"Big four" to meet next week

Cote d'Ivoire's top four political leaders have agreed to meet on January 22 in the capital Yamoussoukro, to discuss strategies to strengthen peace and reconciliation efforts which began last year. President Laurent Gbagbo, on Monday, met in Abidjan with former president Henri Konan Bedie and former prime minister Alassane Ouattara to discuss the upcoming talks, an initiative Gbagbo announced at the end of the country's national reconciliation forum in December. The meeting is expected to build upon suggestions made during the forum. Former military ruler General Robert Guei, who did not attend yesterday's preliminary meeting, is also expected in Yamoussoukro, 255 km north of Abidjan, the local media reported. Nicknamed the "big four" by the local press, they represent parties currently at the centre of the country's political debate. Bedie heads the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire which ruled the country from 1960 to 1999; Ouattara heads the opposition Rally of the Republicans, while Guei leads the Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire. The fourth major party is President Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front.