I can’t imagine been holed up in a 5 star hotel since the 1st week of December 2010. Today is the 18th Of January 2011. It means Quattara despite been the bonafide and authentic President has been under-hotel arrest if we can call it that for the past six weeks. It would seem that he is the one at the receiving end of this on going and never ending conflict and not Gbagbo.

If he attempts to take a break away from the familiar surroundings of the hotel by taking a shot hop in a UN helicopter from the hotel premises to probably the North of the country where his constituents are in majority, the likelihood that the chopper would not be shot down by Ivorian Forces loyal to Gbagbo is very slim, neither can he take a car ride out of the hotel premises.

It would appear that the so called legitimate President of Ivory Coast has been caged like a rare animal in that wonderful hotel building, and of course surrounded on all sides by crack elements of the Ivorian Forces.

Quattara must be the world’s most powerless President. Could someone please end this powerless man’s nightmare and misery by setting him free from his predicament?

I would not be surprise if Gbagbo sets up shop at the entrance of the hotel for the discerning Tourist and any other on-lookers who would like to catch a glimpse of this desperate man in suit, and of course for a fee. Every dollar counts, the Gbagbo regime are in dire need of every dollar they can lay their hands on.

I see Japanese Tourist falling all over each other and been at the fore-front of this kind of weird tourist opportunity, those guys with their cameras which sometimes is almost as big as themselves can snap at anything even at the most obnoxious thing one can ever imagine.

@knowall,
gbagbo's camp is saying that the constitution of ivory coast says, for any election to be valid, the president of the country must sign it. it did not say that the UN observers must sign it.
outtara cld be a winner according to the UN observers but not according to the constitution of his country.
u and i know what it means for a country to be soverign.
on the other hand, outtara has been a sectional/rebel leader who refused to be loyal to the federal govt so is he warning up to remain a sectional leader or a federal leader who everyone in country will be loyal to?
for other african country rulers, they are as toothless and guilty as gbagbo himself.
let us use jonathan as our case study here. what moral standard is jonathan using to judge gbagbo? did jonathan get our consent to become the vice president of yar adua or did his boss late yar adua win election in 2007? is nigeria peaceful? are we better than ivory coast? these are some of the questions we must answer before we go with him in fighting gbagbo out of office.

[size=18pt]Did Quatarra really win the election?[/size]


From both a logical point of view and common sensical reason with regards to the happenings in IVC,  I don't think it is ingenious to draw and conclude without mincing words what is obviously a clear cut fact that Mr "Hotel Arrest" Quatarra could not have won the election. IVC is a country seperated into two by a conflict, the trend of migration using the Liberia war and any other conflict zone as a yardstick is for people to gravitate towards the most safe city OR REGION which in this case without a  shadow of doubt is Abidjan. Anybody conversant with conflict management especially in war zones would agree without doubt and would also have an unshakeable and transparent view of what have transpired in Ivory Cost in the last 10 years.

Who are the people who voted for Quattara, most of the country-side in IVC has be despersed due to the conflict, which is understandable there has been a  decapitation of not only human resources in the country-side, roaming bandits are rife and a way of life in the northern zone, this is because of the absence of a unifying strong man in the Gbagbo mould in the Northern part of the country, to say the north has degenerated into a somalian apocalypses is not too far from the truth only just. 

TO SAY the only bastion of civility and any semblance of normality in that country is Abidjan,  one would not be over-stating the facts neither would one be drumming up unwarranted support or spinning on behalf of Gbagbo, why should Gbagb give up that oasis of peace and tranquility without a fight. This is a city Gbagbo has sheilded and nurtured for 10 years preventing it from slipping into the abyssmal case in the north occupied by Bukinabes and other forigners, why should Gbagbo share his utopian with these maurauders from the north, I think it is high time the ECOWAS head of states put on their thinking caps and have a second  look at this conflict from a logical point of view without quicklyt jumping into bed with the french /American fantasy of gung-ho diplomacy.

Since Gbagbo controls Abidjan and her institutions such as  the police and the army, which  are funtional in that cityl like in every normal society, Gbagbo would be sen and is actually seen as a messaih amongst southerners and Abidjan folks.

