The Ivorian Crisis/ Who Should Be President?

by Contribution | 24 janvier 2011 22 h 39 min

Please bear with me and read this write up to the end, I am apologizing for being a bit long but it was necessary!!

Pervasive French interests: Let us take stock of French interest in Ivory Coast.

-Did You Know?

Since Independence, France has controlled Francophone Africa: from the infrastructure to the bloc’s foreign reserves under the 14-nation Franc Zone. It does not matter whether you are talking ports, airline, telephone, electricity, water and even food, Francophone Africa operates French, buys French, eats French, and unless matters drastically change, dies French! Boigny indentured Ivory Coast to France at Independence, which is why France enjoys a stranglehold on Ivorian industry, commerce and currency. A recent UN study showed that France controls 45% of Ivorian land from which comes cocoa, Ivory Coast’s main earner.

Even buildings of the Presidency of the Republic and the Ivorian National Assembly are leased from France! You get a list of French conglomerates like Bollore, Saga, SDV, Delmas, Bouygues, Colas, Total, France Telecom, Societe Generale, CFAO-CI, etc, etc. Controlling the economic sinews of former colonies has always been French policy from the days of pre-independent Algeria. Then French control was mediated through three big entrepreneurs: Borgeaud, Chiaffino and Blachette, with Borgeaud in the lead. “In Algeria, one drinks Borgeaud, smokes Borgeaud, eats Borgeaud, and banks or borrows Borgeaud,” ran a popular saying before Algeria rose in its freedom rebellion. French presence in Ivory Coast is no less pervasive today, this hour.

-Did You Know?

That pervasiveness replicates itself in Ivorian politics and in military affairs with France maintaining a garrison in that country, an intrusive one too! That this is one of the key issues to the present Ivorian crisis is never reflected in the coverage of these Eurocentric networks.

-Did You Know?

Gbagbo is the democrat they will not acknowledge, indeed Laurent Gbagbo made the mistake of pushing a nationalist line against pervasive French interests, including re-possessing national politics away from French tutelage and infantilisation. He sought to create national institutions and national processes, all against this French pervasiveness. French-educated, he fought Boigny on the side of democracy and full African sovereignty, repeatedly going to prison for it. During those days of his early struggles against the conservative, pro-France Boigny regime, his present rival, Alassane Ouattara, was with Boigny, loyally advancing the French ethos as desired by Boigny.

-Did You Know?

65% of the foreign reserves of the 14 nations Franc Zone, which include

Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, are kept at the French treasury. So each year since 1983 France has been receiving 65% of these country foreign reserves before that it was 50%. In essence these poor African countries have to maneuver with 35% of their hard earned money. Isn’t this “Highway Robbery” or what?

Who is President? Ivory-coast Crisis and the Rule of Law –

You Decide!

Who should be First Lady? You Decide!

Laurent Gbagbo and his wife Alassane Dramane Ouattara and his wife

Simone Ehivet Gbagbo Dominique Nouvian Ouattara

“Smooth Criminals”

The Ivorian Crisis, “Boy oh Boy..!”, France and its cronies have done a good propaganda job in brainwashing and successfully dividing Africans so that they won’t be united in defending the injustices that are taking place in Ivory-Coast. Imagine you own a land on which you decide to build your house, you manage to gather the funds and build this dream house of yours and moved in with your entire family and extended family. Unfortunately, the next thing you know some criminals invade your home, not only, they start killing and raping your wife, daughters, sons, but your relatives and their children as well. You call for help because you have been paying taxes for years to maintain law and order, but the police chief comes and tells you, well you know these criminal are from your hometown so why don’t you share your house with them because really there is nothing we can do because it is a family affair. To protect what is left of your family and home, you agreed to share your house with those criminals with the understanding that they will no longer be engaged in criminal activities. Because, a criminal mind is difficult to change, the criminals kept misbehaving after 8 years of heartaches you decide to get rid of them but the chief of police said you know 8 years, it is a longtime for you to have stay in your house now you should leave your own home and hand it over to the criminals. In addition, you have learned that the criminals and the chief of police have been telling everyone outside your home that you have been engaged in criminal activities and you are so dangerous that you are worse than Hitler. How fair is that?

