Abidjan, 18 March 2009... A group of Young Patriots on Wednesday organised a protest in front of the headquarters of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) to call for the lifting of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council against their leader, Charles Blé Goudé, in 2006.

The group, which called itself Génération Blé Goudé, met with the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Abou Moussa.

During the meeting the Young Patriots handed in their request to Mr. Moussa, who told them that it would handed over to the appropriate authorities. He also explained to them the procedure for the lifting of sanctions.

"There is an address in New York, which we gave to them, but evidently the Mission does have a role with regard to passing on honest and correct information to the Sanctions Committee so that it can positively evaluate a request for the lifting of sanctions".

The Young Patriots, who were led by Abou Bamba, said that they had taken note of UNOCI's role as a transmission channel in the matter. They said they were prepared to follow UNOCI's recommendation and even ask for its guidance if they needed to.

The group also reaffirmed its commitment to peace, which it said was now irreversible. They also promised that they would not resort to violence with regard to the case and would not attack UN premises in Cote d'Ivoire.

Demonstrations by Young Patriots calling for the lifting of sanctions against Blé Goudé started in San Pedro, 368 km from Abidjan on Monday, following the publication of a letter by the government-run newspaper, Fraternité Matin, from the Committee of Experts of the UN Sanctions Committee asking the newspaper to suspend the payment of royalties to Charles Blé Goudé for his book, which it edited, in accordance with the sanctions, which also affect two other Ivorians.