African Union (AU) envoy and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga left Abidjan early yesterday saying he had failed to achieve a breakthrough in Ivory Coast’s political crisis.
Odinga said Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo had twice broken his promise to lift an armed blockade on the Abidjan hotel serving as the temporary headquarters of his rival Alassane Ouattara.
“Despite extensive discussions on Monday with Mr Laurent Gbagbo and president-elect Ouattara that went very late into the night, I regret to announce that the breakthrough that was needed did not materialize,” he told a press conference before flying to Ghana.
“One of the principal goals of my mission was to convince Mr Gbagbo that he needed to put his presidency on the agenda of the discussions,” Odinga said. “In addition, it was imperative that the blockade of the Golf Hotel be lifted. Mr Gbagbo gave me an assurance that this blocklade would be lifted yesterday, but he broke that promise for the second time in two weeks.”
Ouattara was recognized as winner of the Nov. 28 presidential election by the Ivory Coast’s voting authority and the international community. Gbagbo was declared the election victor by the Constitutional Council. He retains control of the presidential palace and the army.
Odinga was to fly directly to Accra after having said Monday he would go on for consultations in Ghana, Angola and Burkina Faso.
Even before he arrived in Abidjan Odinga’s mission looked like a wild goose chase after a first attempt at the new year failed, with the two sides sticking firmly to their positions.
Gbagbo has said before that he is willing to talk with his rival, but he has refused all offers to give up the presidency, including exile and immunity from prosecution for crimes against humanity.
The UN Security Council delayed until yesterday a vote to send 2,000 extra troops into Ivory Coast after Russia raised objections, diplomats said.
That number is the maximum requested by UN commanders fearing a growing showdown with Gbagbo, who has demanded several times that UN forces leave. The new deployment would take the UN force up to about 11,500 troops.
Meanwhile, regional military chiefs opened two days of talks in Mali that will finalize a last-ditch plan to use force to remove Gbagbo if necessary.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officers would work off a report drawn up last month that envisages Nigeria at the head of a possible regional intervention force, a participant said.
“Our preparations are very advanced and we are ready to move into action if necessary and that must be clear,” said Olusegun Petinrin, a senior Nigerian officer.
The ECOWAS chairman, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, said in a statement that the group wanted a peaceful resolution to the impasse, but said, “we have not changed the position we took during our last summit,” when the threat to use force was made.
Jonathan said “the votes of citizens must count after they are cast, or democracy will not take hold in the continent,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said: “The use of force should only be considered as a very last resort because given the balance of the armed forces there would be the risk of a high number of casualties.”
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