Interview Young
Jin Choi: (UNOCI Chief): « If we fail in Côte d'Ivoire, there will be no hope
for Africa"

Le Patriote–
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire,
Young-Jin Choi, remains optimistic regarding the end of the post-electoral
crisis. (...)TCI
: How do you this crisis ending?

YJC :
Nobody has a crystal ball. Four months is a bit too much.
But my instincts
tell me that the end is not very far.
The
end is not very far.
When I see the
extreme measures that are being taken by President Gbagbo's camp, I ask myself
where are they now? When you read history, your will realise that there are
actions which show the end of all events. We should remain hopeful. The
situation has already lasted four months. It cannot last much longer. My
instincts tell me that the end will come sooner than we can imagine.

TCI: Do you
think that the Gbagbo regime will fall because it runs out of breath or will the
measures taken pay off?

YJC:
In the end everyone will accept the verdict of the polls.
Of
that I'm sure.
The crisis will end by the acceptance of the truth by everybody.
The will of the people will be respected.

TCI: Is this the
most difficult crisis you have resolved?

YJC:
It is a unique case. You know that form some time now, Gbagbo's camp has asked
us to leave and despite this we have stayed. This is the first time this has
happened in a peacekeeping mission. It is difficult but we are confident because
we are fighting for a just cause. How do you explain the fact that the Young
Patriots are not as active as they have been in the past? This is simply because
they are aware they are not on the side of truth and justice.

TCI:
With regard to the Ivorian crisis, can we say that democracy is not possible
in Africa?

YJC:
If we fail in Côte d'Ivoire, there will be no hope for Africa. If we fail, what
lesson will we give to Africa? There are many countries in Africa which are
organizing elections. If we fail, the case of Côte d'Ivoire will be followed by
similar cases. The Presidents in office could be tempted to stay in power with
the support of the army. We should not fail in Côte d'Ivoire. The will of the
population should be respected with the end of the crisis.
(...)

TCI: Do you
still think we can avoid the chaos which threatens Côte d'Ivoire?

YJC:
Yes.
But that depends a lot on the Ivorian people. They are the ones
who have to take responsibility. But I have faith in the Ivorian people. We must
trust the Ivorian people who will provide the means to end this crisis. This
cannot be done without preserving the gains made on 28 November. With acceptance
of the results I do not see how this crisis can be resolved.   [...]

 

Interview Young
Jin Choi: (UNOCI Chief): "How can we imagine a Head of State using heavy arms
over his own population?"

Le Patriote
(pro-RHFP) –
(...)
TCI: Does this mean that you are informed about massacres on
populations??

YJC:
To date there have been more than 400 deaths. This is not acceptable, this is
too much. This cannot continue. And yet our presence constitutes a dissuasive
force.
We have succeeded in preventing large scale massacres.
On 12
January there was a confrontation between pro-Ouattara and pro-Gbagbo people in
Abobo. The later had suffered a setback. After retreating they decided to return
the next day to carry out reprisals. We got information that General Mangou was
going to send his soldiers to Abobo. We went to Abobo with a robust patrol and
despite the opposition of Gbagbo's special forces, we were able to gain access
to Abobo. Once in Abobo, we forced our way through several roadblocks and
arrived there at one o'clock in the morning. On that day if we were not there,
there would have been a huge massacre.  That would have been a great failure for
us. Each week we carry out 800 patrols in Abidjan, about 100 per day. We are
everywhere in order to tell Ivorians that we are with them to protect them and
to say to Laurent Gbagbo's men, there are certain things they will not be able
to do.

TCI: What do you
think of the disproportionate use of force to counter the peaceful
demonstrations?

YJC:
We condemned the use of heavy arms by the special forces of Laurent Gbagbo. We
reminded them that the use of those arms against the women who were peacefully
demonstrating could be considered a crime against humanity. There is also the
use of heavy arms against women in a market in Abobo. In a market there could
only be women who were peacefully going shopping. How can we imagine a head of
state using heavy weapons against his own people? (...)

TCI: Regarding
the massacre of women on 3rd March, there are those who talk of a plot, notably
the « bissap » plot.  What have you got say about the way this massacre was
treated?

YJC:
I think those who were responsible do not want to accept responsibility for what
they had done. They realized that this was a villainous crime and difficult to
justify. We have documented proof that it was indeed the special forces of Mr.
Laurent Gbagbo who killed these women.
[...]

