Fomer South African President ThaboMbeki arrived in Ivory Coast today to mediate in an increasinglyviolent political crisis sparked by a disputred election that hasseen two rival leaders laying claim to the presidency.
Fomer South African President ThaboMbeki arrived in Ivory Coast today to mediate in an increasinglyviolent political crisis sparked by a disputred election that hasseen two rival leaders laying claim to the presidency.
Laurent Gbagbo, 65, the incumbent, was sworn in aspresident at a ceremony at the presidential palace yesterdayafter the Constitutional Council declared him the winner of Nov.28 elections. Hours later, Alassane Ouattara said he had takenthe oath of office, following a Dec. 2 announcement by theElectoral Commission that he won 54.1 percent of the vote.
“We are in Ivory Coast,” Mukoni Ratshitanga, Mbeki’sspokesman, said in a text message today. “We have met the UNspecial representative and the president and will be meeting theopposition soon.”
The election was meant to unite the world’s top cocoagrower, which has been divided into a rebel-held north andgovernment-controlled south since a 2002 uprising. The disputeover the results is escalating violence that left several deadduring the campaign, with Ouattara supporters taking to thestreets in protest.
The UN, the U.S. and European Union have sided withOuattara, while the leaders of the armed forces in the formerFrench colony have backed the incumbent Gbagbo.
Emergency Mission
The African Union appointed Mbeki to lead an emergencymission to Ivory Coast “to facilitate the rapid and peacefulconclusion of the electoral process and the efforts to find away out of the crisis.” Mbeki, who was ousted as South Africanpresident in 2008, led previous mediation efforts during theuprising and is spearheading attempts to bring an end toconflict in Sudan.
“We trust the African Union and the internationalcommunity,” Anne Ouloto, Ouattara’s spokeswoman, said in atelephone interview. “They can’t recognize Alassane Ouattara asthe new president of Ivory Coast and negotiate with LaurentGbagbo. We hope they are here to make Laurent Gbagbo seereason.”
Since yesterday, Ouattara supporters have used tables,rocks and pieces of wood to barricade streets and set car tiresafire in Abidjan and the political capital Yamoussoukro, andpolice have used tear gas to disperse them.
Clashes between the rival camps have claimed the lives of18 people in Abidjan alone over the past two days, Amadou Coulibaly, a spokesman for Ouattara’s party, said lateyesterday. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the city today.
Six people died and four were seriously injured in thecentral cocoa-producing town of Issia on Dec. 3, after pro-Gbagbo youths attacked shops owned by Ouattara supporters andlooted a cocoa bean warehouse, according to an oppositionofficial who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.
Bouake Protests
In the central town of Bouake, Ouattara supporters stagedpeaceful protests for a third day today.
“People are increasingly worried about the situation,”Philippe Kande, a resident of the town, said in a telephoneinterview. “Gbagbo is very unpredictable. Gbagbo should respectthe will the people. He is always talking about democracy, buthe has shown that he does not care about democracy at all.”
Local officials at the Red Cross declined to comment on thereports of violence. Gendarmerie spokesman Ange Nouko didn’tanswer calls to his mobile phone seeking comment.
Borders Sealed
The army has sealed off all the country’s borders untilfurther notice, the military said in a statement read on statetelevision. Foreign television and radio signals have beenjammed indefinitely, the National Broadcasting Council said in aseparate statement.
“It’s going to be a rough ride in the Ivory Coast,” Kissy Agyeman-Togobo, a partner at Songhai Advisory LLP, which servesclients interested in Africa, said by telephone from London lateyesterday. “There is a very, very real threat of conflict. Ithink it will be difficult for Gbagbo to hang on.”
Ivory Coast’s growth has averaged 1.1 percent in the eightyears since the conflict started as the cocoa-dependent countrymissed out on the wave of foreign investment in Africa fromnations such as China. Gbagbo’s supporters hold Ouattara, 68,responsible for the revolt in 2002, a charge he denies.
Cocoa for March delivery climbed $67, or 2.3 percent, to2,935 pounds in New York on Dec. 3 after jumping 4 percent theday before.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:Antony Sguazzin atasguazzin@bloomberg.net.