@OP

I have been called dumb on the issue by few political and intellectual minnows on this forum. In fact, your posts have been collaborated by my brother-Inlaw who was born and raised in Abidjan. The parties instigating the problem in Ivory Coast are EU, UN and Americans. It is a doctrine they have adopted throughout West Africa whereby the colonialists will support a leader from impoverish North against a leader from economical viable South. In the aftermath, the northern leader of the country does not have leverage because his/her position was made possible by the colonialists.

The final arbiter in the electoral process in Ivory Coast is the Constitutional Council and it declared Gbagbo the winner of the election.

@OP

I have been called dumb on the issue by few political and intellectual minnows on this forum. In fact, your posts have been collaborated by my brother-Inlaw who was born and raised in Abidjan. The parties instigating the problem in Ivory Coast are EU, UN and Americans. It is a doctrine they have adopted throughout West Africa whereby the colonialists will support a leader from impoverish North against a leader from economical viable South. In the aftermath, the northern leader of the country does not have leverage because his/her position was made possible by the colonialists.

The final arbiter in the electoral process in Ivory Coast is the Constitutional Council and it declared Gbagbo the winner of the election.

I would like your detractors to point out where Quatarra could have gather 500,000 votes in the north,  Boake the second largest city in the north was 775,500 in  2002 assuming all things being the same. no wars or turbelance the population would have grown to 1.2 million people. Obviously I am being  generous with this statistics, we all know there have being a war, the population has being displaced, the thought and certainity that there would have being a population growth in the adjorning years is a fallacy I would not want to dwell on, it is more than common sense.

Quattara could not not have garner 500,00 votses in a depleted and displaced Boake where violation and other asundry are  the other of the day.

^^^

Bouake is the second largest city in the North, not the ONLY city in the north, for a man who is said to be largely popular in the muslim North, why should it even be a problem to gather 500,000 votes? 

Additionally, Bouake's population of 775,500 is only representative of the Urban Area population of the entire Vallée du Bandama region, it's more like quoting London's population as a representative of the entire UK.

Besides all that,  Abidjan which sustains the largest part of Ivory Coast's population consist of a larger Abidjan North and Abidjan South.
The Largest communities in Abidjan North are pro Outtara Supporters, cities like Abobo and Adjamé.  Other cities such as Attécoubé, Cocody and Plateau are supporters of Henri Bedie who later merged his party with Ouattara. In effect, it is suffice to say the majority within Abidjan North pledge their support for Ouattara.  If abijan's population stands at over 3 million, are you still looking for how Ouattarra could have pulled off 500,000 votes?

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/ivorycoast/Thabo-Mbeki-leads-moves-to.6650947.jp

Despite Mr Ouattara's international support, Mr Gbagbo holds many of the key elements of power, including the army and the state media.

The rivals' support also falls along geographical lines, with Mr Gbagbo controlling the south and Mr Ouattara controlling the north. This has led to speculation each may govern over his half of the country, in a de facto re-division of the territory along lines established during the war. The country officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal.

Revised results released on Friday showing Mr Gbagbo won re-election did not include 500,000 votes cast in Ouattara strongholds in the north.

The constitutional council said that was because there was evidence pro-Gbagbo voters had been intimidated.

Besides all that, Abidjan which sustains the largest part of Ivory Coast's population consist of a larger Abidjan North and Abidjan South.
The Largest communities in Abidjan North are pro Outtara Supporters, cities like Abobo and Adjamé. Other cities such as Attécoubé, Cocody and Plateau are supporters of Henri Bedie who later merged his party with Ouattara. In effect, it is suffice to say the majority within Abidjan North pledge their support for Ouattara. If abijan's population stands at over 3 million, are you still looking for how Ouattarra could have pulled off 500,000 votes?

You can see from the article that the 500,000 cancelled votes are from Mr Quattara’s northern strong hold and not some fancy named suburbs of Abidjan. Mr Man your argument is all over the place it is not only redundant, simplistic, and delirious it is a classical sham. You have just like most of the decision makers in ECOWAS swallowed the concocted lies manufactured in France hook, line and sinker without getting your facts right.

Your argument was based on the premise that Ouattara is unable to raise 500,000 votes in the north based on the fact that  Bouake, the largest city in the North has a population of 775,500 as at 2002.

