Amid escalating violence in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) after a disputed election, the federal government is calling on incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo to concede power, saying the country has only one elected president—Alassane Ouattara.
“Canada strongly condemns the violence and is gravely concerned by the resulting loss of life in Côte d’Ivoire,” Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.
“This crisis is the result of the intransigent refusal of Laurent Gbagbo to yield power to the legitimately elected president, Alassane Ouattara.”
The West African country’s electoral commission declared Ouattara the winner of the Nov. 28 runoff election, but Gbagbo claimed victory and was sworn in as president.
Cannon said Canada does not recognize Gbagbo’s “illegitimately appointed government” and would not hesitate to impose sanctions.
“Mr. Gbagbo must respect the democratic will of the Ivorian people and concede power to Mr. Ouattara immediately. If he does not, Canada intends to pursue a wide range of options, up to and including economic sanctions and personal travel restrictions against Mr. Gbagbo, his family, and his entourage.”
The United States said it was also preparing to impose sanctions, and reiterated its call for Gbagbo to stand down. The European Union has already slapped sanctions on Gbagbo.
The Guardian reported Tuesday that Guillaume Soro, a leading opposition figure, accused Gbagbo’s security forces of using death squads comprised of Liberian mercenaries to attack his opponents.
“We’ve counted almost 200 dead and 1,000 wounded by gunfire, 40 disappearances and 732 arrests,” Soro said. “Worse, women have been beaten, stripped, assaulted and raped. When will the international community realise that a murderous insanity has begun in Ivory Coast?”
While Soro’s figures couldn’t be confirmed, the Guardian reported that Amnesty International said it had heard of abductions, physical abuse, and disappearances.
“It is clear that more and more people are being illegally detained by security forces or armed militiamen, and we fear that many of them may have been killed or have disappeared,” Salvatore Saguès, Amnesty’s west Africa researcher, told the Guardian.
Despite Gbagbo’s demands that UN troops leave, world powers have voted to keep the troops in the country for another six months in light of the unstable situation.
According to Reuters, UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said the troops were prepared to open fire in self-defence and to protect civilians.
“There have already been some attacks on our peacekeepers and we had to fire back,” Le Roy said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said there was “growing evidence of massive violations of human rights” since Thursday, Radio France International reports.
Nineteen Ivorians deemed responsible for violations of human rights were put on a list Monday during an EU summit. Gbagbo, who is on that list, was denied a visa for the EU, which he wanted to visit with his wife, according to French Radio International.
It was hoped that the presidential elections would go some way toward reuniting the people of Côte d'Ivoire, which was divided by civil war in 2002.
The country is sharply split between the Muslim north, where Ouattara draws the majority of his support, and a largely Christian south that supports Gbagbo.
Cannon said his department is closely monitoring the unfolding situation, and “stands ready to provide consular assistance to Canadians as required.”
Friends Read Free