Gbagbos charged

Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, whose election loss sparked a brief civil war, has been charged by prosecutors with "economic crimes, armed robbery, looting and embezzlement," as was his wife. Pascal Affi N'Guessan, former head of Gbagbo's FPI party, has also been charged with attacking state security following the election defeat.

US slaps sanctions on Gbagbo

The United States has improsed sanctions on Cote d'Ivoire's former president Laurent Gbagbo, who lost elections late last year but refuses to cede power. The punishment also applies to several members of Gbagbo's inner circle, including his wife and the leader of his party. As a result, Americans are are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the designated individuals, and any assets of the designees within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, according to the State Department.

Côte d'Ivoire: Rwanda redux... redux

In 2005, I wrote an essay entitled Côte d'Ivoire: Rwanda Redux.

The country was then, as now, run by the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). The FPI was a long-time opposition party that gained power through the same public outrage against a rigged election that now threatens it. The FPI has cultivated a hypernationalistic and very xenophobic streak to preserve its grip on power, against the obvious will of the people, at all costs... to the point where they are willing to destroy the country to hold on to it.

In my 2005 essay, I described the similarities between the situation then in Cote d'Ivoire and pre-genocide Rwanda as such:

There are so many parallels between the two, it's scary. From the leader who considered making peace with rebels but was opposed by extremists in his own camp. To the despicable hate media campaign against 'foreigners.' To the involvement of French and UN troops. To the meticulously planned campaign against all 'enemies' of the regime... and thus enemies of the Republic... the rhetorical unification of the government of the day with the nation as a whole is a key part of any sinister propaganda campaign. Even to the Lady MacBeth wife of the president with her own Pretorian Guard entourage (Agathe Habyrimana in Rwanda and Simone Gbagbo in Côte d'Ivoire).

Laurent Gbagbo and his FPI have changed little since that essay was written, despite being declared loser of the recent presidential runoff by the Ivorian Independent National Electoral Commission among others.

There are serious warnings of genocide in the country by pro-Gbagbo forces.

The UN has accused the regime of blocking access to mass graves.

Ivorian observers have expressed concern about the proliferation of hate media, a key component of the Rwandan genocide. As someone who's read and listened to the Ivorian media for many years, these accusations are consistent with my own experiences, both past and present.

No doubt hearing reports of serious human rights abuses and the violent fanaticism of some Gbagbo supporters, thousands of Ivorians have fled to neighboring countries, with officials fearing that influx could be as high as 100,000.

Gbagbo has been called upon to give up the power he legitimately lost not only by westerners and the UN, but also by the African Union and the West African regional body ECOWAS. ECOWAS threatened to remove Gbagbo by force by has since backed off. The military option is unlikely without the support of Ghana, which has one of the region's strongest militaries.

And that's probably just as well for the moment. Threats of outside intervention only play into the hands of the hypernationalistic Gbagbo camp and may provoke a return to civil war should it actually take place. Pressure should continue to be heaped upon the losers to give up power before a bloodbath occurs; a Nigerian human rights group has offered some suggestions in that regard. However, ECOWAS should be ready to intervene if Gbagbo's forces get out of control. Already, the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots thugs have threatened Ouattara and his aides.

Botswana's president Ian Khama rubbished the idea of a power-sharing agreement with Gbagbo remaining as president and Ouattara returning to his old job as prime minister until the next elections. And very rightly so. Power sharing agreements prevent solutions rather than addressing them.

Pres. Khama denounced the precedent that this would set, noting that "Elections there [in Kenya and Zimbabwe] were hijacked by the ruling party and if that is what is going to happen every time someone wants to dispute an election result and then stay in power by default through a mechanism of power-sharing, then it’s wrong."

Former president Gbagbo has two options. He could follow the example of Cellou Dalein Diallo in neighboring Guinea by accepting defeat with dignity and prevent his country from descending into hell. Or he might end up facing trial in the Hague, like Charles Taylor of neighboring Liberia. May he choose the path of a civilized human being.

Ivorian First Lady: trash peace accords

Simone Gbagbo, Côte d'Ivoire's Lady Macbeth, wants to trash the Ouagadougou accords that finally brought peace to her country. The Ivorian presidential spouse said that the state couldn't afford to integrate former northern rebels into the national army. She said they should instead be sent back to their villages. Sending waves of unemployed young males with no money and few skills other than war making isn't exactly the most brilliant idea to foster an already fragile national stability.