Ghana takes position on Cote d’Ivoire’s impasse

The Government of Ghana has shown her stand on the political impasse in neighbouring La Cote d’Ivoire saying military intervention to oust incumbent Laurent Gbagbo will not solve the problem.President Mills on Friday disclosed this at an interactive editors’ forum in Accra.

He said his government will not meddle in the affairs of neighbouring La Cote d’Ivoire but argued that what is happening in the number one cocoa producing country in the world was a great concern to Ghanaians and the rest of the world.

According to him, his Government will take no sides in the fracas between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his rival, Alassane Ouattara, over who becomes president in La Cote d’Ivoire following the disputed November 28 presidential poll.

“What is happening in Cote d’Ivoire is a great concern to us, and my government will take no sides.”

According to him, over one million Ghanaians were living in the troubled La Cote d’Ivoire of which four of them are currently being held hostage on suspicion of being rebels.

He said military force will not help end the violence and promised that his government will do its best to ensure peace returns to the number one cocoa producing country in the world.

The impasse in Cote d’Ivoire has triggered great concerns from the international community, following the incumbent’s (Laurent Gbagbo) decision not to cede power.

Over 15,000 civilians have been displaced as a result of post-election violence, according to Momodou Lamin Fye, Regional Chief of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

The United Nations (UN), which helped organise the poll, recognises Alassane Ouattara as winner of the November 2010 elections.

The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have also shown their stand, by recognising Mr. Ouattara as the legitimate winner.

ECOWAS at a recent meeting held in Nigeria sent a warning to Gbagbo to step down or face military intervention, an action strongly supported by Ouattara.

France, Cote d’Ivoire’s colonial master, has said it also recognises Ouattara as the legitimate winner of the poll.

Ouattara was declared winner by the country’s election commission, but the verdict was overturned by the Constitutional Council, headed by an ally of Gbagbo, citing voting irregularities in some parts of the north.
Tension in Cote d’Ivoire is rife, as latest media reports indicate that incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo has ordered the expulsion of the British and Canadian ambassadors from the country, because they do not recognise his government.