African leaders pressure Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo to quit

AFRICAN mediators have offered Ivory Coast’s embattled leader Laurent Gbagbo incentives to stand down after disputed polls, using the threat of military action as the only alternative.

Yesterday, a smiling Gbagbo welcomed Kenya’s prime minister Raila Odinga, the African Union’s envoy, and three regional presidents tasked with ending his deadly standoff with the man the world says is president, Alassane Ouattara.

Presidents Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone, Boni Yayi of Benin and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde are representing the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has said it is prepared to send troops into Ivory Coast.

The mediators are due to meet Ouattara, who is holed up in an Abidjan hotel protected by UN forces, later in the day before reporting back to ECOWAS’ current head, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan has said that the regional body will decide today how to handle the impasse, amid unconfirmed reports of mass graves filled with Ouattara supporters since the disputed November 28 election.

It is the regional envoys’ second visit after Gbagbo, who retains control of the army, rejected an attempt last week to persuade him to step down and end the crisis that has sparked international condemnation and fears of a civil war.

Sierra Leone’s information minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said ahead of the talks that the envoys’ task was to “give Mr Gbagbo the necessary sweets to make it easy for him to step down.”

Ben Kargbo did not elaborate on what form those inducements would take, but added: “We are trying to create a peaceful exit, for him to leave the office in a respectable manner.”

“We are going strictly by the communique circulated on Christmas Eve clearly stating that President Gbagbo should step down. This is our working document, there is no compromise.”

West African regional military chiefs met in Abuja last week and set in motion plans to oust Gbagbo if negotiations fail, a Nigerian defence spokesman stated.

A follow-up meeting to fine-tune the “last-resort” plan is scheduled for Mali on January 17 and 18.

Tensions have risen steadily since Gbagbo and Ouattara both claimed victory in the presidential run-off vote that it was hoped would end a decade of crisis in Ivory Coast but has instead sent thousands fleeing the west African nation.

Both men have fired off a series of deadlines at each other, with Ouattara’s latest call for Gbagbo to quit expiring unheeded at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Ouattara’s once-plush hotel is protected by a small contingent of lightly armed former rebel fighters known as the New Forces and 800 United Nations troops.

It is surrounded by Gbagbo’s well-armed Ivory Coast Defence and Security Forces (FDS), but there are fears of a repeat of 2004 violence if Gbagbo’s supporters make good on a threat to send youths to storm the hotel.

The UN says that at least 179 people have been killed in post-election violence while UN rapporteurs fear the violations being committed amounted to “crimes against humanity”.