IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents try to carry on with their work amid power standoff
Record ID:
181956
IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents try to carry on with their work amid power standoff
- Title: IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents try to carry on with their work amid power standoff
- Date: 19th January 2011
- Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (JANUARY 18, 2011) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC ON STREETS OF ABIDJAN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET, WOMAN CARRYING BASKET ON HER HEAD (SOUNDBITE) (French) BUILDING CONTRACTOR, JEAN NICAISE BADJE, SAYING: "We're just telling ourselves today that we need to go back to work. So this story about general strike or not - we are going on about our business, that's all we know." VARIOUS OF WOMEN IN MARKET, SELLING AND BUYING VEGETABLES PEOPLE WALKING BY MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (French) PROPERTY AGENT SIMON DAGO, SAYING: "There's nothing else we can do, we have to work. And then they go and announce there's a general strike. So what shall we do to eat? What they are saying, it's not normal, we mustn't try to immobilise the country like that." VARIOUIS OF CLOTHES SHOP FRONT, STUDENTS WALKING PAST MORE OF SHOPS (SOUNDBITE) (French) ANGE MIREILLE MARINA ZOKOE, SAYING: "For me the general strike slows down the country, because there you see we have to go to school and we have to prepare for an exam on January 31, but because of the general strike called for by the other candidate, we don't manage to prepare. It's a bit disheartening." VARIOUS OF SHOP FRONTS TRAFFIC ON ROAD KENYA'S PRIME MINISTER RAILA ODINGA SHAKING HANDS WITH AMBASSADORS AT THE END OF THEIR MEETING (SOUNDBITE ) (French) FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO IVORY COAST, JEAN-MARC SIMON, SAYING: "We've just met with the Kenyan Prime Minister, and with other colleagues, and the Prime Minister included us in his efforts and conversations he had yesterday with Presidents Gbagbo and Ouattara, and we have hope that progress will be made later in the day, but we will see." ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (JANUARY 17, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONTAINERS BEING LOADED ONTO CARGO SHIP AT ABIDJAN PORT / WORKERS LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (French) PORT MANAGING DIRECTOR, MARCEL GOSSIO, SAYING: "I think these are idiotic decisions. Idiotic decisions, it is not a responsible decision. What has the Port of Abidjan to do with the electoral problem?" VARIOUS OF WORKERS SHOVELLING COFFEE BEANS INTO LARGE BAGS WORKERS LOOKING ON ACHER DANIEL MIDLAND (ADM) BAGS OF COCOA ON THE GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (French) PORT MANAGING DIRECTOR MARCEL GOSSIO, SAYING: "So what will it mean if they take sanctions against the port of Abidjan? It means they will freeze the accounts of Abidjan port in their countries. But the accounts are there to pay European contractors. So I won't pay them and that will be it. And it won't be my doing. It's the doing of these governments, who don't want us to pay them, so I will stop working with European contractors. Europe is not the only one in the world." VARIOUS OF PORT WORKERS OPENING COCOA SACKS, COCOA TO BE LOADED ONTO CARGO SHIP VARIOUS OF CARGO SHIPS BEING LOADED VARIOUS OF CARGO SHIPS AND CRANES IN THE PORT (SOUNDBITE) (French) COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR OF ABIDJAN PORT, LEANDRE DREPOBA SERY, SAYING: "The cargo ships are docked on all the quays, and as you can see for yourself, loading is in process. These are European and American companies who are working here, buying cocoa. I don't see why activities should stop, as the harvest we had this year was at around 1.2 million tonnes compared to last year's 900,000 tonnes." VARIOUS OF COCOA BEING POURED INTO STORAGE FOR LOADING ONTO CARGO SHIP MORE OF SHIPS AND CRANES IN PORT
- Embargoed: 3rd February 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cote d'Ivoire
- Country: Ivory Coast
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5JZB2A72OJU1SXNIKCFBRHD01
- Story Text: Efforts to resolve Ivory Coast's post-election standoff remain in deadlock, with no sign Laurent Gbagbo will agree to step down as president and his rival Alassane Ouattara unwilling to meet him until he does, mediators said on Tuesday (January 18).
Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, has called for a "dead nation" -- a general strike starting on Tuesday after two previous strike calls went unheeded. Traffic was only slightly lighter on Abidjan's palm-lined roads and many shops were open.
In some pro-Ouattara neighbourhoods, youths burned tyres in the road, witnesses said. But many Ivorians ignored the call.
"We're just telling ourselves today that we need to go back to work. So this story about general strike or not - we are going on about our business, that's all we know," said Jean Nicaise, a building contractor.
"There's nothing else we can do, we have to work. And then they go and announce there's a general strike. So what shall we do to eat?" said property agent Simon Dago, on a street bustling with hooting taxis and women carrying baskets of goods for sale.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga met Gbagbo and rival Alassane Ouattara on Monday (January 17) and remains in the West African nation to try to end their power struggle since the disputed election in November.
Ouattara is widely recognised by Western and African governments as president-elect, after the electoral commission proclaimed him winner of the November 28 presidential poll and the results were certified by the U.N. mission.
However, Gbagbo has refused to step down and he retains control of government buildings, state television and the security forces, while Ouattara's parallel administration is based in a U.N.-guarded hotel under siege by pro-Gbagbo forces.
Odinga met with diplomats on Tuesday for briefings, but had not carried out further talks with either camp by afternoon.
French Ambassador Jean-Marc Simon said after meeting him he was hoping for progress later in the day.
"We've just met with the Kenyan Prime Minister, and with other colleagues, and the Prime Minister included us in his efforts and conversations he had yesterday with Presidents Gbagbo and Ouattara, and we have hope that progress will be made later in the day, but we will see," he said.
The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Gbagbo and his inner circle, while efforts continue to squeeze his access to funds.
EU-registered vessels are barred from new financial dealings with Ivory Coast's two main cocoa-exporting ports, EU sources said on Monday, as part of sanctions imposed after November's contested election.
On Saturday (January 15), the EU froze the European assets of the two main ports in Ivory Coast -- the world's biggest cocoa exporter -- saying they were "helping to fund the illegitimate government of Mr Laurent Gbagbo".
But the head of Abidjan port dismissed the measures as "idiotic" steps whose only victims would be European firms.
"I think these are idiotic decisions. Idiotic decisions, it is not a responsible decision. What has the Port of Abidjan to do with the electoral problem," Marcel Gossio said. "So what will it mean if they take sanctions against the port of Abidjan? It means they will freeze the accounts of Abidjan port in their countries. But the accounts are there to pay European contractors. So I won't pay them and that will be it. And it won't be my doing. It's the doing of these governments, who don't want us to pay them, so I will stop working with European contractors. Europe is not the only one in the world."
The port's commercial director also saw no reason why trade should stop.
"The cargo ships are docked on all the quays, and as you can see for yourself, loading is in process. These are European and American companies who are working here, buying cocoa. I don't see why activities should stop, as the harvest we had this year was at around 1.2 million tonnes compared to last year's 900,000 tonnes," said Leandre Drepoba Sery.
Cocoa arrivals to main ports were estimated to be above last year's levels despite the crisis, underlining the resilience of the cocoa trade to the instability that has dogged the world's top grower since a 2002-2003 civil war.
Reuters reporters said activity at the port on Monday resembled that on a normal day, with two large vessels bound for Amsterdam port being loaded up with crates of cocoa beans. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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