 

Weekly press
conference – UNOCI deplores use of heavy arms over neighbourhoods

Le Patriote  –
"The total number of deaths registered since mid-December 2010 is more than
462", said the Deputy Director of the Human Rights Division, Guillaume Ngefa,
speaking at the weekly press conference of the United Nations Operation in Côte
d'Ivoire (UNOCI) on Thursday 24 March 2011 in Sébroko. Assessing the human
rights situation in the country, Mr. Ngefa highlighted the violence perpetrated
in one week against civilian population in some neighbourhoods in the north of
Abidjan, resulting in 52 deaths in one week including five children and seven
women as well as dozens injured. (...) He reminded the leadership of the FDS, the
elements of the « invisible commando » and the other actors of the
post-electoral crisis that the general or systematic attacks against the
civilian population could constitute crimes against humanity.
(...)

 

Cote d'Ivoire:
Paris proposes reinforcement of the UN Force

Abidjan.net –
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was "much concerned by the Ivorian
crisis" where violence is increasing and he said he wanted to ask for the
reinforcement of the UN Force in the country (UNOCI). (...) And the objective of
the resolution France wants to propose "will be to ask this UN force to ban at
least the use of heavy arms in Abidjan", he said.
(...)

 

 

Resolution on
Ivorian situation – The ECOWAS asks for another mandate for UNOCI

Le Patriote  –

[...] ECOWAS (...) is asking the UN Security Council to reinforce the
mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire allowing it to use all
the necessary means to protect the population and properties and facilitate the
immediate transfer of power to Mr. Alassane Ouattara; (...)

 

Calls for civil
war - ECOWAS writes to Gbagbo and warns him

Le Patriote  –
The Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS, 15 countries) condemned
on Thursday the "inflammatory rhetoric" by Gbagbo's camp against West African
citizens. Gbagbo has recently accused some West African states of providing
mercenaries to his opponent Ouattara. In a statement released in Abuja where
they met for an ECOWAS summit yesterday, James Victor Gbeho, the chairman of the
commission said that they have sent a letter to this effect to the outgoing
Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo. Mr. Gbeho referred in particular to a recent
"inflammatory rhetoric" by Charles Blé Goudé, the leader of Young Patriots, the
fervent supporters of Mr. Gbagbo, who "incites his followers to take up arms
against citizens of other countries". Cote d'Ivoire has been plunged into a
severe crisis since the presidential election of November 2010.

 

Crisis
resolution process: the last proposal of Gbagbo to Ouattara –secret negotiations
have started

L'Inter  –
A position of vice-president for Alassane Ouattara! This is the latest proposal
made ​​by President Laurent Gbagbo to Ouattara recognized by the international
community... this information has been released by Jeune Afrique. According to the
site, intense underground negotiations have been underway for few days now to
initiate a dialogue between Gbagbo and Ouattara. The initiative came from the
tenant of the Presidential Palace in Plateau, which seeks to translate into
reality his appeal for an inter-Ivorian dialogue he launched during a cabinet
meeting

 

Inter-Ivorian
Dialogue - the indecent proposal of Gbagbo to the head of state

Le Patriote

 – Since late last week, Laurent Gbagbo began to approach
diplomats in Abidjan to ask for their help. He commissioned some members of his
government to make them know his intention to open as soon as possible - before
the end of the week - an inter-Ivorian dialogue with Alassane Ouattara. The goal
of Gbagbo was to make belief that he was inclined to find a peaceful solution to
the post-electoral crisis... The diplomats, for whom there is nothing to
negotiate, refused to encourage Alassane Ouattara to accept any talks with his
rival. They recognized him as the only elected president in Côte d'Ivoire.

 

Military
situation in Abidjan/violent clashes between pro-Gbagbo militiamen and the
invisible commando.

Le Patriote  –
Heavy

fighting
erupted in
Abobo, between soldiers
of the former head of
state and the invisible
commando. The fighting took
place around
the university of Abobo-Adjamé
one of the strongholds of
pro-Gbagbo
soldiers. It spread later around Mahou a district in Angré in Cocody.

 

 

Religious NGOs
fear the transformation of the conflict into a religious war.

Le Patriote  –
Four
French Muslim and Christian NGOs denounced on Thursday the "attacks" in Côte
d'Ivoire against the displaced who found refuge in places of worship. They
expressed their fear that "religion is being used as a tool in politics". In a
statement, they called on "the international community not to ignore this
conflict and impose binding solutions that truly prevent civil war and help
protect civilian populations."

 

Misinformation
and intoxication – L'Inter and Soir Info involved in manipulation by the blue
newspapers

Le Patriote

 – Their deceitful behavior has finally come out and is on
record. Even if they grimace, when they remind them of it, reality is
implacable: Inter and Soir Info, two supposedly independent dailies, are in
reality serving Gbagbo's camp. Since the crisis started, these two publications
which belong to a Lebanese businessman, have tried to hide their partiality.........