what is happening in the Ivory Coast

[Freeyourmindnow Profile]

'An unprecedented disinformation campaign is being orchestrated to justify foreign intervention in the Ivory Coast to unseat the Preseident Laurent Gbagbo and replace him with Alassane Dramane Ouattara, a stooge totally devoted to the interests of multinationals.

Alassane Ouattara is the former Deputy CEO of the IMF, and former Prime Minister of Houphouet-Boigny who in 1990 administered an IMF plan which plunged the Ivorian people into a profound social and economic distress. He is the puppet" nominated" by the major powers to lead the Ivory Coast and to ensure that their interests are not threatened by the presence of uncompromising and patriotic men such as Laurent Gbagbo, a long time opponent of Houphouet (1970-1990's.)

French and American imperialist powers have agreed to remove Gbagbo who is guilty of pursuing a national policy prejudicial to their profits.'

http://www.henrymakow.com/ivory_coast.html

[Freeyourmindnow Profile]

they have no money for food but enough weapons and bullets

[99socks Profile]

Wasn't it Gbagbo who was involved in the slaughter of Malians about a decade ago?

Yeah, the asshole killed a friend of mine.

R.I.P. N'Faly.

[Freeyourmindnow Profile]

Wasn't it Gbagbo who was involved in the slaughter of Malian about a decade ago?

Yeah, the asshole killed a friend of mine.

R.I.P. N'Faly.

sorry to hear that sock, they are playing a very dirty game there.

[Roadkill Profile]

Lots of oil there.

[Freeyourmindnow Profile]

Lots of oil there.

and diamonds?

[Freeyourmindnow Profile]

Maybe Coltan? used in all things like laptops mobile phones etc and very expensive per kilo

coltan strange stuff

[99socks Profile]

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – A top ally of Ivory Coast's internationally recognized leader said Friday that the country is already in a "civil war situation," while the incumbent leader who refuses to step down after the disputed election accused world leaders of launching a coup to oust him.

The United Nations has said that the volatile West African nation, once divided in two, faces a real risk of return to civil war, but Prime Minister Guillaume Soro told reporters that the country is already at this point — "indeed in a civil war situation."

"This is what's at stake: Either we assist in the installation of democracy in Ivory Coast or we stand by indifferent and allow democracy to be assassinated," Soro said at a news conference, adding that more than 200 people already have been killed and 1,000 others wounded by gunfire.

Human rights groups accuse incumbent Laurent Gbagbo's security forces of abducting and killing political opponents, though Gbagbo allies deny the allegations and say some of the victims were security forces killed by protesters. The U.N. has confirmed at least 173 deaths.

Gbagbo gave an address late Friday on state television in which he accused the international community of mounting a coup d'etat to oust him and said Ivorians were being subjected to international hostility.

"No one has the right to call on foreign armies to invade his country," Gbagbo said. "Our greatest duty to our country is to defend it from foreign attack."

The United Nations had been invited by all parties to certify the results of the Nov. 28 presidential runoff vote. The U.N. declared Alassane Ouattara the winner, endorsing the announcement by the country's electoral commission. But Gbagbo has refused to step aside now for more than a month, defying international condemnation and growing calls for his ouster.

The European Union said late Friday that it had approved sanctions on 59 more people, in addition to 19 already sanctioned last week including Gbagbo and his wife. Gbagbo and about 30 of his allies also face U.S. travel sanctions, though such measures have typically failed to reverse illegal power grabs in Africa in the past.

West African leaders have said they are prepared to use military force to push Gbagbo out, but are giving negotiations more time for now. For many, the credibility of the international community is at stake if it is unable to ensure that Ouattara takes power.

Gbagbo points to Ivory Coast's constitutional council, which declared him president after throwing out more than half a million votes from Ouattara strongholds. The council invalidated election results in those areas, citing violence and intimidation directed at Gbagbo supporters. The top U.N. envoy in Ivory Coast has disputed that assessment.

"All dictators are alike and all dictators will not negotiate their departure — they are made to leave," Soro said. "For the time being we are letting diplomacy do its work but when the time comes, each of us will assume our responsibilities."

Soro was appointed prime minister under Ouattara's government, which has been holed up in the Golf Hotel under U.N. protection despite its widespread international recognition. Soro, a former rebel leader from the north, served in a coalition government with Gbagbo but is now aligned with Ouattara.

Meanwhile, a pro-Gbagbo youth leader has encouraged his supporters to seize the Golf Hotel, saying that Ouattara and Soro have until Saturday to "pack up their bags" and leave. The building is being guarded by some 800 U.N. peacekeepers and hundreds of rebels loyal to Ouattara.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is "deeply alarmed" by the youth leader's comments, and he has called on Gbagbo supporters to "refrain from such dangerous irresponsible action," a U.N. spokesman said.

The youth leader, Charles Ble Goude, is known as the "street general" for organizing a violent anti-French and anti-U.N. gang that terrorized the foreign population in Ivory Coast in 2004-2005.

Human rights groups have warned that security forces loyal to Gbagbo have been abducting political opponents in recent weeks. The United Nations, citing witness reports, believes up to 80 bodies may be inside one building nestled among shacks in a pro-Gbagbo neighborhood on the outskirts of Abidjan.

Investigators have tried to go there several times, and even made it as far as the building's front door before truckloads of men with guns showed up and forced them to leave. A second mass burial site is believed to be located near Gagnoa in the interior of the country, the U.N. said. Gbagbo's government has repeatedly denied the existence of mass graves.

