The authorities of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) yesterday declared that the military option is still open in its efforts to resolve the current political crisis in Côte D’Ivoire.
ECOWAS Commission president, James Victor Gbeho, said at the presentation of the report of the five-member joint delegation of the two organisations to Côte D’Ivoire to seek a peaceful resolution of the political crisis that the regional body is still committed to exploiting every chance to sort out the problem peacefully.
“The position of ECOWAS as expressed through the two communiqués issued last December is that the military option is still on the cards. But it also believes that even if there is a half percent chance of resolving the problem peacefully, it would still exploit it,” Mr Gbeho said.
Though initial contacts by the ECOWAS delegation with both the outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo and winner of the presidential election, Alassane Ouattara, had yielded some concessions towards a peaceful settlement to invalidate the option of the use of force, Mr Gbeho said whatever option is adopted would be used with a lot of caution. This comes as Mr Gbagbo has agreed to a peaceful negotiation to end the crisis without any preconditions, including a pledge to immediately lift the blockade around Hotel Du Golf, the temporary headquarters of Mr Ouattara.
“ECOWAS’s position is that if there is no joy in exploiting the peaceful option, the military option can be considered for sustainable resolution of the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire. But, whatever option is adopted must be used with a lot of circumspection. We have resolved to maintain contact with the two parties in order to find out whether there would be a chance of settling the matter politically, which is the preference at this stage, fully aware of the dangers of the force option, particularly in a country like Côte D’Ivoire where citizens and indigenes of all ethnic groups in the ECOWAS sub-region are represented,” he said.
Obsolete power sharing
The mission consisted of Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, president of the Republic of Cape Verde; Bon Yayi, president of the Republic of Benin; Ernest Bai Koroma, president of the Republic of Sierra Leone; Kenyan prime minister, Raila Odinga. The AU special envoy to Côte D’Ivoire, as well as president of the ECOWAS Commission, James Victor Gbeho, were also among the delegation.
In the joint communiqué presented after meeting with the ECOWAS leader and Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, the delegation said on its arrival in Côte D’Ivoire on Monday, it held extensive discussions with Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ouattara, along with special representative of the UN secretary general in Côte D’Ivoire, Choi Young-Jin.
Mr Odinga said he had told Mr Gbagbo that the ‘Kenyan solution’ to resolving political crisis had become obsolete in the face of current realities, pointing out that if followed, it would actually hamper the democratisation process.
During the discussions, the ECOWAS Commission president said Mr Gbagbo had agreed to negotiate a peaceful end to the crisis without any preconditions, including a pledge to immediately lift the blockade around Hotel Du Golf, the temporary headquarters of Mr Ouattara.
Mr Gbeho also admitted that Mr Ouattara gave indications of his willingness to ensure a dignified exit for his opponent provided he accepted the outcome of the presidential election as declared by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) and certified by the United Nations monitoring group.
The mission used the meeting to remind each party of the positions of the sub-regions Heads of State and the AU Peace and Security Council on the need for Mr Ouattara to be recognised as the legitimate President of Côte D’Ivoire in accordance with the will of the Ivorian electorate as freely expressed in the run.
It also reiterated the call by the regional body for Mr. Gbagbo to peacefully hand over power to Mr Ouattara without further delay, urging both parties to avoid any act capable of aggravating the crisis.
Another joint mission of AU and ECOWAS leaders are expected to be dispatched to Côte D’Ivoire as soon as possible to continue discussions with the two parties.