----- Original Message -----From: kenneth harrowSent: 1/16/2011 1:41:42 PMSubject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Solution In Cote d'Ivoire ThenIs Legitimate Forceabdul
the account of the tunisian revolution, in the nyt this morning, indicates that the tunisian military refused to fire on protesters, ending the regime of force that sustained ben ali's power.
i do not know the situation in cote d'ivoire that well. i would not wish on the ivorians what the people in eastern nigerian had to suffer from 1967-70 when a resolution of a political stalemate led to the deaths of millions. my question about your comment (and i agree, i too wish the removal of gbagbo) is, what do you think the military, the police, the armed forces, not to mention gbagbo's supporters would do if an outside force were to attempt this quick and clean removal you are advocating. isn't he still there because the armed forces are still supporting him, and the mood in the street is behind him? we have a divided country, previously at war. is a return to that state of war preferable, and how many might die as a result?
are there experts in cote d'ivoire, on this list, who could speak to those questions for us?
ken
On 1/16/11 11:32 AM, Abdul Bangura wrote:If Gbagbo and his War Criminals believe that economic sanctions will not affect them, then it makes sense to conclude that the only alternative that will get them to stand down is the use of legitimate force.
Incumbent Ivory Coast Government says Economic Sanctions Will Fail
Photo: Reuters
Ivory Coast's incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo (Dec 2010 file photo)
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Ivory Coast's incumbent government says it is not intimidated by economic sanctions meant to force it from power. The internationally recognized winner of Ivory Coast's presidential vote believes those sanctions will eventually contribute to the incumbent government's collapse.
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The European Union is increasing economic pressure on incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo by freezing the assets of Ivory Coast's main cocoa-ports, its state oil firm, its main energy utility, its national broadcaster, and three banks.
European leaders say those firms help to fund what they call Gbabgo's illegitimate government. In a written statement, the European Union says state-run television is guilty of "public incitement to hatred and violence" through a campaign of disinformation about November's presidential election.
The European Union, the United Nations, the African Union, and the United States all say former prime minister Alassane Ouattara won that vote. But Mr. Gbagbo is refusing to give up power, saying he won re-election because his allies on the country's constitutional counsel annulled enough Ouattara votes to put Gbagbo ahead.
The European Union action against Gbagbo follows a U.S. Treasury freeze of his assets and a ban on Americans doing business with his government. West Africa's central bank says it is blocking Gbagbo's access to Ivorian assets, giving that power instead to Ouattara.
Gbagbo spokesman Ahoua Don Mello says the international community is mistaken if it believes sanctions will weaken Gbagbo's hold on power.
Mello says Western leaders often make this mistake. The world today does not stop at Europe or America. He says Ivorians can go anywhere in Africa, South America or Asia to get what they need. So if Europe and the United States no longer want Ivory Coast, Mello says those countries will lose because Ivorians can shop elsewhere, but the world must come to Ivory Coast for its cocoa.
Mello says the central bank action against Gbagbo will only hurt the regional economy.
Mello says Ivory Coast put its money in the central bank, so no one can stop the government from using its own resources. He says the central bank needs Ivorian revenue, so if it excludes Ivory Coast, Mello says the bank will obviously fail.
But the bank is not excluding Ivory Coast, just Gbabgo. Eight countries use the West African CFA Franc, whose value is pegged to the Euro. That gives the West Africa central bank stability, while Gbagbo's government can no longer float a government bond, for example, to raise revenue.
Ouattara supporters believe economic sanctions will eventually weaken Gbagbo's government.
"I think Mr. Gbagbo will listen to the world," said Jean Marie Gervais, Ouattara's foreign minister. "And he will not have any possibility of using his own means. He will see that the entire world is against what he is doing today. We can not see it by now, but it is on, and I am sure he will not be able to stand the heat when the time comes."
Ouattara is moving to capitalize on near-unanimous international support by calling for foreign petroleum and cocoa companies in Ivory Coast to stop paying taxes. It is a request with a costly threat. Ouattara says he will make sure that any export taxes paid now to the Gbagbo government are paid a second time to an eventual Ouattara government.
