RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Coup d'état in Cote d'Ivoire

Thanks a heap for your very kind words about my article in the CODESRIA Bulletin, Sister Gloria; and thank you also Mwalimu Chachage for bringing it to the attention of the USA-Africa Dialogue Family. Both of you are truly appreciated.

In Peace Always,
Karim/.

-----Original Message-----
From: "Emeagwali, Gloria (History)"
Sent: Dec 10, 2010 1:25 AM
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com"
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Coup d'état in Cote d'Ivoire




'I knew from then, especially after reading the reasons he advanced, that Africa was saddled with another intellectual-turned-egomaniacal dictator.' Ochonu



Indeed. Gbagbo turned out to be a cross between Milosevic, Duvalier, Mobutu and Marcos. Milosevic's callous expulsion of his Albanian countrymen and the orgy of ethnic cleansing that he put in place may have been replicated by Dr. Gbagbo if the New Force did not emerge.

Dr. Gbagbo pretended to be an anti-colonial Black nationalist but ended up brutalizing large segments of his populace, pretty much in the fashion of Duvalier.

Apparently some of the resources of his country have been spirited away to Angola , South Africa and places unknown, in the fashion of Mobutu, in private bank accounts. Time will tell whether he would enjoy the cache.

We would never know how many Ivorians have died from the hydrogen sulfide that Trafigura dumped in Abidjan but some estimate that 100,000 persons were affected. Many died. Some were blinded. As far as I know, Milosevic, Duvalier and Marcos were not implicated in the dumping of toxic waste into their country.

Simone and Laurent Gbagbo also remind me of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. I don't know ibelieve that the disappearances and assassinations of the Gbagbos exceed that of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, but the two political couples seem to have some similarities in tactics.

On a different note, I have just read Bangura's scholarly, illuminating critique of the Obama regime, entitled 'Challenges to Africa's Economic Development and Barack Obama's Policies toward the Continent thus Far.' Great article. Many thanks to Prof. Chachage for forwarding that article. http://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/CODESRIA_Bulletin_1_2_2010_Eng.pdf

So far, the Obama regime is dealing with the Ivorian crisis well. The regime knows the implications of another Rwanda. (It seems that Gbagbo has been trying to recruit some of Taylor's henchmen, according to President Sirleaf. ) but the challenge lies in the post-Gbagbo era. Given Obama's incredible weakness in confronting the global financial oligarchy, and Alassane's World Bank/IMF affiliations, would Ivory Coast become another neo-colony of the Franco-American consensus? Or would this episode of strife embolden the Ivorian political elite to forge a meaningful pathway to self-sustained growth and development? Time will tell.

What a pity that ex- Professor Laurent Gbagbo turned a moment of great potential into a bloody nightmare. Would he join Taylor, Bemba and others
in the Hall of Shame in the Hague?

Gloria Emeagwali
www.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html
________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Moses Ebe Ochonu [meochonu@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 7:46 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Coup d'état in Cote d'Ivoire

My last response was meant for Gloria, but was directed to Pius in error. I immediately realized the error and resent it with the appropriate address but it doesn't seem to have been posted. Here (below) is the right version. Professor Falola, please help me post this. Thanks.


Gloria, as I said to you, time will tell about the wisdom or lack thereof of Mr. Soro's appointment, but I don't see how (re)appointing one of the principal protagonists in the decade-long crisis, a Northerner and leader of the New Force rebel movement, to the second most powerful position in the country leads to reconciliation and peace. On the contrary, I see it as an escalatory action. It may have short term political advantages, but the long-term ramification may be tragic. As you say, Gbagbo has made enemies in the South. But does that mean that Southerners would be comfortable with being governed by a president and a prime minister with the New Forces as their primary constituency? Would that not hurt the ongoing post-conflict healing? I don't have all the answers. That's why I am willing to see how this all shakes out. I am just raising my concerns and registering my objection to what I think is a terrible first move of the elected President, Mr. Ouattara.

