Broad Support - Main contents
On Friday, EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, announced that the EU is working with Alassane Ouattara to ease the sanctions that have been imposed on Ivory Coast. Dutch members of the European Parliament (MEP) agree.
“Outside his bunker, Laurent Gbagbo has lost control” says Hans van Baalen. As chairmen of the Liberal International, a group of Liberal parties all over the world, he expects to attend the inauguration of Ouattara as president of Ivory Coast. “Ouattara’s party is a member of Liberal International too. It won’t be long before president-elect Ouattara will be sworn in as president” says Van Baalen.
Labour MEP Thijs Berman agrees on lifting the sanctions, but also emphasizes the need for a quick investigation into possible war crimes. “As soon as the fighting is over, investigators should look into these allegations. And I’m glad that Ouattara himself has said that an investigation should take place in DuéKoué.” In this town in the western part of Ivory Coast, the Red Cross has found up to one hundred bodies, mostly civilians and children.
Berman also sees enough evidence for prosecuting the former president Laurent Gbagbo: “He should be arrested and put on trial, because he’s responsible for the deaths of at least 1500 people.”
Ivory Coast's presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara is expected to announce within days the end of a ban on exports of cocoa, his UN envoy said on Thursday. The country is the world's leading cocoa producer.
The Ivorian cocoa sector is close to a return to normalcy after turmoil created by a post-election conflict between Ouattara and incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, envoy Youssoufou Bamba told a news conference.
Imminent announcement
"Mr. Ouattara, the president, will ... formally make an announcement (about lifting the ban) in the coming days," he said at the Ivory Coast's UN mission in Manhattan.
"We are very close ... to normalcy in this (cocoa) sector," Bamba said. "The San Pedro port is secure, and as soon as the stand-off in Abidjan will be over, everything will get back to normal very very quickly." The export ban was imposed by Ouattara in January. That ban, combined with European Union sanctions and a crippled banking industry have brought the Ivorian cocoa industry to a virtual standstill in recent months. Dealers estimate that around 500,000 metric tons of cocoa is stuck in Ivory Coast.
Lift sanctions
Ouattara said on Thursday that he had asked for EU sanctions on the main ports and other businesses to be lifted. "I have asked that European Union sanctions on the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro and certain public entities, be lifted," Ouattara said in a speech broadcast on French television channel LCI. Forces loyal to Ouattara have been waging an offensive in Abidjan to topple Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing last November's election to Ouattara, according to results certified by the United Nations.
No more negotiation
Bamba said he expected the stand-off between Gbagbo's and Ouattara's forces to be over soon. He added that Ouattara had given Gbagbo every opportunity to depart with dignity, but the long-serving Ivorian leader had refused. Bamba said Ouattara's people were no longer negotiating with Gbagbo. "No negotiation," he said. "We want him captured and brought to justice." He added that they wanted to capture Gbagbo alive. Bamba said it was unclear how much money would be needed for the country's reconstruction after months of conflict that erupted into a new civil war. Bamba said an assessment of the damage would be needed, though he expected the country, which was once the economic powerhouse of east Africa, to rebound. "We have a resilient economy," Bamba said.
Source: Reuters