Cocoa industry betting on half million tons not rotting
The Japanese ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire and seven embassy employees took refuge in a safe room after the diplomatic base was attacked by forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan, reports Reuters. They were rescued by helicopter after French and United Nations forces stepped in, at Japan’s request.
A clear picture of the situation has not yet emerged, but it appears that a major attack on the presidential palace where Laurent Gbagbo is entrenched, by Alassane Ouattara’s troops, was rebuffed by forces loyal to him who were using heavy weapons fire, late Wednesday. Le Monde reports that this was followed by attacks on the palace by UN and French forces, by helicopter late Wednesday.
Also Wednesday, the European Union tightened sanctions against Gbagbo’s regime.
Ouattara has international support as the winner of the November 2010 presidential election, but Gbagbo, who previously held the office, has refused to step down.
The Financial Times reports that 500,000 tons of cocoa, in storage due to an international embargo on the Gbagbo regiime, is not rotting, as investors have feared, despite climbing temperatures. Cocoa futures have fallen by a fifth since they reached a 32-year high a month ago, according to the newspaper.
©2011 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
The United Nations special envoy to Cote d’Ivoire, YJ Choi, says that Laurent Gbagbo has agreed to surrender and that reports about attacks on the presidential palace in Cote d’Ivoire are not true. Choi says, “All the generals who are fighting for Gbagbo have deserted him, it is over. There is no army, there is no fighting.”
Reports continue to come in that there is still fighting throughout the country, and the possibility of a peaceful transition of power hangs in the balance Tuesday night 5 April.
Links to other sites: allAfrica/Radio France International, Reuters background on Gbagbo and rival Ouattara
AlJazeera video interview with UN special envoy Y J Choi
French control of Cote d’Ivoire city’s airport said to ensure safety of foreigners
Radio France International reports early 4 April that French troops have taken control of the international airport in Abidjan, as fierce fighting for the city continues. The French have also reportedly increased their peacekeeping mission force from 300 to 1,400 and are stepping up pressure on former president Laurent Gbagbo to admit he lost the 2010 election and leave office
Food and water supplies in the city are starting to run short, with deliveries difficult, report Bloomberg and Reuters news agencies.
Eight hundred people were massacred in the city of Duekoue in the west of the country last week, aid agencies have reported, but it is still unclear who was responsible, amid accusations that it may have been troops loyal to the UN-supported president-elect, Alassane Ouattara, while others blame Gbagbo supporters.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva warned Tuesday 22 March that refugee numbers are swelling as fighting in Abidjan, the largest city in Cote d’Ivoire, spreads across the city.
People “are rapidly using any means they can to flee the growing violence. IOM staff in Abidjan say people are leaving on public buses, cars and taxis to reach home villages as fighting spreads across the city.”
Many of those fleeing the fighting are migrant workers from Mali, Liberia, Mauritius and Burkina.
The situation is growing increasingly tense in the country, as deposed president Laurent Gbagbo holds onto power and former rebel troops, loyal to Alassane Ouattara move into the capital. Ouattara is the internationally recognized winner of the country’s November 2010 presidential election.
The UN’s Ban Ki-Moon last week strongly condemned shelling of a market by Gbagbo forces 17 March, which killed at least 25 people.
Links to other sites: Economist, background paper, The Norwegian Council for Africa/allAfrica, allAfrica/UN News service
Some 460 non-essential UN staff members are being moved to Gambia from Côte d’Ivoire, where a disputed presidential election is causing confusion and stoking fears of a return to violence, the BBC reported 7 December, citing UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky.
Ian Khama, president of Botswana, has called for African heads of state to condemn incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, saying “Elections (in Kenya and Zimbabwe) were hijacked by the ruling party and if that’s going to happen every time someone wants to dispute an election result and then may stay in power by default through a mechanism of power sharing—it’s wrong!”
Gbagbo has refused to accept the results of the vote 5 December which were subsequently overturned by the electoral commission, and his opponent Alassane Ouattara has already named a cabinet. Mediation efforts by former South African President Thabo Mbeki were unsuccessful and he left for home 6 December.
Links to other sites: New York Times, UN site
Source: France 24
(Update) Key elections for leaders in Brazil, Africa, Myanmar, US
South America
Presidential elections have been held in Brazil, Ivory Coast and Tanzania. The run-off vote in Brazil Sunday, 31 October was won by Dilma Rousseff, the first woman to be president in Brazil and out-going President Lula da Silva’s choice to succeed him. She garnered 57 percent of the vote against 44 percent for her opponent, veteran politician José Serra.
Africa
In Côte d’Ivoire, much-delayed elections took place peacefully Sunday 31 October, reports AllAfrica, in the first poll since a civil war in 2002 split the troubled country and battered its economy. A total of 14 candidates are vying for the job as president. If Sunday vote does not produce a clear winner a run-off election will be held 28 November.
In Tanzania, incumbent president Jakaya Kikwete looks set to be re-elected to a second five-year term. Results will be released 1 November in the afternoon.
Asia
Myanmar holds its first election in two decades 7 November, continuing to insist there is no need for outside observers, either media or from other governments and international bodies. Monday 1 November state-owned media carried a statement declaring that if voters stayed away from the polls in protest, the junta that has ruled since 1962 would remain in power, Reuters reports.
North America
US voters go to the polls Tuesday 2 November to elect all members of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senators, and 37 governorships. The mid-term elections, so-called because they fall mid-way between two presidential elections, are seen as a referendum on President Barack Obama’s first two years in office.
Elections at the state level are particularly important this year because in most US states the state assembly determines the shape of congressional districts, and seats will be reapportioned following this year’s census of the US population.
Links to other sites: All-Africa, CNN, Bloomberg, New York Times, Washington Post
A concerted effort by twitter users 13 October has forced a London law firm to alter the terms of a high court injunction which prohibited the Guardian newspaper from reporting a story on toxic waste dumped off the coast of Ivory Coast. Less than an hour after “twitterati” and bloggers broke the news themselves, the law firm that demanded the injunction, Carter-Ruck, telephoned Guardian lawyers to say that they had asked for the injunction to be altered.
The Guardian received the injunction from Carter-Ruck on 11 September in response to a story about an oil and gas exploration firm, Trafigura, which allegedly had dumped toxic waste in the sea off the Ivory Coast and is being sued by 31,000 Ivoreans. The terms of the injunction prohibited the newspaper from reporting on a parliamentary debate about a report into the alleged incident. The Guardian, Wall Street Journal
A collapsing wall at Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan injured more than 130 fans and killed 19 before a World Cup qualifier match Sunday 29 March. Officials decided to continue with the match between Ivory Coast and Malawi where Ivory Coast won 5-0. Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo declared three days of national mourning and are investigating the cause of the accident. BBC