Now the case of Ivory-Coast and Gbagbo facing Alassane Dramane Ouattara representing French Interests:

Apparently Alassane Dramane Ouattara a native of Burkina Faso and his French wife want to be President and First Lady of Ivory-Coast to oversee the French interests in the country indeed the French government owns the presidential palace and the parliament building in Abidjan, the Ivorian government has been paying rent for the last fifty years. Then, thanks to Alassane Dramane Ouattara short term as Prime Minister (imposed by France and the international Institutions during the economic crisis of the late 80’s and early 90’s according them to help the country restructure its economy in order to receive funds from the same institutions, the ailing Houphouet-Boigny agreed) from 1990-1993. After Houphouet-Boigny death’s in 1993 Alassane Dramane Ouattara refused to leave his administrative post of Prime Minister because he wanted to be president and rule the country. Unfortunately for him the Constitutional Court which is the Highest Court in the country told him that he must go because he had no right to claim the Presidency, article 11 of the Constitution was clear in stating that in case of vacancy the President of parliament should take over to finish the term of the departed president or organize elections within 45 days after taking over if term of the departed president had expired. So Henri Konan Bedie became President from 1993 to 1994 and was reelected in 1995. Alassane Dramane Ouattara vows revenge, and in 1999 a year before his term was to expire Henri Konan Bedie was forced out by a military coup, he was offered asylum in France. Alassane Dramane Ouattara on French radio claim victory and vows to return to Ivory-Coast to be handed the Presidency again unfortunately for him Guei a former disgruntle general refuse to hand him power. In 2000, under pressure Guei organized election with Laurent Gbagbo among the contenders, Alassane Dramane Ouattara tried to be candidate but the High Court rejected him because he didn’t meet the requirement under the Constitution. Laurent Gbagbo won but Guei refused to hand over power, he was forced out by the people, as soon as this happened Alassane Dramane Ouattara called for his followers to take also the streets to demand new elections with him as candidate, this resulted in a bloody confrontation between the two camps but the constitutional recognized Gbagbo as the legitimate winner and was sworn in. Alassane Dramane Ouattara vows revenge yet again telling his followers they didn’t have to wait five to see him president and besides if he didn’t become president he will make sure the country be ungovernable and if he had to he will burned it to the ground (check his speeches during the mayoral races 2001 in RCI). And sure enough on September 19, 2002 a failed attempt coup took place to overthrow Laurent Gbagbo’s regime. The demands of the rebels were exactly those of Alassane Dramane Ouattara one of which was the need of Constitution to be modified so that Alassane Dramane Ouattara could be president. The mighty France, pretending to prevent bloodshed, helped the country to be divided right in the middle. the South under government control and the rebel in the North where they have been committed all kind of atrocities to this day and no one is talking about it, “au contraire” they have been portrait as angels and liberators of Gbagbo’s brutal and dictatorial regime. For peace sake Gbagbo agreed to make Alassane Dramane Ouattara candidate in the presidential election using article 48 of the constitution which allow him to do so even though again Alassane Dramane Ouattara didn’t qualified. Gbagbo also agreed to hold elections even though the rebels never disarmed which was against the Constitution requirement to hold free and fair elections, but he was lied to by the UN and the West on the premises that they will make sure that the elections were free and fair in 2010 none of it happened because during the run off elections between Ouattara and Gbagbo, the votes in the rebels held areas weren’t free and fair according the African observers, eyewitness accounts and the rigged ballots. No UN or western observers were there. Under these circumstances how these election be free and fair in the rebel areas when evidences showed massive frauds?