As for Gbagbo, there is nothing positive to be said about him. I am particularly outraged by his actions because he comes from my professional constituency. Being unlettered in French, I had not really encountered his work until my mentor, Mamadou Diouf, mentioned him in one of our conversations and talked a bit about him being a (former) colleague. My disenchantment with Gbagbo started when he started shifting the elections to buy time and prolong his rule. I knew from then, especially after reading the reasons he advanced, that Africa was saddled with another intellectual-turned-egomaniacal dictator.

And yes, my comment to Abdulkarim Bangura may have been "inappropriate" but so was his insulting labeling of me as an Islamophobe without cause or reason. I can accept chastisement from peers (we need it from time to time) but not when the original provocation and out-of-the-blue insult from Bangura is not acknowledged and condemned as the trigger for the act for which I am being chastised. And not when Bangura, the original troublemaker and offender, is left basking in noble victimhood instead of being called out for the inappropriate behavior that started this controversy. All the same, I appreciate your calling it as you see it.


2010/12/8 Moses Ebe Ochonu >
Pius, as I said to Gloria, time will tell about the wisdom or lack thereof of Mr. Soro's appointment, but I don't see how (re)appointing one of the principal protagonists in the decade-long crisis, a Northerner and leader of the New Force rebel movement, to the second most powerful position in the country leads to reconciliation and peace. On the contrary, I see it as an escalatory action. It may have short term political advantages, but the long-term ramification may be tragic. As you say, Gbagbo has made enemies in the South. But does that mean that Southerners would be comfortable with being governed by a president and a prime minister with the New Forces as their primary constituency? Would that not hurt the ongoing post-conflict healing? I don't have all the answers. That's why I am willing to see how this all shakes out. I am just raising my concerns and registering my objection to what I think is a terrible first move of the elected President, Mr. Ouattara.

As for Gbagbo, there is nothing positive to be said about him. I am particularly outraged by his actions because he comes from my professional constituency. Being unlettered in French, I had not really encountered his work until my mentor, Mamadou Diouf, mentioned him in one of our conversations and talked a bit about him being a (former) colleague. My disenchantment with Gbagbo started when he started shifting the elections to buy time and prolong his rule. I knew from then, especially after reading the reasons he advanced, that Africa was saddled with another intellectual-turned-egomaniacal dictator.

And yes, my comment to Abdulkarim Bangura may have been "inappropriate" but so was his insulting labeling of me as an Islamophobe without cause or reason. I can accept chastisement from peers (we need it from time to time) but not when the original provocation and out-of-the-blue insult from Bangura is not acknowledged and condemned as the trigger for the act for which I am being chastised. And not when Bangura, the original troublemaker and offender, is left basking in noble victimhood instead of being called out for the inappropriate behavior that started this controversy. All the same, I appreciate your calling it as you see it.

2010/12/8 Emeagwali, Gloria (History) >


...........So Southerners will likely interpret the (re)appointment of Soro
as a deliberate affront on them. (Ochonu)


You are assuming that there is a monolithic southern constitutency
supporting Mr. Gbagbo's agenda. Not quite the case. Gbagbo alienated
a large percentage of the so-called south.

He was associated with the assassination of about two dozen persons, including
the former President Guei and his entourage in a rather treacherous orgy
when he came to power. Guei came from the South and still has some supporters.

Mr. Gbagbo's wife Simone, created a Duvalier-style 'toton macoute' and unleashed it on
countless civilians in the south.

Mr. Gbagbo's electoral manipulation of the votes of the Baule supporters of Mr. Bedie
infuriated that segment of the population as well. That is why he asked them to
give full support to presidential candidate Ouattara.

Most of all, though, by facilitating the massive dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan,
he recklessly endangered the lives of countless 'southerners' many of whom are
yet to be compensated.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the votes in the south were hugely split, as earlier
pointed out.

At some point in time people come to realize that xenophobia and islamophobia
are futile, counterproductive and irrational , and are very often used as tools of
manipulation by an elite determined to hold on to power by all means. Mr Gbagbo's
xenophobia threatened to engulf the region, given his attack on citizens from
Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea etc. He did not invent Ivorian style
xenophobia, but he certainly took it to new levels of depravity.

This is a great dialogue and I look forward to
your views on the subject.

I must say, though, that your comments to Prof. Bangura seemed
highly inappropriate.


