Unfortunately the longer it takes to get Gbagbo and his cohorts out, the more the ground is prepared for greater atrocities, impunity and repression.
Someone had earlier asked why single out Gbagbo? Well circumstances, the conduct of long delayed elections, the refusal to respect its outcome, all of theses makes it necessary to act now, at this moment, on the brigandage of the moment.
Perhaps Active citizens in Ivory Coast should borrow from the example of the ongoing Arab Intifadah!
Has anyone bothered to ask why the north has been calm and not witnessed counter atrocities?
Regards,
Jaye Gaskia
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
NAIROBI — An African heads of state panel tasked with finding a way out of Ivory Coast's protracted leadership crisis should ask strongman Laurent Gbagbo to leave power, an top US official said Thursday.
The African Union last week set up the five-member panel to deliver binding resolutions within a month to Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of the disputed November 28 elections.
"Our position is very clear, which is that we believe that Mr. Ouattara won the election and should be the leader of the country," US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told reporters in Nairobi.
"We hope that the new mission of the AU leaders can make clear to former president Gbagbo that that is the universal view and that the time has come for him to step aside and that is what we support," he added.
A top Gbagbo ally on Tuesday said Burkina Faso's President Blaise Campaore, who is among the panel's five heads of state, was not welcome in Ivory Coast
Other members are presidents of Chad, South Africa, Mauritania and Tanzania.
The panel members are to travel to Ivory Coast at a yet undetermined date to submit their proposals to the rival leaders.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
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