defence and Interior portfolios to the rebel groups. The wolof saying sums up Gbagbo's predicament: Niitu beh lakaleh. Sidi Sanneh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~