Gloria Emeagwali
www.africahistory.net

2010/12/7 Moses Ebe Ochonu >>
Gloria,

I recognize that offering jobs to members of Mr. Gbagbo's government/cabinet (in addition to Soro, Ouattara has reportedly offered jobs to other Gbagbo cabinet members) may be a shrewd political move, but appointing Mr. Soro in particular as the prime minister is not in the spirit of reconciliation and may stoke future crisis. Mr. Soro is no supporter of Gbagbo and is not a Southerner; he is/was a New Force leader who was representing the New Force and the North in the unity/transition government. As you know, Gbagbo only reluctantly accepted this arrangement. Gbagbo may have been rejected by the majority of the voters, but in the South, he enjoys fanatical support. So Southerners will likely interpret the (re)appointment of Soro as a deliberate affront on them. So, far from a wise move, appointing a leader of the New Forces whose political constituency is in the North to the second highest office in the country is a potentially escalatory provocation. I recognize that Ouattara is probably trying to ensure the realization of his mandate by pandering to the major political figures in the country in order to isolate Mr. Gbagbo, but at what cost? At the cost of peace and unity? If the appointment holds, would it not amount to alienating and marginalizing the Southern half of the country? You'll have two figures who essentially represent the political interests of the New Forces and their allies occupying the two most powerful offices in the country. Political pragmatism calls for a regionally representative government in which the top two posts of president and prime minister are occupied by a Northerner (New Force sympathizer--Ouattara) and a Southerner or someone with a political constituency in the South of the country. I fear that Ouattara may have sown the seed for more division. As dictatorial as Gbagbo was, he reluctantly accepted Soro as his prime minister because he saw that without sharing power with the New Forces/North, the country would remain divided and may implode. Mr. Ouattara ought to do be inclusive and not pander to his New Force supporters.

2010/12/6 Emeagwali, Gloria (History) >>


'What sane logic explains the appointment of Guilliame Soro, the leader
of the New Force rebel force, as the Prime Minister?' Ochonu


In fact, appointing Guilliaume Soro was a shrewd move, if you note that Soro was Prime Minister
in the Gbagbo regime for the last three years, in the spirit of reconciliation.

Ouattara won the election outright. Not only did he get support from the North
but also from Bedie's Baule supporters in the Center.He also got huge supporters in the South.
Bedie apparently agreed with Ouattara on this move.


Gloria Emeagwali
www.africahistory.net
________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>] On Behalf Of Moses Ebe Ochonu [meochonu@gmail.com>]
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 3:46 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Coup d'état in Cote d'Ivoire

Even though Mr. Ouattara's IMF association is worrying, especially in light of the enthusiastic and uncharacteristically hasty and unequivocal support for his victory, this is democracy and there is a sacred quality to the democratically expressed will of the electorate. The people of Ivory Coast have a right to choose any eligible Ivorian of whatever pedigree and professional calling to lead them. In the interest of democracy and respect for the will of the majority, Gbagbo must vacate the presidency for the apparent winner.

That said, Mr. Ouattara's first act as the elected president is scandalous to say the least and raises concern that, like Gbagbo, he may quickly transition from respected opposition leader and intellectual to a divisive egomaniac concerned only about political self-preservation. What sane logic explains the appointment of Guilliame Soro, the leader of the New Force rebel force, as the Prime Minister? Is this not a recipe for further crisis? Instead of appointing someone from the South in a gesture of inclusion and national unity, Mr. Ouattarra has chosen the leader of the northern rebel movement that is widely despised in the South, ensuring that the positions of president and prime minister are located in the hands of people with political constituencies in the North and with sympathies to the New Forces.

I don't understand the political wisdom or the altruistic patriotism of this move. Time will tell. But I am not yet impressed with Mr. Ouattara's ability to forge peace and reconciliation in the fractious country.

2010/12/5 Abdul Karim Bangura >>>>
Thanks a heap for this press release, Mwalimu Ibrahim. I will cite it tonight during my Al Jazeera International TV interview on Cote d'Ivoire. I had been on the show a couple of nights ago to discuss this crisis. As you may not know, I have been working with peace groups and women's cooperatives all over the country for many years and I had just returned from there a couple of days before the election. I am being updated by our folks in the country minute-by-minute.

