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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Gbagbo now alleges coup plot by Western nations |
| 2010-12-13 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] Laurent Gbagbo hit back at pressure to quit power in Ivory Coast after disputed elections, with his camp accusing Western diplomats of trying to turn the country's military against him. Gbagbo continued Sunday to defy pressure to step aside, after the man he has named interior minister, Emile Guirieoulou, alleged that diplomats in Ivory Coast were working to "destabilise" him. "For several days, civil and military members of certain Western chancelleries in Abidjan have discreetly approached senior officers in our national army to persuade them to pledge allegiance" to Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara, Guirieoulou said on state television late Saturday. He warned that Gbagbo's government, not recognised by Ouattara's camp and much of the international community, "will no longer tolerate meddling by any diplomat in the internal affairs of the state of Ivory Coast". The two men both declared themselves president and formed rival governments after last month's contested polls, in a tense standoff which many fear could turn violent. The UN refugee agency said some 2,000 people fearing unrest have fled west from Ivory Coast to neighbouring Liberia and Guinea. The United Nations has ordered 460 non-essential staff out of the country and France is on alert to evacuate thousands of its nationals from its former colony if needed. Ouattara has declared himself president based on UN-endorsed results from the November 28 election and his side is moving to get a grip on the levers of state, demanding that members of the military and civil service abandon Gbagbo. Ivorians have been watching anxiously to see how Gbagbo would respond. Reports said he was ready to talk with Ouattara's side, which has rejected any suggestion of negotiations. Guirieoulou's declaration meanwhile kept up a defiant front against pressure from world powers including the United Nations Security Council for Gbagbo to end his decade in power. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Today's French vocabulary to describe Gbagbo: "Beurk!" Means exactly what it sounds like. |
| Posted by: mom 2010-12-13 23:06 |
| #1 Plots by Western Nations™ Means: "I can't find anyone else to blame, let me sow doubt by blaming it on the distant rich nations we are all jealous of" |
| Posted by: Uleger Barnsmell4617 2010-12-13 14:47 |