The Constitutional Court and Independent Electoral Commission:

The Constitutional Court is the highest court of Ivory-Coast and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is an administrative entity. Ivorian Constitution states that the IEC should be activated during the electoral process only, to collect voting ballots, tally votes and proclaim “Preliminary Results” within 72 hrs or three after the closing of the votes, the results have to be announced by consensus, in offices of the IEC in front the entire IEC body on Ivorian national TV. After 72 hours the IEC is no longer mandate to intervene in the electoral process or give any results. After 72 hours the IEC should send all the voting tallied ballots and preliminary results the Constitutional Court, which has a maximum of 7 days (one week) to verify the voting results, receive grievances or disputes, give the final results and announce the winner, the court decision is without appeal.

In the run off 2010 Ivorian election the ballots for some of regions in the rebel held areas were dismissed for flagrant violations among which more voters than register voters, forged signatures of Gbagbo’s representatives who were prevented to verify the fairness of the election in most rebel areas by either being beaten, rape or even killed. After 72 hours the IEC couldn’t give the preliminary results of the run off, the highest court took over and pronounced the winner who was Laurent Gbagbo. In the Meantime the 4th day after the elections, the ambassadors of France and the USA with the help of UN soldiers went to pick up the president of the IEC in his home, took him to the headquarters of Alassane Dramane Ouattara, and in one of the hotel room, by himself in front of French TVs only, the US and French ambassadors and the UN representative, he declare Alassane Dramane Ouattara the winner. Is This Legal? These illegal results have been spread like wild fire by the French media and their western allies, the illegal results have been recognized by so called International Community made of France, the US and the EU…

PS: Don’t be fool when you hear that the Highest Court is pro-Gbagbo because the 90% of

the IEC members are pro-Alassane including its president; the IEC couldn’t give results

within allocated time because there was no consensus regarding these fraudulent ballots

Who is Laurent Koudou Gbagbo, The Charismatic Leader of RCI?

For thirty years he fought Houphouet–Boigny’s regime under which he was jailed 3 times by himself and once with his entire family (the last one was by Alassane Dramane Ouattara when he was prime minister 1990-1993) so a total of 4 times. He was humiliated along with his family and his entire region, and finally forced into exile. In 1990 he was the sole candidate against Houphouet-Boigny, he lost the election even though it was speculated that he actually won. He finally became president in 2000, he tried to reform all sectors including all the contracts with France and French companies, he cancelled or didn’t renew a lot of the contracts that French multinationals had obtained under Bedie or Ouattara because there weren’t beneficial to the Ivorian people. To stop paying rent to the French government on the presidential palace and the parliament building he is transferring these offices to capital Yamoussoukro because Abidjan is the economical capital. All that made the French government angry, with Alassane Dramane Ouattara and Houphouët old party members (who are still angry for being out of power) they decided to get rid of Gbagbo, they tried in 2000 it didn’t work, then a vast smear campaign started to discredit Gbagbo and his regime along with financial opportunity blackmail, indeed Gbagbo’s government could get international loans so they manage with the internal resources of the country. In 2002, an armed rebellion took place in which his minister of interior was brutally murdered. He called on France to help according to 1960 accords which allowed France to have a military base in Cote d’Ivoire and the country not to have an equipped army force. The French refused again like they told Bedie 1999, but this time the army managed to save Abidjan and Gbagbo presidency. When Gbagbo heard of the coup he was visiting pope in Rome at the time he flew back into the country to be with his people while Chirac the French president at the time offer him asylum. The Ivorian army pushed the rebels all the way to the center of the country and was about to chase them out of the second largest city of the country Bouake when the French commander of the French Base in Abidjan asked for 48hrs for in order for his soldiers to retrieve their nationals, when the reprieve was granted the French instead brought in mercenaries from all over Africa who swallowed the rank of the rebels from 300 to 2500 men indeed there were only 650 rebels when the attack started the army killed 350 of them and was on the final assault when they were railroaded by France. In any case the Loyalists, the name of the Ivorian army soldiers, couldn’t finish the job and since Gbagbo couldn’t go against the mighty French army he agreed on a cease fire. He also agreed in order for the rebels to disarm and for his government to have control of the entire country, to let Alassane Dramane Ouattara run for president even though he didn’t qualified, relinquished some his power so the opposition and rebel groups will name a prime minister, formed a coalition government which included the rebels etc.. etc.. He refused to step down because he said anyone that want to be president need to be elected by the people, and he also want to preserve the constitution which give the President special privileges as well as protecting the national institutions.

