BELGIUM: Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo must leave power by the end of the week or face EU sanctions, warns French President Nicolas Sarkozy

Record ID: 183819

  • Title: BELGIUM: Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo must leave power by the end of the week or face EU sanctions, warns French President Nicolas Sarkozy
  • Date: 18th December 2010
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (DECEMBER 17, 2010) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS LISTENING TO SARKOZY
  • Embargoed: 2nd January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium, Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVABPSB3LD5N1F3DJ9EM3L8G0L08
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo must surrender his presidential post by the end of the week or face international sanctions, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday (December 17).
    Incumbent president Gbagbo is locked in a power struggle with rival Alassane Ouattara as both claim victory in a Nov. 28 election that was meant to reunite the world's top cocoa grower after a 2002-03 civil war but has instead deepened divisions.
    Ouattara, a former prime minister, is widely recognised abroad as having won the election legitimately.
    ''Laurent Gbagbo and his wife hold their destiny in their hands. If they haven't left the post they are occupying, that Laurent Gbagbo is occupying, in violation of the will of the Ivorian people, their names will be added on the sanctions list," Sarkozy told a news conference at the end of a European Union summit.
    "Elections took place, under the vigilance of the United Nations. They were validated by the United Nations. Even better, all of the African countries recognised Alassane Ouattara to be the democratically-elected president of the Ivory Coast," Sarkozy added.
    Sarkozy slammed Gbagbo's stand and suggested he could even end up being pursued by the International Criminal Court.
    ''The Ivory Coast was one of the most stable countries in Africa. The Ivory Coast was deprived of elections for years. Mr. Gbagbo finally organised elections. He is the one who can choose. Which image does he want to leave history? Does he want to leave the image of a man of peace? There is still time. But time is running out and he has to go. Or will he leave the image of someone who ordered innocent civilians to be shot? And in this case you have international tribunals like the international court," said the French president.
    Sarkozy had waited last week for the United Nations to publicly back Ouattara before publicly stating a similar line.
    But Sarkozy used strong terms to express his position on Friday as tensions soared in the West African country, calling the situation "totally unacceptable" and "a scandal."
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