Le Monde Reports Ivorian Troops' Activities in Burkina Faso Paris Le Monde in French 30 Oct 02 p 5 LE MONDE Wednesday, October 30, 2002 Report by Catherine Simon and Stephen Smith: "Strange Lifestyle of Ivorians in Burkina Faso Capital" (Translated Text) Abidjan, Ouagadougou -- People in Ouagadougou are not accustomed to wondering about other countries' armed oppositionists that President Blaise Compaore welcomes as bargaining chips, a means of exerting pressure, or instruments with a view to some future destabilization. Chrysogone Zougmore, secretary general of the Burkina Faso Human and Peoples' Rights Movement, said: "We learned about the presence of thousands of Ivorian troops when they arrived, in summer 2000. Nobody was really surprised. It is not the first time that other countries' soldiers have been welcomed. For instance, there have been Liberian soldiers, Chadian oppositionists, Angola UNITA rebels, and so forth. We are used to it. Everyone knows that this is the president's wish, so nothing is done about it. Neither parliament nor the government is informed about it, so..." Since Le Monde revealed (on 11 October) the presence in Ouagadougou of Ivorian NCOs who are now the leaders of the rebellion, people in Burkina Faso's capital have begun to talk. Of course, people were intrigued about this presence. Of course, Ivorians mixed with local families, and especially girls. Who, for instance, can forget someone such as "Zaga-Zaga," Corporal Omar Diarrasouba, thus nicknamed for the sound of the assault rifle tattooed across his body? Witnesses are unanimous: the Ivorian soldiers were "mad dogs," constantly quarreling. More than once, their "big brother," Staff Sergeant Ibrahim Coulibaly, nicknamed "IB," had to intervene to prevent them from killing one another. So these people were visible. They went jogging or rode through the city on their mopeds. Only Staff Sergeant Ibrahim Coulibaly had a car available to him, a green Land Rover with a Burkina Faso license plate. Two other ATVs were available for exiles, but they were used only rarely, for the sake of discretion. The Ivorian soldiers defiantly rode their two-wheelers to attend the "round table," as they called their weekly meeting at "IB's" villa. Villas and Cars Who lent them their villas and cars? Who gave them money and paid their medical expenses? "The Council of Understanding," the Burkina Faso president's office, they confided to their friends. This does not constitute proof. Nevertheless the fact remains that several of the houses occupied by the Ivorian deserters, each of which was guarded by a Burkinabe soldier, are part of an estate formerly owned by a state company. Since the latter's privatization, they have belonged to Alizeta Ouedraogo, stepmother of Francois Compaore, the head of state's younger son. Did the Ivorian rebels receive military training in Burkina Faso? There is no formal evidence of it. Nevertheless some 30 of them did spend six months prior to the rising in camps in Burkina Faso, particularly at Po, from whence they conveyed news to their local girlfriends via convoluted channels. They complained about the "strict regime, with no water or electricity," about "hardship" that would "cost (them their) paunch." Regularly, every fortnight, one of them would visit Ouagadougou to talk with "IB." The most recent such trip on record occurred at the beginning of September, a fortnight before the start of the rebellion in Cote d'Ivoire... (Description of Source: Paris Le Monde in French -- leading left-of-center daily)