In 2000, for the reconciliation forum he personally went to France to bring back all his exiled contenders Bedie, Ouattara and Guei. He granted them all their privileges warrant by their former status including security guards of their own choosing paid by the government. He forbade the jailing of any reporters or political opponent on base freedom of expression. Brought back as well Houphouet-Boigny widow who was living broke overseas. Each year send thousand of muslims for Hadj in Saudi Arabia. Gbagbo also tries to establish universal healthcare for his people, free education, built cocoa industries to create jobs, open government contracts to open bids. Everyday people living in the rebel areas seek protection under government run areas, why that? Is Gbagbo a dictator, or is this being worst than Hitler? You decide….

France and its evils maneuvers:

France multinationals are losing ground in Ivory-Coast and French government couldn’t stand it, with its western allies are dead set to remove Gbagbo at any cost even if it means killing thousand of Africans because their live is not worth one white person life.

Since the period of decolonization and the independence that followed, De Gaulle wanted France to have a sphere of influence that will address not only financial needs but also its political contingencies, especially in his dealings with other great powers in international organizations like the United Nations. Africa was ideally suited to perform these functions, because of consolidation on this continent, and especially in the same region, of several former French colonies. Countries like, Indochina or even Algeria could no longer be included, as their rupture with France was brutal, forceful and painful. The two countries gain respect from France following the painful break up. By stating so outright in the face of Africa that France has no friends but interests, de Gaulle made public a real situation that some African elites had already realized. Most of those African leaders who dared to defend the national interest paid dearly sometimes with their lives. To develop and maintain its territories, France cleverly designed and implemented several types of instruments capable of supporting her African policy and especially to protect her interests she intended to well maintain forever. Her main instruments are composed of large enterprises, cooperatives and advisers both civilian and military, as well as private offices and mercenaries.

First, de Gaulle was concerned about energy independence of France. It was therefore necessary to establish the most appropriate structure for pumping oil strategic resources. The company Total was then established to cover the Arab world, while Elf was created for the African zone. De Gaulle’s was thus providing France source of energy for at least next fifty years. At the time, of course, African elites were primarily concerned with political independence, while France, certain that sooner or later would be given political independence, at least theoretically, was already planning how she could maintain dominance over her future former colonies. Apart from oil from the African coast of the Gulf of Guinea, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Angola, France has also forced the hand of the President Hamani Diori to get its hands on uranium from Niger, at very low prices and removing any possibility for the country to sell its own natural resource to other countries. France’s civilian and military nuclear capabilities needed to be assured and protected. Thus Germany has been prevented by France to acquire some parts in the uranium mines in Niger. For Gabon, the uranium is directly managed by a French company with the sole right to decide who buys uranium from Gabon. Of course, with the various oil crises and the unexpected windfall that Elf had pulled, the company became true gold mine to finance and fund French political parties at the same time it financed coups, not to mention the personal enrichment of their puppet head of states on the backs of African people who remain in poverty.

