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Latest update: 19/12/2010
- Alassane Ouattara - Ban Ki-moon - elections - Ivory Coast - Laurent Gbagbo - United Nations
UN chief rejects Gbagbo’s call to leave Ivory Coast
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has rejected Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's demand to withdraw peacekeepers after the UN backed Gbagbo's rival as the winner of a Nov. 28 presidential vote. Ban vowed UN forces would document any human rights violations.
AFP - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Saturday rejected a demand that UN peacekeepers leave Ivory Coast, heightening the international confrontation with contested leader Laurent Gbagbo.
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Ban also condemned attacks on UN troops in the West African nation and warned of "consequences" for those behind such action.
The UN mission, UNOCI, "will fulfil its mandate and will continue to monitor and document any human rights violations, incitement to hatred and violence, or attacks on UN peacekeepers," Ban was quoted as saying in a statement.
Gbagbo earlier ordered the 10,000 UN troops and 900 French forces in Ivory Coast to leave the country, accusing them of backing his rival Alassane Ouattara.
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The United Nations and entire international community have backed Ouattara as winner of Ivory Coast's November 28 election, which was intended as a key stage in burying the legacy of the nation's 2002 civil war.
The United Nations, United States, European Union and Ivory Coast's west African neighbors all demanded that Gbagbo cede power. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the EU will impose sanctions if Gbagbo does not leave by Sunday.
"The international community has spoken with one voice regarding Mr. Gbagbo's attempt to hold onto power," Ban said.
He added that statements of support for Ouattara by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, and the African Union "have shown that the African continent is united in its commitment to respect the democratically expressed will of the Ivorian people."
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About 800 UN forces are protecting Ouattara's government headquarters in an Abidjan hotel, while Gbagbo retains the presidential palace and the loyalty of the Ivory Coast army.
Ban "is deeply concerned about the attacks on a UN patrol and sentries at UNOCI HQ perpetrated by elements of the Ivorian security forces apparently loyal to Mr. Gbagbo, and an attack on UN military observers by Young Patriots on Saturday, 18 December, which left two military observers wounded."
The Young Patriots also back Gbagbo.
Ban warned: "There will be consequences for those who have perpetrated or orchestrated any such actions or do so in the future."
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The UN leader reaffirmed a warning made on Friday that "any attack on UN forces will be an attack on the international community and those responsible for these actions will be held accountable.
"Any continued actions obstructing and constricting UN operations are similarly unacceptable."
The UN Security Council is to discuss the Ivory Coast crisis on Monday and take a scheduled vote on whether to extend its current mandate which ends on December 31.
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Comments (2)
Ivory Cost crisis
I am pleading Gbagbo to leave power even if he thinks he won the elections, for the sake of ivorian's blood. He should not by any way be the cause of another civil war.
A Modern Day Congo!
Wind back the clock to 1960: the stage is set for a replay of the perfidious role of the UN in the Congo. The only difference is that this time around, it is the dying French Empire that is fighting to keep its prized possession - Cote d'Ivoire. As usual, the club of incompetent, corrupt and compromised African leaders, aka AU, cannot see beyond the facade dressed up as UN Mission in that country.
Scene 1: The modern day cast: Hyper belligerent Ban Ki-moon is Dag Hammarskjold; Ouattarra is Moise Tsombe, Kasavubu, Mobutu, et al, rolled into one, Gbagbo is the emerging Patrice Lumumba!
Book a ring side seat and watch the 'West' assist one of its own retake a lost jewel. Weep for Mother Africa!
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