Côte d’Ivoire’s political crisis took a disturbing new turn on Sunday after Laurent Gbagbo, clinging defiantly to power after disputed polls, accused foreign envoys of seeking to turn the military against him.
Gbagbo has become locked in a dangerous face-off with long-time enemy Alassane Ouattara after both claimed victory in last month’s presidential election, declared themselves president and named rival governments.
Ouattara has been recognised by the United Nations and the international community, but Gbagbo retains control of the Ivorian army and the country’s main cocoa-exporting harbours, which are key to his ability to rule.
On Saturday, Gbagbo’s newly named “interior minister” accused un-identified foreign diplomats of trying to suborn senior military officers, and threatened unspecified reprisals against international interference.
“For several days, civil and military members of certain Western chancelleries in Abidjan have discreetly approached senior officers in our national army,” Emile Guirieoulou alleged.
He warned that Gbagbo’s government “will no longer tolerate meddling by any diplomat in the internal affairs of the state of Côte d’Ivoire”.
‘No proof’ of meddling
But speaking to reporters in Burkina Faso Sunday, French Cooperation Minister Henri de Raincourt denied that Paris was meddling in the internal affairs of its former colony.
“Facts are there, there is no proof, under any pretext, of any French interference in the internal affairs of Côte d’Ivoire,” he told reporters in Bobo Dioulasso where he was attending ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Burkina Faso’s independence from France.
“Côte d’Ivoire’s internal policy is the business of Ivorians and, precisely, they have spoken and it seems to me that democracy is respect of peace, freedom but also legality,” he added.
And he pointedly noted that, in Paris’s view, Côte d’Ivoire’s “elected president” is Alassane Ouattara.
“When the entire international community, when all African countries, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, essentially say the same thing (Ouattara won the election), it is naturally totally inaccurate to speak of meddling,” de Raincourt said.
Demonstrators gather
In Paris, several hundred pro-Gbagbo Ivorian demonstrators meanwhile gathered to reinforce this message at a street rally in front of France’s Constitutional Council, but Abidjan itself remained calm.
The United Nations has ordered 460 non-essential staff out of the country and France is drawing up plans to evacuate thousands of its nationals from its former colony if needed.
Ouattara declared himself president based on UN-endorsed results from the November 28 election, and is trying to keep his grip on the levers of state, demanding that members of the military and civil service abandon Gbagbo.
Ivorians have watched anxiously to see how Gbagbo will respond. Reports said he was ready to talk with Ouattara’s side, which has rejected any suggestion of negotiations unless their man is recognised as head of state.
Guirieoulou’s declaration reinforced Gbagbo’s defiant front against pressure from world powers — including the United Nations Security Council — for him to bring an end his troubled decade in power.
Threats of sanctions
The United States has made repeated threats of sanctions against Gbagbo.
Guirieoulou alleged that, as well contacts with the national military, “approaches have been made to state media, to regulatory bodies and to top directors of these media”.
“The aim of these moves is to find military personnel and police” to back Ouattara and “to recruit the state media in an effort to destabilise and break up peace and social cohesion”, he claimed.
Gbagbo has control of the national army, about 18 000 troops, and of the mainly Christian south with its key ports, cocoa fields and oil facilities.
Ouattara, a former prime minister from the largely Muslim rebel-held north, has named former rebel Guillaume Soro, 38, to head his rival government.
Soro has several thousand northern “New Forces” troops, former rebels, behind him and has warned they could mobilise if Gbagbo does not budge, but says he is seeking a peaceful solution.
Some army commanders have pledged allegiance to Gbagbo, but analysts and allies of Ouattara say his military support may not be absolute.
Nevertheless, Gbagbo still seems to have undisputed control of two key units — the well-armed and motivated Presidential Guard and the Cecos anti-robbery squad — making any attempt to unseat him a risky undertaking. — AFP