Cote d'Ivoire: Defense Minister Lida Kouassi reportedly buys arms in China AFP20020228000141 Abidjan Le Patriote in French 27 Feb 02 [Article by Toure Moussa:"Obsessed with security, Gbagbo buys arms when Ivorians are hungry" ] Moise Lida Kouassi, senior minister for defense and civil protection is in China since 22 February. He went there with two military experts, including Col Yode, director of military materiel and equipment. The purpose of this visit is to buy materiel, especially light weapons and ammunition for the Ivorian Army. The visit, according to our sources, is also to procure explosives and some heavy weaponry flexible enough to be mounted on vehicles like pick-ups. This operation is not a luxury at all, far from that. On 6 July 2001, in an interview in Fraternite Matin's Great Encounters column, the defense minister said: "We came to find an empty armory; we have been able to recover only 40 percent of the weapons that were taken out, and all the vehicles are broken down. However, some soldiers believe that the choice of China is problematic. In fact, this country manufactures weapons such as T-81 and T-82 assault rifles also called Chinese kalashnikovs, which our troops use. The problem with these weapons is that China is the only supplier of ammunition for such weapons in the world. Chinese weapons may be cheap, but the manufacturer will inevitably make up for any losses in ammunition sales, and if there were a shortage of stock, we would not be able to go elsewhere for supplies. This is not the case with weapons from NATO countries where there are many suppliers. Our sources point out that a Lebanese businessman, well known in the circles of large-scale retail services, and whose name we shall deliberately omit, served as the intermediary in this transaction. It is the same businessman who served as Interior Minister Boga Doudou's intermediary for the purchase of weapons and equipment for the police. It is known that these contracts are covered by "defense secrets" that allow for juicy private contract transactions that are never subject to open bid. After the purchase of these arms for the police, this businessman in question has suddenly become rich, and Boga Doudou has been able to begin his huge construction work. This intermediary is now working for Moise Lida Kouassi. One can easily imagine the type of commission to be shared, because in arms supply contracts, the percentage of kickback determines the choice of the supplier. Our sources point out that during the battle for the budget allocation, Boga Doudou managed to beat Lida Kouassi by referring to the danger the economy was facing with the activities of armed robbers. We do not know the argument the defense minister used to get his allocation at this time of generalized starvation. However, we do know that at a time when Ivorians, crushed by inflation, can hardly eat one square meal a day, the government has chosen to invest in arms. Can one carry guns when one is dying of hunger? Fyao240002 [Description of Source: Abidjan Le Patriote in French -- daily newspaper owned by the opposition Rally of Republicans]