[size=14pt]UN recognizes Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president[/size]
Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:30pm GMT
* U.N. assembly approves Ouattara's list of envoys
* U.N. peacekeepers worried about marking of houses

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday recognized Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's legitimate president, after the United Nations said he beat Laurent Gbagbo in last month's presidential election.

The 192-nation General Assembly formally recognized Ouattara by unanimously deciding that the list of diplomats he submitted to the world body be recognized as the sole official representatives of Ivory Coast at the United Nations. The country's new U.N. ambassador is Youssouf Bamba.

Gbagbo has refused to quit following a Nov. 28 election that African countries, Western powers and the United Nations say was won by challenger Ouattara, sparking a political crisis that has killed at least 173 people and threatens to reignite the country's 2002-2003 civil war.

The move by the United Nations will serve to strengthen Ouattara's claim to be the legitimate leader of Ivory Coast and deepen the isolation of Gbagbo, who has few supporters across the international community, U.N. diplomats told Reuters.

Gbagbo's U.N. ambassador, Alcide Djedje, already has left New York, as have all of his staff, Western diplomats told Reuters, adding that they had taken computer hard drives from the Ivory Coast mission with them. Djedje is now Gbagbo's foreign minister.

Separately, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast, known as UNOCI, said it was concerned about "severe violations of human rights and acts of intimidation" in parts of the country's main city Abidjan and in western Ivory Coast.

"These acts include identifying dwellings by marking them with distinctive signs," UNOCI said in a statement.
"At night, armed individuals enter people's residences to perpetrate abductions or commit other crimes," UNOCI said.

Diplomats in New York said that the marking of homes was worrying, because it could indicate that some groups were preparing for ethnic violence.

UNOCI is facing difficulties since its supply trucks and patrols are being blocked by forces loyal to Ggagbo, it said.

The peacekeeping contingent has also warned that pro-Gbagbo forces were blocking access to what could be a mass grave near Abidjan.

Uganda's U.N. Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda also spoke about Ivory Coast during a news conference to discuss his country's two-year stint on the U.N. Security Council, which comes to an end on Dec. 31. He urged Gbagbo to step down and hand power to Ouattara, but added that Ggagbo deserved a smooth departure.

"It's important to ensure that Gbagbo has a proper exit, so that he can exit power" by either remaining in Ivory Coast with security guarantees or moving to a neighboring country, Rugunda said. (Editing by Xavier Briand)

http://af.reuters.com/article/ivoryCoastNews/idAFN2316367920101223?sp=true

Gbagbo seems destined to die.

Yes Gbagbo is abt 2 end like charles taylor,samuel doe,idi amin,etc.let Ecomog smoke him out wtout delay

This is not about Gbagbo as the UN is making it out. It is about the Army not accepting troops that mutined against it in 2002 back, The UN are not being sincere and African Nations are following them blindly. If the UN finally enters CIV with force we are probably going to have another Iraq, whereby the current Ivorian army( note they have the best knowledge of the terrain) will start using guerrila tactics to eliminate both foreign troops and Quattara rebels (some are ex-soldiers who are guilty of mutiny and are now being recognised by UN). It will be a long protracted war being fought because sakorzy wants to see his friend in power and protect french business intrest. Abeg make Nigerian government no go send our troops to fight another man's war, make sarkozy send his boys.

superboi:

This is not about Gbagbo as the UN is making it out. It is about the Army not accepting troops that mutined against it in 2002 back

^^^  How, please? I thought an election was held and Gbagbo, the losing candidate, is refusing to give it up. That, it appears, is clearly the burning issue, not the Ivorian military versus mutinous soldiers. The underlying issues are (i) a small oligarchy around Gbagbo who have grown rich under his regime and want the heavens to continue raining porridge as they have in the past 10 years (2) a band of Southern ethnocrats who believe a Northerner must never rule the Ivory Coast. Sarkozy may have an interest and all, but he IS not the source of the problem in Ivory Coast. If it is ALL about French business interests, Gbagbo is more than enough to protect those-and, then of course, we'd say "Oh, he's backing Gbagbo to protect French business interests!" Besides, Gbagbo has also benefited immensely from France at different times in his political life. All the anti-French rhetoric now being spewed by him and his supporters like ble Goude are convenient nonsense meant manipulate the masses.

When you talk about the mutinous soldiers, recall that Gbagbo has been an architect, and a beneficiary, of the factionalisation of the Ivorian military. When Guei refused to give up power after losing the election to Gbagbo in 2000 it was a group of soldiers from Gbagbo’s ethnic group that killed Guei and helped the wily old professor capture power. You are not calling them mutinous because their patron, Ghagbo, won out. The world generally kept mum because it was tired of Guei’s antics.

