Ivorian leader handed ultimatum - Stand down as president or expect to face "legitimate force"

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English

West African regional bloc tells Laurent Gbagbo he must stand down as president or expect to face "legitimate force".

Last Modified: Dec 24 2010 19:43 GMT

Laurent Gbagbo, Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent president, has been told he must stand down or face "legitimate force" by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following last month's disputed presidential election.

The 15-nation body said on Friday that it would convene a meeting of the countries' defence chiefs of staff to plan for potential action, should Gbagbo not back down.

ECOWAS, which made the statement following a summit held Abuja, Nigeria's capital, said it would also send a special envoy to Cote d'Ivoire.

Cote d'Ivoire is locked in an election standoff in which 200 people have been killed after Gbagbo claimed victory in the presidential election on November 28 which the UN and many foreign governments say was won by rival Alassane Ouattara.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/12/2010122419027283570.html

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Recent OPs on this developing story...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4670313">Ivory Coast: France warns nationals to leave

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4669479">UN chief warns of 'real risk' of Ivory Coast civil war

[Turborama]

1. Tensions spiral in Ivory Coast

(UKPA) – 2 hours ago

Masked gunmen with rocket launchers are blocking access to what officials believe may be a mass grave site in Ivory Coast, the United Nations said as concerns grow that the West African nation could return to conflict. The UN reported that heavily armed forces allied with Laurent Gbagbo and joined by masked men were preventing people from getting to the village of N'Dotre, where the global body said "allegations point to the existence of a mass grave". The UN did not elaborate on the possible victims, though it has expressed concerns about hundreds of arrests and dozens of cases of torture and disappearance during the political turmoil which has engulfed the nation since the presidential run-off vote was held nearly a month ago.

"As the violence goes on the number of dead, wounded and missing persons is increasing rapidly," UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Gbagbo has refused to step down from the presidency despite international calls from the UN, US, former coloniser France, the European Union and the African Union. The international community recognises Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the run-off vote, though Gbagbo maintains control of the national military.

Alain Toussaint, an adviser for Gbagbo, has said he does not believe soldiers or people close to Gbagbo would carry out the acts of violence that have been reported. At least 173 deaths have already been confirmed in violence over the vote, and the UN is warning there could be untold more since it has been unable to investigate all the allegations.

Even the top UN envoy in the country was stopped at gunpoint while trying to look into reports of human rights abuses, the UN deputy human rights commissioner in Geneva said yesterday. "Many of the abducted remain missing and the security forces are refusing to reveal their whereabouts," Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "Several witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch had come across bodies with bullet wounds of those arrested or abducted, leading to strong fears of extrajudicial executions."

The US State Department has ordered most of its personnel to leave because of the deteriorating security situation and growing anti-Western sentiment, and France is also urging its citizens to leave.

From: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5g_EUEHxnxflHuTeHQGEox7_B_yNQ?docId=N0307651293113085834A

[EFerrari]

2. Why did no one do this to George Bush in 2000? Or, 2004?

:shrug:

[DavidDvorkin]

4. Ivory Coast is a much easier target than the world's superpower

Or any major power, for that matter.

[EFerrari]

5. So, this is about thuggery, not democracy.

:)

[Posteritatis]

7. And probably simple capability, too

It's cynical, yes, but nobody is going to compel a US president to stand down by force. It's a physical impossibility, unless enough of the military's backing the other guy, in which case the situation would be resolved at home, albeit in a messy way.

International organizations in Africa have been trying to set up various police-themselves systems in the last twenty years or so, though; there's something of a more level playing field among those and being right there physically counts for something as well.

[Posteritatis]

6. Because it would be difficult and involve some nonzero element of risk

Edit - Oh, you mean internationally as opposed to domestically? In that case it would be extremely difficult and involve fantastically huge elements of risk. ;)

(That'll teach me to actually RTFA before replying to comments. Ugh.)

[EFerrari]

8. It's okay. I was just being a s.a.

But it is too bad we don't have a "super" power to look after us. :)

[Posteritatis]

9. Yeah, a but of multipolarity might be nice at times to tone down some of the excesses

Of course at the same time I worry about whether, when the planet gradually shifts to a more multipolar system among the great powers, we'll fall back into the same pattern we've had anytime prior to 1945 with everything that implies. I'm a huge fan of Responsibility To Protect as a doctrine, but it could get pretty ugly if a major power was placed on the wrong side of that. I just don't know.

I'm still not sure what I want, or what I expect, or what I should want/expect along those lines, and it's one of those fun things where the more I read/think about it the fuzzier my reactions get. ;P

[Chan790]

10. Because?

In neither 2000 or 2004 was it anywhere near as clear that Bush had lost as it is that Gbagbo is illegitimate. That's not to say that either Bush victory was legitimate, but it was not so damningly obvious internationally that Bush had stolen an election and was refusing to vacate power. Even Gbagbo admits the appearance that he lost, he's just claiming any election he didn't win must be illegitimate.

A better question is Why didn't the world community step-up when Carlos Salinas stole the Presidency of Mexico from Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in 1988? I was 9 and even I saw through that ruse... "se cayó el sistema" (colloq.: "The system crashed."...and the guy who clearly and rather-overwhelmingly was winning...actually lost. Pay no attention that the votes are counted (free from oversight) by a partisan of the PRI who backed Salinas. Further, we're going to demand that all the data that could clarify and overturn this result...be destroyed unread in the name of maintaining order.)

[EFerrari]

11. It was clear to those of us who were watching.

In 2000, they had to shut down Florida to take it. In 2004, residents of Ohio rioted at the statehouse over their stolen vote.

It was obvious all right. Just because the presstitutes don't print it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

[totodeinhere]

12. The difference is that both Gore and Kerry conceded to Bush.

And neither asked the UN for help. In this case, Ouattara, the legitimate winner, did ask for international intervention.

[Turborama]

3. Ouattara asks Hague to investigate I.Coast violence

Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:48pm GMT

ABIDJAN Dec 24 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara said on Friday he had asked the International Criminal Court to send a mission to Ivory Coast to investigate post-election violence in the west African state. A drawn-out dispute over results of a Nov. 28 presidential election, intended to heal the scars of a 2002-03 war, has instead triggered a violent standoff between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and Ouattara.

Ouattara has been recognised as the legitimate Ivorian leader by international and regional organisations including the United Nations, the World Bank, ECOWAS and the European Union, while Gbagbo has maintained his grip to power with the backing of the military and the powerful "Young Patriot" movement.

The United Nations on Thursday put the death toll from the violence at more than 170, and residents of pro-Ouattara neighbourhoods have said masked gunmen are now breaking into homes by night, kidnapping and in some cases killing people. "Indeed, violence has resurfaced in our cities and our neighbourhoods. Serious violations of human rights have been reported. During the curfew, people were abducted and executed by elements of the Republican Guard ... backed by mercenaries and foreign militia," Ouattara said in a statement.

"In view of the seriousness of the facts, I asked the International Criminal Court to send a mission to our country in the coming days," he said.

From: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE6BN0M020101224

[McCamy Taylor]

13. The election is a real mess. For all we know, western interests stole it for Ouattara

who has many ties to western business interests via the IMF where he has worked for decades. Plus, Ivory Coast has a gazillion barrels of oil that the west desperately wants.

If I had to guess, I would say that both sides cheated but that US and European forces will install their favored candidate, Outtara. And, if it leads to another4 bloody civil war, the west will not give a shit. More blood for oil.

http://presscore.ca/2011/?p=676

[Odin2005]

14. isn't Ouattara an IMF lackey?

[Posteritatis]

15. If he legitimately won the election, does it matter? (nt)