Pro-Government Militias
Student Federation of Cote d'Ivoire (FESCI) (Cote d'Ivoire)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 457 |
| Country: | Cote d'Ivoire |
| Date formed: | Jan. 1, 2000 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | The group was created in the 1990s as an unarmed student union to improve living conditions for university students. It was banned by the Bédié government. Starting in 2000 with the Gbagbo government, the militia was supported by the Ivorian government and was used to suppress political opposition. (Wikipedia) |
| Date dissolved: | April 11, 2011 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | After the arrest of former President Gbagbo and the installment of the Ouattara government in 2011, the organization ceases to be a pro-government militia. There is no information on disarmament of militia members and the group’s termination. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | no | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister; political party |
| If link to party, name of party: | Ivoirian Popular Front (FPI) |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | unclear |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; plunder and loot |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | adolescents; students |
| Primary Membership: | political |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Abidjan |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | civilians; unarmed political opposition, government critics; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group; other pro-government militias; journalists; students |
| Purpose(s): | intimidation of civilians; intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Northerners (Mande and Voltaic/Gur) (Cote d'Ivoire) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | inferred |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | FESCI was used by the government to curb opposition among students and university staff. In 2006, they attacked a television station that had broadcast a statement by the teachers’ union announcing the boycott of examinations. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | The militia used violence indiscriminately against political opposition among students and university staff and also assaulted other civilians who were not classified as political opposition. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing; torture; sexual violence |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | There is no evidence that FESCI members were coerced or paid to join the organization. FESCI was initially created as a student union to promote students’ and university staff’s interests, but it became more political when members also joined to promote a nationalist ideology. (Wikipedia) |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | No information. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The militia used clubs, machetes and firearms when attacking its targets. There is no information on training. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | Guillaume Soro, who became prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire in 2007, was Secretary-General of the organization from 1995 to 1998. Charles Blé Goudé who founded the Alliance des jeunes patriotes pour le sursaut national ("Youth Alliance for National Survival") which FESCI is aligned to, was Secretary-General from 2001 to 2003. (Wikipedia) |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.