My first and immediate response to your argument was that 

Bouake is the second largest city in the North, not the ONLY city in the north, for a man who is said to be largely popular in the muslim North, why should it even be a problem to gather 500,000 votes? 
[size=14pt]Additionally, Bouake's population of 775,500 is only representative of the Urban Area population of the entire Vallée du Bandama region, it's more like quoting London's population as a representative of the entire UK.[/size]

You have simply and conveniently ignored this and have instead chosen to pick holes in the subsequent paragraph!. . .why not respond to this and defend your initial argument accordingly.
The fact that you've based your argument on an urban population shows your point to be not only redundant, simplistic, and delirious but a classical sham

furthermore and for your information, Vallee du Bandama is NOT the only region in the North and Ouattarra in all probability did not raise his entire Northern votes from Boauke, you could have at least done some google work before putting together such an embarrassing argument

Vallée du Bandama[b] is one of the 19 regions of Côte d'Ivoire[/b]. The region's capital is Bouaké. Covering 28,530 km², its population (2002 est.) is 1,335,500.
The region is divided into five departments: Béoumi, Bouaké, Dabakala, Katiola, Sakassou

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vall%C3%A9e_du_Bandama

You have simply and conveniently ignored this and have instead chosen to pick holes in the subsequent paragraph!. . .why not respond to this and defend your initial argument accordingly.

The fact that you have chose an urban area population and have neglected figures from the rural areas shows your point to be not only redundant, simplistic, and delirious but a classical sham

I would suggest you familiarize yourself with my whole write-up paying special attention to the one with the heading “ Did QUATTARA really won the election”. It may surprise you that Mr Quattara himself cannot and was not living in that fantasy land called Boauke Urban because such an algorithm does not exist. The only place for such concoction is in the feeble mind of a fantasist like you.

Tell me what Boake Urban has to offer her citizenry, who is charged of that enclave, what are the chances ordinary ivorians would not be raped, pillage and abused, can their rights be protected? Even Quattarra’s war time commander Mr Soro’s lives and works in Abidjan, he was one of Gbagbo’s ministers b4 the ill-fated and unfortunate elections. These Northerners together with millions of their compatriots lives and work in Abidjan the only city of hope in that hopeless country.

The Northern Zone has become bandit country and no sane Ivorian would put his head and those of his family in arms way when all it takes to be in relative peace is to find your way to Abidjan. Of course I do agree with you the population of Abidjan should have and I think it has grown 10 folds since the conflict started, and further more enclaves within that vast city belongs to Quatarra but that is not the bone of contention here.

We are talking of 500,000 phantom votes in the derelict and abandoned city of Bouake Urban or Northern Ivory Coast which is a shadow of its former self, except of course Quattara has 500,000 men under arms in the north of the country and if he truly have these amount of strength in Cote d’ Voire it suffices one to think what is the motive of sending ECOMOG to that country, the whole thing stinks and smacks of imperialism and expansionism especially by Burkina Faso(Not forgetting Mr Quattara is a émigré from that country).

Let us even assume for a second that he has this many troops on the ground, recent experience all over Africa has shown us that child-soldiers are the norms in 95% of African conflicts and actually do the fighting for those war lords, are these child soldiers who have not attained the adult and election verify age of 18 eligible to vote.

I rest my case here; you and your delirious Mr Quattara can continue day dreaming for all I care. I can bet my last dollar all those 500,000 votes were Bukinabe Votes that is if they exist.

Did Nigeria immigration recently not apprehend some foreigners in Katsina State who wanted to take part in our electoral registration exercise? Oh it seems it is ok for foreigners to vote in one country and not in others.

I am not here to debate on whether or not Ouattara really won the election.  That has been handled on various threads and continues to be a subject of controversy.  My rant thus far has been focused at your earlier argument that "Ouattara could not have gathered up to 500,000 votes in the North", a statement I believe is thoroughly flawed.

We are talking of 500,000 phantom votes in the derelict and abandoned city of Bouake Urban or Northern Ivory Coast which is a shadow of its former self.

The fact that Bouake had gone through civil uproars does not necessarily translate to it being derelict and abandoned. 

Using Jos crises and that of Niger Delta as logical examples, it is observable to say that crises in both cities has not forced local dwellers to abandon their homes, businesses, cultural and family ties for elsewhere.  Going by your statement, one would expect Jos to be abandoned and derelict which is contrary to what is observable. The  Baoulé people have strong attachments to their cultural home towns and civil conflicts is almost never strong enough to convince people to leave their lives behind for somewhere else, most will rather stay and fight till the end.

