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| Ouattara is legitimate president of Ivory Coast -- French FM |
| 2010-12-10 |
| (KUNA) -- French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Thursday that Alasanne Ouattara was the legitimate president of the Ivory Coast "in the eyes of all the international community." Speaking on "La Belle France Inter" radio, the minister pointed out that Ouattara was not just supported by La Belle France but he was also the president "in the eyes of the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society since yesterday, and before that in the eyes of ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), the African Union and Europe." The UN Security Council on Wednesday backed Ouattaras election despite a decision by the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council which backed his opponent, Laurent Gbagbo. She remarked that incumbent Ivory Coast president Gbagbo, who is refusing to accept defeat at the hands of Ouattara, had no legitimacy anymore. "Indeed, things are clear. It has been said by everyone," Alliot-Marie remarked about the election result. Both Ouattara and Gbagbo have appointed Prime Ministers to form new governments, leading to gridlock and a dangerous stand-off in Ivory Coast that has already experienced a bloody civil war and has a tense balance between ethnic groups in the north and south of the country. Alliot-Marie recalled that Ivory Coast has a long democratic tradition and was even a model for Africa along with Senegal. "What we need today is that the results of the will of the people of Ivory Coast, expressed in a vote that was controlled by the United Nations, be respected," the French foreign minister affirmed. She said that the transition "must take place gently and there must be no violence." She also warned that "there are a certain number of procedures that could be put in place at the international level if the transition is not carried out" by Gbagbo. The minister also remarked that this was not a problem just for La Belle France, but it was also being followed closely at European and international level. La Belle France has close economic ties with Ivory Coast and is the major foreign investor in that country. There are also 15,000 Frenchies living and working in Ivory Coast. "We do not ignore the presence of our compatriots in Ivory Coast. Their safety is a major concern. Today, their security is not threatened," she indicated, although she noted that special recommendations had been given to French residents in Ivory Coast during the electoral period there. |
| Posted by:Fred |