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unsubscribe@googlegroups.com-- kenneth w. harrow distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english east lansing, mi 48824-1036 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu--
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Sunday, January 16, 2011
Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Solution In Cote d'Ivoire ThenIs Legitimate Force
Good Greetings Mwalimu Harrow:
The reality is that those in Cote d'Ivoire who do not support Gbagbo are being massacred everyday and dumped in mass graves. What do you say to their families? The majority voted for Ouattara, not Gbagbo. What do you say to them? It is now quite clear that a peaceful resolution of the crisis that will not allow Gbagbo and his War Criminals to stay in power is not acceptable to them. Yes, people will die if legitimate force is employed to remove the War Criminals, but it is a price worth paying if Cote d'Ivoire and the rest of Afrika are to discourage future Gbagbos from using the same machination to remain in power after they lose elections. How many elections will be held in Africa this year?
Mwalimu Harrow, please trust me when I say that for me, who had suggested other peace paradigms for settling conflicts over so many years, it is not a very easy decision to advocate the Peace through Power and Coercion paradigm to resolve the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire. As those of us in the field of International Peace and Conflict Resolution know very well, Peace through Power and Coercion is Negative Peace; but we also know that a Bad Peace in better than a Good War anytime.
Indeed, I was a major advocate of what you are suggesting when the military junta took power in Sierra Leone after ousting President Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. But when it became obvious that those War Criminals would not adhere to a rational resolution, Nigeria stepped in. No matter what we think about the Nigerian regime at the time, I hope that all of us would agree that it was a very proud moment to be an Afrikan when Nigeria did what was necessary to discourage the next John Paul Koromas in rearing their ugly heads in Afrika. To this day, I and most Sierra Leoneans are grateful to and will always respect Nigeria for its sons and daughters sacrificing their lives for democracy in Sierra Leone.
So, you can understand, Mwalimu Harrow, why I got very angry at a public forum, which I hardly do, when some Sierra Leoneans wanted to give the credit for Sierra Leone's liberation to a small group of British troops who came to Freetown to liberate a handful of British citizens that were kidnapped by a bunch of losers for ransom, and then retreated to their ship on the high sea to feast on fish and chips. I presented plenty evidence and adamantly insisted that it is our Nigerian brothers and sisters and Sierra Leonean Civil Defense Forces that should be given the credit because Britain did not even lose one soldier during the conflict in Sierra Leone. A great Afrikan mind, Dr. J. M. Rose, said it best when he stated the following, if I may plagiarize him:
"It is a futile exercise, attempting to convince by the documentation of sound evidence or otherwise our brothers of British duplicity in history, and today. British orchestration of events from 1997, which resulted in their current position of potential saviors, is laid bare by a preponderance of evidence already in the public domain. Whilst I would agree that ultimate responsibility for the state of anarchy and anomie lies with our leadership, all aiders and abettors are also equally culpable."
Dr. Rose added:
"We are at a point in history where many of us are so thoroughly defeated in spirit, and are so hopelessly imbued with self-doubt, that the option of us going it alone, without help, is terrifying, and considered by many to be unlikely of success. Sierra Leone will not be liberated by 800 British soldiers. If the war is won, or any town be re-taken, it will be because brave native sons, for once adequately fed, armed, trained and accoutered, risked their lives in defense of their land. I continue to pray for the souls of those fallen, and for those to inevitably fall, and will always sing their praises."
Dr. Rose concluded:
"As for the British, they have too much to answer for to warrant any accolades, especially since they have not earned much to begin with....Ask the brothers why they are in such a rush to reward the British. Why not reward our Nigerian and Sierra Leonean fighters? Unfortunately, the idea of rewarding indigenous fighters with our "wealth" never seems to be an option for John Bull's admirers."
And about your call for Cote d'Ivorian experts/expats, I pray that you are not suggesting that one has to be one to provide his/her perspective on what is going on in that country and to know that what Gbagbo and his War Criminals are doing is genocidal and reminiscent of what happened in Rwanda. I also pray that you would concede that after ten years of living and traveling in, doing research throughout the country, paying regular visits and giving lectures in, and writing and speaking extensively on the country, I am at least entitled to provide my proverbial two cents on what is going on in Cote d'Ivoire.
In Peace Always,
Karim/.
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