Once again, I am not here to debate Ouattra's eligibility for the position or who the legitimate president of Ivory Coast should be.

The fact that Bouake had gone through civil uproars does not necessarily translate to it being derelict and abandoned.

Using Jos crises and that of Niger Delta as logical examples, it is observable to say that crises in both cities has not forced local dwellers to abandon their homes, businesses, cultural and family ties for elsewhere. Going by your statement, one would expect Jos to be abandoned and derelict which is contrary to what is observable. The Baoulé people have strong attachments to their cultural home towns and civil conflicts is almost never strong enough to convince people to leave their lives behind for somewhere else, most will rather stay and fight till the end.

Once again, I am not here to debate Ouattra's eligibility for the position or who the legitimate president of Ivory Coast should be.

A glimpse of life in Northern IVC

Jos and Niger Delta crisis pales into insignificance when compared to the state sponsored ethnic cleanising, lawnessless, and banditry in Northern IVC


DUÉKOUÉ, Côte d’Ivoire, 19 January 2011 – In a region of this West African nation that has a history of heightened ethnic tensions, an estimated 15,000 people, most of them children and women, are seeking safety here in a vastly overcrowded Catholic mission.

Nearly all of these internally displaced persons, or IDPs, fled their homes during violent clashes that erupted earlier this month – part of a national crisis that has gripped Côte d’Ivoire since elections were held in late November.

“UNICEF has been assisting the IDPs from the beginning of the crisis, driving through military checkpoints while delivering life-saving assistance to highly vulnerable communities,” said UNICEF Côte d’Ivoire Officer-in-Charge Sylvie Dossou. ‘‘UNICEF staff and our partners have been working on the front lines of this crisis to save many, many young lives.’’

Relief efforts in camps

Homes were looted and burned to the ground during the recent violence, and many of the displaced families now have few, if any, possessions.

“UNICEF is providing blankets, sleeping mats, insecticide-treated bed nets, high-protein biscuits, and is working to unify children who became separated from their families,’’ said Dr. Eli Ramamonjisoa, who is acting as team leader of UNICEF’s field office in Man.


© UNICEF Côte d’Ivoire/2011/Slavin
Children at a UNICEF emergency supply distrbution point in Duékoué, Côte d’Ivoire. Their families' homes were burned or looted during recent violence.

That office is overseeing relief efforts to displacement camps in three towns in western Côte d’Ivoire: Danané, Duékoué and Man. Last week, for example, UNICEF supplied a 5,000-litre tank providing urgently needed water storage to the camp in Man.

Vulnerable children and women

“But much more needs to be done, and we’re preparing to start education and recreation activities,” Dr. Ramamonjisoa noted, adding that trauma counselling and sensitization sessions on HIV and AIDS and gender-based violence are also planned. “Sleeping in the open air, or crowded into a church hall, makes children and women highly vulnerable,’’ he said.

As part of its humanitarian response, UNICEF this week distributed 1,000 Aquatab water-purification tablets – enough to treat 50,000 litres of drinking water – to 191 households in Duékoué.


© UNICEF Côte d’Ivoire/2011/Slavin
Soumahoro, 18, hopes his school will reopen soon. Many schools are closed in Côte d’Ivoire as a result of the political crisis there.

Buckets and soap were also distributed to the families, including 28 households whose homes were burned and are now sleeping inside a church and a temporarily closed school. Soap and safe water are essential to protect young people from cholera and diarrhoeal dehydration, two major child killers.

Classrooms shuttered

One under-reported issue in the Ivorian ‘crise post-electorale’ is that schools in much of the country have not re-opened since the November elections. Many teachers and education officials are honouring a call by the pro-Alassane Ouattara coalition for civil disobedience, leaving many classrooms in 9 out of 19 regions shuttered.

“It’s closed because of the crisis,’’ said Soumahoro, 18, whose family received water-purification tablets, soap and a 15-litre bucket from UNICEF and the Red Cross in Duékoué. When school is in session, he attends the College Professionel Jean Glaou.

Asked when he would like school to reopen, Soumahoro gave a one-word answer: ‘‘Monday.’’

