• Thursday, December 23, 2010
• Inter Press Service

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his concern at the escalating violence in Cote d'Ivoire, where as many as 20 people were reportedly killed in clashes between security forces and opposition activists. '[Ban] is deeply concerned about the continuing political stalemate,' said spokesperson Farhan Haq. He called the violence a 'worrying turn'.

In his statement, Ban called upon the incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, who has been backed by the country's security forces, to accept defeat and step down so that his opponent, Alassane Ouattara, who was declared the winner in last month's elections, can assume office. Gbagbo, a 65-year-old former history teacher from southern Cote d'Ivoire, has been in power since 2000. Ouattara, a 68- year-old economist, is backed by the former rebels in the north of the country, and enjoys the support of Western powers and the United Nations.

A Christian, Gbagbo is considered to be a staunch nationalist. Cote d'Ivoire gained its independence in 1960. In 2002, an armed rebellion broke out in the Muslim- dominated north, which Ouattara represents. The U.N. has 10,000 troops in Cote d'Ivoire. Some of them are currently guarding Ouattara and his supporters from the security forces. It has been reported that at one point Gbagbo indicated his willingness to form a coalition government, but the U.N. disagreed.

In response to a question about the possible formation of a coalition government, Haq told IPS that that offer was 'not acceptable' because [Ouattara] 'won the majority' of votes. The current strife in Cote d'Ivoire began after the run-off election last month, when the electoral commission declared Ouattara the winner with 54.1 percent, compared to Gbagbo's 45.9 percent.

'The former colonial powers are trying to handle this situation in an undiplomatic manner,' said a diplomatic source who did not want to be named. 'They are not doing the right thing. It's a resource-rich country. That is why they don't want unity among its people.'

Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest exporter of cocoa. It also exports coffee, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil and fish. Haq told IPS that Ban's special representative in Cote d'Ivoire has increased his efforts to prevent further violence. 'The secretary-general is in touch with him,' he said.

In an earlier statement, the U.N. moved towards imposing sanctions on any parties obstructing the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire. The U.N. has also set up a monitoring committee to record all incidents, behaviour, actions and decisions that block the peace process. 'The committee will propose concrete measures to be taken, including the imposition of immediate targeted sanctions,' Simon Munzu, the head of UNOCI's Human Rights Division and chair of the Committee, told a news conference in Cote d'Ivoire.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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