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| Africa: Subsaharan |
| Laurent Gabagbo: French committed 'acts of war'; favour the rebels |
| 2004-11-14 |
| Interview. EFL. The bombing, which Mr Gbagbo says was a mistake and the French say was deliberate, killed nine French soldiers and an American civilian. "I was in my office, working, " President Gbagbo, 59, said. "Then the commander of operations called, followed in quick succession by the head of the army and the French ambassador. I couldn't believe it. "Since Thursday we had been bombing key targets and the rebels' infrastructure was almost destroyed. Saturday was a last little trip, strikes here and there to prepare for the ground troops. It was the end of the rebellion. Then I learnt there had been a terrible mistake." The "terrible mistake" would lead to scarcely conceivable consequences in the richest of France's black African former colonies. In the immediate aftermath of the peacekeepers' death, the French military force, known as Licorne (Unicorn), received orders from President Jacques Chirac to destroy the Ivorian air force. As the two Sukhois landed in the political capital, Yamoussoukro, they were taken out by French troops guarding the airport. Later that night, four helicopters were also destroyed. It has been one of Mr Gbagbo's worst week since the former history lecturer was elected in October 2000. His entourage has frequently accused France of supporting the rebellion, which broke out in September 2002, dividing the state in two. In Ivory Coast, almost every sovereign decision is considered to have been influenced or made by France. Mr Gbagbo complained that Paris had denied him the air support he needed to quell the rebellion. "France would never agree to us having an air force," he said. "At the start of the crisis I asked for two helicopters. If they had given them to me, the war would have been over in two days", he said. "Whenever we bought weapons, France never agreed. Ivory Coast must have the minimum air cover. It destroyed what it never wanted us to have and cut our defence capacity by 60 per cent." So does Mr Gbagbo believe - as the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mamadou Koulibaly, claimed - that this was equivalent to a declaration of war? "The acts France committed against us are acts of war, which suggest that," he said. "But I have always said the world is divided into the powerful and the weak. And powerful countries are allowed to do everything, the weak nothing. "Objectively, France favours the rebels, because the French destroyed our advantage in less than two hours. So France favours the rebels." Brief pause. "Objectively." |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #2 Sounds like the Africans are beginning to understand whose side the frogs are on |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-14 10:21:18 AM |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-11-14 6:38:16 AM |