Supporters of Côte d’Ivoire’s internationally recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, called on Sunday for another general strike in a bid to get incumbent rival Laurent Gbagbo to stand down.
The Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), a coalition of pro-Ouattara parties, called in a statement for all citizens in the crisis-stricken West African nation to stop work from Tuesday until embattled strongman Gbagbo stands down.
It called on “public and private sector workers, transport workers, shopkeepers, artisans, workers, farmers” to observe the strike, amid floundering international efforts to mediate an end to the crisis.
“Despite multiple mediations … Gbagbo is holding on to power and taking our country Côte d’Ivoire inexorably towards uncertain tomorrows,” the statement said.
African Union mediator Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga is currently in Abuja, holding talks with the head of the Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas) regional bloc Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan on how to end the crisis.
Odinga is expected to return to Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital Abidjan on Monday or Tuesday, with Ecowas having brandished the threat of military action to get Gbagbo to stand down.
A previous general strike called by Ouattara’s camp in the cocoa-rich nation on December 27 failed to build momentum and was largely ignored by workers in Abidjan.
Likewise, a December call by Ouattara’s prime minister, former rebel leader Guillaume Soro, had little effect. — Sapa-AFP