Gbagbo will go sooner than he thinks!!!. We have a Conversation On Africa meeting tomorrow in Washington, DC to strategize about how to put pressure inside and outside the country to make him stand down faster.

In Peace Always,
Abdul Karim Bangura/.






4th December 2010
Press Release
Coup d'état in Cote d'Ivoire
Jibrin Ibrahim PhD
Director
Centre for Democracy and Development
Today, 4th December 2010, the spectre of renewed bloody conflict emerged in Cote d'Ivoire following the illegal swearing of Mr Laurent Gbagbo as President of the country. This followed the closure of the country's borders by the army and the declaration of a curfew the night before the November 28th second round presidential elections. Gbagbo supporters have also jammed all foreign radio broadcasts to stop citizens listening to the condemnation of the Coup d'état.

The Electoral Commission had declared Alassane Quattara winner of the polls with 54.1% of the popular vote in last Sunday's elections. During the initial public presentation of the results, a supporter of Mr Gbagbo had seized and torn the result sheets to shreds as if to announce to the whole world that they would not accept the verdict of the ballot box. Subsequently, Mr Gbagbo got his cronies in the Constitutional Council to annual Quattara's votes before the Electoral Commission had even transmitted the tally to them and declared Gbagbo elected.

The United Nations, which closely followed the collation of the votes, has however affirmed that the Electoral Commission is right; Mr Quattara won the presidential elections. The Peace and Security Council of the African Union in a press release today has clearly "condemned the usurpation of the popular will of the people in Cote d'Ivoire."

At the same time, ECOWAS which deployed a major Observer Team for the elections for the elections has reaffirmed its commitment "to ensure peaceful and democratic election in line with the ECOWAS Declaration on Political Principles and the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance." In addition, it very clearly "strongly condemns any attempt to usurp the popular will of the people of Côte d'Ivoire and appeals to all stakeholders to accept the results declared by the electoral commission."

In pursuit of this objective, ECOWAS has convened the Authority of Heads of State and Government to an Extraordinary Summit in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday, 7th December, 2010 with the sole objective of examining the situation and deciding on subsequent action on the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire in accordance with the ECOWAS relevant texts.

The Centre for Democracy and Development calls on ECOWAS under Nigeria's presidency to act decisively:

1. In affirming the victory of Alassane Quattara as the duly elected President of Cote d'Ivoire.
2. In taking immediate steps condemning the coup d'état and suspending Cote d'Ivoire from ECOWAS until there is a return to the constitutional order.
3. To take proactive steps to immediately remove Laurent Gbagbo from power and install Alassane Quattara who the International Contact Group as well as the Ivorian Electoral Commission have declared as the duly elected president of the country.

It is important to recall that the elections in Cote d'Ivoire are part of the long and pain staking attempts to save the country from the ravages of civil war following Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to hold elections for five successive years after his last electoral mandate expired in 2005. Cote d'Ivoire is a country that was not too long ago one of the shining stars of stability and prosperity in the West African region. This history was shattered when war broke out between the between the government-controlled Southern army and the Forces Nouvelles (New Forces) controlled by the Northerners. The human carnage and heavy collateral damage associated with the conflict was unprecedented. West Africa cannot afford a return to civil war.

The coup which brought General Robert Guei to power in December 1999 erupted just before the general elections slated for 2000. General Guei who had promised to stay in power only to "sweep the house clean" took all by surprise when he indicated his interest to run in the elections. He disqualified Quattara from standing in the October 2000 elections, via a politically manipulated Supreme Court judgment, on the grounds that the latter's mother was from Burkina Faso. The exclusion prompted Quattara's RDR to call for a boycott of the elections. General Guei's attempt to stop the elections in which early results indicated Gbagbo was winning led to widespread protests and violent demonstrations by Gbagbo's FPI against him. Guei was assassinated and Gbagbo emerged as President who maintained the exclusion policy. The result was civil war. A second exclusion of Quattara in a context in which he had already won a free and fair election would definitely precipitate civil war if pro-active measures are not taken to restore the sovereignty of the Ivorian people.



Jibrin Ibrahim PhD
Director


--


Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
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USA
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512 475 7222 (fax)
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