IVORY COAST: Ivorians in turmoil and desperate for peace as country locked in bitter political battle

Record ID: 181953

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Ivorians in turmoil and desperate for peace as country locked in bitter political battle
  • Date: 23rd December 2010
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (DECEMBER 22, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CARS ON STREET PEOPLE CROSSING ROAD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE READING NEWSPAPER HEADLINES POSTED ON WALL
  • Embargoed: 7th January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA42HBXRTROH9VDJWE0Y4U15YFD
  • Story Text: Residents gathered in central Abidjan on Tuesday (December 22) to read the latest headlines on Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo's speech in which he invited an international committee to re-examine the results of a disputed election to avoid a bitter power struggle with his rival escalating into civil war.
    Gbagbo said in an address on state television on Tuesday (December 21) the committee could be headed by the African Union and also involve the West African organisation ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Russia and China.
    All have recognised his rival Alassane Ouattara as winner.
    "It's a good thing because he said he is open to dialogue and I think this is good because we cannot live in this sort of situation, we are all very tired, we feel that way. That's all I think about actually, we are all human beings in this world and we cannot live isolated. We must find a solution to be able to live in peace," said Abidjan resident Derbin Yapo.
    Ordinary Ivorians are struggling with life in turmoil as prices are shooting up, transport is chocked by strikes, and people just live in fear of a bitter civil war.
    An election on Nov. 28 was meant to end the debilitating crisis that has plagued the world's top cocoa grower since a 2002-3 war split it in two, deterring investment and hampering growth. Instead, it has merely deepened it.
    An anti-Gbagbo protest last Thursday (December 16) degenerated into a gun battle between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces near the lagoon-side Golf Hotel, where Ouattara's administration is holed up under guard of U.N. peacekeepers with sandbagged machine gun positions.
    At least 20 were killed in protests. Gbagbo's camp says half of those were his security forces.
    Despite the tensions, army spokesman Babri Gohourou announced on state TV that a curfew in place since shortly after the poll would be lifted from Wednesday.
    The United Nations says at least 50 people have been killed and hundreds wounded and abducted from their homes.
    In the address, Gbagbo said he doesn't want any more violence.
    But many Ivorians live in fear of expressing their opinions publicly after night-time attacks in which Ouattara's supporters were being hunted down and beaten up.
    "We cannot sort out this problem through killings. They should be talking once and for all and understand each other so that each one of us can go about our activities as normal," said a refrigeration technician from Abidjan, Jeremy N'da.
    Diplomats said they did not take Gbagbo's statement seriously and that neither the United States, France nor others had been consulted.
    Before this statement, Gbagbo and his supporters had shown no signs of giving any ground on the poll they say he won, despite being offered sanctuary in African countries like Nigeria or South Africa if he steps aside.
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