When Gbagbo took office it was clear he had no intention of uniting the country but was bent on continuing the divide and rule politics started by Bedie. The northern boys were merely trying to survive politically when they took up arms. (Unless you agree with the view which classes them as “foreigners”.)

What you have in Ivory Coast today is not a true national army. It is an ethnic militia. The only legitimacy they have over the Buake boys is the fact they live in official barracks. Quattara or the UN did not start the Bouake rebellion. It is only natural that Quattara has chosen to identify with them by appointing their leader his PM. You have a situation where he is faced with and surrounded by an ethnic militia masquerading as a national army.

It is sad that a once prosperous country has degenerated to this level due to the ambitions of Henry Konan Bedie & Co.

my joe good talk .
gbagbo is a power mad man
he will soon get what he want

Thousands of Nigerians in Ivory Coast are now living in fear. If ECOWAS attack Ivory Coast they fear revenge killings against the Nigerian community in Ivory Coast. Hundreds of Nigerians living in Abidjan already received death threats. I thing a military action is a very bad option and will lead to a civil war with thousands of dead including Nigerians living in Ivory Coast.

superboi:

This is not about Gbagbo as the UN is making it out. It is about the Army not accepting troops that mutined against it in 2002 back, The UN are not being sincere and[b] African Nations are following them blindl[/b]y. If the UN finally enters CIV with force we are probably going to have another Iraq, whereby the current Ivorian army( note they have the best knowledge of the terrain) will start using guerrila tactics to eliminate both foreign troops and Quattara rebels (some are ex-soldiers who are guilty of mutiny and are now being recognised by UN). It will be a long protracted war being fought because sakorzy wants to see his friend in power and protect french business intrest. Abeg make Nigerian government no go send our troops to fight another man's war, make sarkozy send his boys.

You must be kidding me!

KOBOJUNKIE,
the UN was warned by people like Thabo Mbeki that this would be the outcome of having an election between a rebellion force and a sitting government if the main issue of the conflict were not solved way back in 2006, But the UN who are fond of doing shoddy jobs just waved him aside. That is when this crisis started and they called him again to intervene he just came spoke to the two guys and left. How on Earth did the UN think That the CIV army would accept to hand over to rebel forces or imagine if Gbagbo was declared winner did you think the rebels who did not accept Gbagbo when they were less armed in 2002 would accept him now?? You must be the one kidding me if you have been following this issue since 2002 or 2006 when the election plans were written out and you thought that any of the two parties would accept an election defeat to the other.

superboi:

KOBOJUNKIE,
the UN was warned by people like Thabo Mbeki that this would be the outcome of having an election between a rebellion force and a sitting government if the main issue of the conflict were not solved way back in 2006, But the UN who are fond of doing shoddy jobs just waved him aside. That is when this crisis started and they called him again to intervene he just came spoke to the two guys and left. How on Earth did the UN think That the CIV army would accept to hand over to rebel forces or imagine if Gbagbo was declared winner did you think the rebels who did not accept Gbagbo when they were less armed in 2002 would accept him now?? You must be the one kidding me if you have been following this issue since 2002 or 2006 when the election plans were written out and you thought that any of the two parties would accept an election defeat to the other.

But dude, I understand you want to tell us stories(I have come to understand that it is somehow part of who we are as Nigerians to tell stories that at the end of the day mean little or nothing to the issue at hand) of what happened two millions years ago and what not. The problem is this current problem all started when Gbagbo allowed the Constitutional council to declare the results of an election, conducted by an INDEPENDENT election committed, null, but then it turned around and with the same voting results declared Gbagbo the winner of the election.  Why? Does the constitution give such power to the committee? If yes, where?

http://abidjan.usembassy.gov/ivoirian_constitution2.html

Unless you are going to follow this by positing that the army forced the Constitutional Council to circumvent the country's election, and giving itself full power to choose and declare what candidate it will as president, I am not sure why you are even going on and on about what happened in 2002 and 2006 at this point.

deleted

Kobojunkie:

But dude, I understand you want to tell us stories(I have come to understand that it is somehow part of who we are as Nigerians to tell stories that at the end of the day mean little or nothing to the issue at hand) of what happened two millions years ago and what not. The problem is this current problem all started when Gbagbo allowed the Constitutional council to declare the results of an election, conducted by an INDEPENDENT election committed, null, but then it turned around and with the same voting results declared Gbagbo the winner of the election. Why? Does the constitution give such power to the committee? If yes, where?

Right.