"Denying access to alleged mass grave sites and places where the victims' mortal remains are allegedly deposited constitutes a clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said.

Pillay also warned that those committing human rights violations at the direction of others could also be held accountable.

"They, too, have a direct individual criminal responsibility for their actions and omissions," she said. "It is no excuse that they may have been merely carrying out orders, directions or instructions from above."

Ivory Coast was divided into a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south by a 2002-2003 civil war, and the long-delayed presidential election was intended to help reunify the nation. However, tensions over the outcome have sparked violence including several attacks on U.N. peacekeepers.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, was officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal. However, Ouattara still draws his support from the northern half of the country, where residents feel they are often treated as foreigners within their own country by southerners.

A high-level West African delegation is expected to return to Abidjan on Monday.

Col. Mohammed Yerima, director of defense information for the Nigerian military, said that defense chiefs from the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS met Friday to begin strategizing what sort of assault they'd use if those talks fail. But his comments appeared to suggest no such attack was imminent, as he said the plans would only be presented to ECOWAS leaders in Mali in mid-January.

"The most important thing is — the political option is the best," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101231/ap_ ... vory_coast

[99socks Profile]

Ivory Coast's Ouattara calls for cocoa export ban

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Ivory Coast's internationally recognized leader ordered a one-month ban on cocoa exports starting Monday in a test of his authority as he battles the incumbent clinging to power for control of the world's largest cocoa-producing country.

The move aims to strangle incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo's ability to pay civil servants and maintain their loyalty, but there are no guarantees growers in the volatile West African nation will comply. The uncertainty sent cocoa prices soaring to a five-month high on Monday.

"The government informs all the economic operators of the immediate halt to all coffee and cocoa exports," the statement said late Sunday issued by internationally recognized winner Alassane Ouattara's camp. The order added that anyone who did not follow it would be "subject to national and international sanctions."

While the United Nations, U.S., France and the African Union all have endorsed Ouattara's presidency, he is attempting to run the country from a hotel under the protection of hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers. Gbagbo, who has been in power for a decade, still controls the country's military and security forces.

Port authorities in Ivory Coast are believed to be staunchly pro-Gbagbo, but both men draw support from the country's cocoa farmers.

Government statistics show Ivory Coast exported $2.53 billion worth of cocoa in 2009. Ivory Coast's production has been declining, from 38 percent of global production in 2007-2008 to 33 percent in 2009-2010, according to the International Cocoa Organization.

In Washington, the Obama administration announced it was supporting the ban on cocoa exports.

While Ouattara's announcement sent cocoa prices higher on Monday, the long-term impact on companies producing chocolate is unclear. Companies usually have a few months' supply on hand already, and cocoa that was registered and paid for before Sunday is explicitly exempted from the order.

Cocoa futures on the Liffe commodities' exchange in London were up 3.9 percent Monday to 2,223 pounds per ton, the highest since early August, after trading as high as 2,290. Cocoa traded as low as 1,770 pounds in November.

In a joint statement, the Brussels-based European Cocoa Association and the Federal of Cocoa Commerce Ltd. in London said they hoped for a quick resolution of the political tensions.

"Time, patience and a common sense approach to the difficulties and delays that may arise are required, but most importantly, all those whose interests are impacted should remain calm in order that we sustain no long term damage to Ivorian farming communities and the cocoa industry," the two industry groups said.

Harvey Cabaniss, who sells Pierre Marcolini chocolates at Verde & Co. in London, said he was resigned to higher costs.

Cocoa, he said, comes from "probably not the most stable areas of the world, and I think that's why its always going to be a volatile product."

The call for an export ban in Ivory Coast is aimed at further stepping up the financial pressure on Gbagbo, who lost a key ally on Saturday. The president of the regional central bank resigned amid accusations that he was funneling funds to Gbagbo despite a bank order to cut him off from state coffers.

Gbagbo, though, appears to still have enough money to pay the civil service as salaries began to be paid on Monday in the commercial capital of Abidjan. Other civil servants are due to be paid later this week.

This is the second month that at least some of the salaries have been paid, but it is unclear how long Gbagbo will be able to stay solvent with dwindling access to finances. Ouattara's allies hope for mass defections if Gbagbo cannot pay civil servants and soldiers in the military.

Gbagbo's government already has tried to order U.N. peacekeepers out of the country, claiming that they are no longer impartial after the U.N. certified election results showing Ouattara won the Nov. 28 presidential runoff vote. The U.N. Security Council voted last week though to send an additional 2,000 troops.

The 15-nation West African bloc of countries known as ECOWAS has threatened to oust Gbagbo by force if negotiations fail, but has set no deadline for such an intervention.

Nigerian newspaper ThisDay published a guest editorial Monday written by Nigeria's Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia, calling on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution sanctioning the use of force to remove Gbagbo.

"Gbagbo must be made to understand that there is a very real prospect of overwhelming military capability bearing down on him and his cohorts," the column reads. "It is only then that he will give serious consideration to the demands to step down."

On Monday, lawyers filed two separate lawsuits in attempts to stop ECOWAS from sending troops into Ivory Coast. The court has agreed to hear both cases in early February in Abuja, where ECOWAS is based.

Ivory Coast was divided into a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south by a 2002-2003 civil war. The country was officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal, but the long-delayed presidential election was intended to help reunify the nation. Instead, the U.N. says at least 260 people have been killed in violence since the vote.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110124/ap_on_bi_ge/af_ivory_coast