BOUAKÉ, Côte d’Ivoire, 20 September 2010 – At a checkpoint on the road leading to Niéméné, Côte d’Ivoire, stand three armed men in uniform. It has been eight years since Côte d’Ivoire was split in two, with Bouaké as the command centre of the rebel-held north, and life here is slowly returning to normal.

Water engineer Yao Marcellin Loukou, driving a European Union-branded truck among a convoy of white UNICEF vehicles, is waved through the checkpoint. For Mr. Loukou, raising money to fuel his official car is an everyday challenge.

“Most of the time we are just stuck in the office,” he said. Mr. Loukou is one of three staff at the Bouaké branch of the National Office for Potable Water, known by the French acronym ONEP.

“Before the war there were 30 of us at ONEP, but many left and some unfortunately died,” he said. “The offices were destroyed and only re-opened recently thanks to a European Union grant. But most water projects are funded by donors and [donors] generally feel the political situation is still too unstable.

“Yet the needs are huge,” continued Mr. Loukou. “In this area alone, at least 600 new pumps are required.”
Côte d’Ivoire used to be the envy of West Africa. The proceeds of cocoa production filled government coffers and civil servants delivered services, including a safety net for the poor. And with World Bank support over decades, boreholes for safe water
distribution were created on a vast scale.


In 2002, however, a civil war that left some 3,000 people dead and up to 750,000 displaced shook the country to its core. Basic services, including water systems, suffered heavily. It was not until recently that Côte d’Ivoire – with support from UNICEF and the EU – was able to begin working to restore access to safe water for its citizens.

The migrational pattern in Cote d' Voire wa as two prong type Southern migration towards Abidjan and northern Migration towards Burkina Faso. Reading this peice put credence to the salient utterings of Mr Gbagbo who has continuesly insisted that the northern part of the country was and is inhabited by mostly Burkinabes.

Read on.

BOBO DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso, 22 August 2006 – Ousmane Nyenyi, 14, has never gone to school. Like many of their neighbors from the Serfalao commune in Bobo Dioulasso, western Burkina Faso, he and his family had to flee from their adopted country, Côte d’Ivoire, when war broke out there four years ago.

Ousmane cannot speak French fluently, though he can understand it. He longs to speak the language just as other children his age or even younger would, but he has never been taught formally. Ousmane’s father has not been employed since leaving Côte d’Ivoire; he has finally settled down as a farmer but is still too poor to take good care of his family.

In Bobo Dioulasso, families like Ousmane’s cannot send their children to school for lack of money or just because there is no room in overcrowded state-owned schools. With support from UNICEF Canada, UNICEF has been building schools to help children who find themselves in a similar situation.

“I frankly hope that these new schools will finally help poor people like us go to school,” said Ousmane.




Zourata Sondo, 7, is one of those who stays at home. Zourata lost her parents to the war in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002 and came back home to Burkina Faso to live with her aunt. She now lives with her grandmother, who can no longer work.

There is no space for Zourata in a public school, and none of her family members can pay school fees for her to attend a private school. She’s expects one of the newly constructed schools in the area to give her a chance to be educated.

Some 500 Burkinabe women returnees from Côte d’Ivoire, most of whom lost their husbands in the war, also have high hopes for the schooling of their children and their own education. The new schools will also serve as literacy and numeracy centers for women returnees.

@KnowAll

Bros, quite arguing with people who are socio-politically naive. In fact, the instance of these elections is unfortunate and misplaced priority. Ivory Coast is a de-facto divided country and should have been encouraged to have two republics.

Again, African countries close to archiving ethnical heterogeneity should not be allowed to stand because such countries will not feature well in the manipulative games of the so-called “international community”.

Bros, quite arguing with people who are socio-politically naive. In fact, the instance of these elections is unfortunate and misplaced priority. Ivory Coast is a de-facto divided country and should have been encouraged to have two republics.

Again, African countries close to archiving ethnical heterogeneity should not be allowed to stand because such countries will not feature well in the manipulative games of the so-called “international community”.

True I agree with u, IVC was a de-facto divived country and a proper integrational plan should have evolved seperating the foreigners from the locals, with proper registration and what not put in place. The election under the present guise can only result in a sham and a sham it is. It is like Southern Sudan and Northern Sudan having an election and the Southern Sudanese declared the eventual winner.