Besides these major companies in strategic oil and nuclear, we should also note the role of telecommunication operators that are in Francophone Africa under a forced trusteeship with France Telecom. These companies are maintained and equipped by France. France Telecom technicians are ubiquitous in central offices of the African countries and facilitating opportunities for monitoring and intercepting communications intended to monitor both regimes as well as political opponents. Then we saw the hegemony extended to other strategic sectors like water and electricity. The banking sector has not escaped the grip of France on all the economic levers of its former colonies. Until very recently, only large French banks occupied the banking sector in Francophone countries. And the best tool designed by France to better control their finances was the creation of the Franc Zone. The currency, the CFA franc thus by being in the hands of the Elysee made her custodian of the wealth of Africans. To this day the French treasury keeps at least 60% of French speaking earnings and has been doing so for the last 50 years.

African policy of France should not only be to the detriment of local people, but to facilitate sustainability, it was especially important in shaping the spirit of the African elite by establishing a large and unique source of information which is call today Radio France Internationale or RFI in short. Its columns, analysis and commentaries were gospel truth even to some this day. Africans rose to the morning hours, ear glued to the transistor to get the latest news of the day. This radio, only the French elites could follow with ease, announced at dawn coups, regime changes, anything that affects the political life of the African people. In the same objective, the brightest students were identified. Those in acquaintance with the systems installed by France were awarded scholarship support, to France to be brainwashed. For those who are unfortunate to have some kind of ambitions of opposition, their academic life became hell, punctuated by regular unjustified prison terms.

Epilogue from and Algerian activist and what I think?

An unprecedented disinformation campaign has been orchestrated to justify foreign intervention in Ivory Coast to overthrow President Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara replaced by a lackey entirely devoted to the interests of multinationals.

Ouattara is the famous IMF Deputy Director General and former Prime Minister of Houphouet-Boigny, who in 1990 administered an IMF package, which has plunged the Ivorian people in a deep economic and social distress. He is the puppet « designated » by the great powers to lead the Ivory Coast and to ensure that their interests are not threatened by

the presence of compromise and patriotic men such as Laurent Gbagbo, a longtime

opponent of Houphouët’s regime (1970-1990’s.)

The American and French imperialist powers have agreed to remove Gbagbo who is guilty of pursuing a nationalist policy detrimental to their profits.

After years of negotiations following the attempted coup in 2002 and 2004, both orchestrated and financed by the mentors Ouattara Alassane (composed largely of French governing body as well as private investors but also leaders of African countries such as Wade of Senegal and Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso) warring parties finally agreed to hold a presidential election whose second round took place on November 28.

The United States and France « represented » by a team of UN mediation tried to validate all possible ways an alleged victory by Ouattara. In defiance of the Ivorian Constitution which provides that the proclamation of election results is the responsibility of the Constitutional Council, the commission declared Ouattara the winner without any serious evidence.

The United States, France, followed quickly by Ban Ki Moon of the UN, all have rushed to recognize Ouattara as the new head of state of Ivory Coast. An international propaganda machine has therefore launched a campaign to justify this action. Neither China or Russia or India or many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which together make up three quarters of the world population, have had a say.

In short, the so called international community, « whose word order is enforceable, is only made up of U.S., France, Germany, Great Britain, in short, the same handful of colonial and imperialist powers that have dragged twice people in two terrible world wars to get their hands on the lucrative contracts, raw materials, oil and gas.

In the mass media mr « Ouattara is the democratically elected president of Cote d’Ivoire, recognized by the international community after announcement of election results by the Independent Electoral Commission. » When the Constitutional Council is referred to, news agencies routinely add the words « pro Gbagbo » to remove any credibility to the results officially announced.

Everything has been said and Gbagbo must leave « before the end of the week » this was the ultimatum Sarkozy on December 22, 2010 to another head of state. Sarkozy wants to play chief role of going to war against the people will and cannot forgive Gbagbo for having played in 2002 U.S. oil multinationals against their French rivals. A crime to have opened the entitlements of French capitalists to others! an even worst crime Gbagbo: this time dared to open the roads leading to oil in the Gulf of Guinea to French multinationals enemies like China and Russia!

Gbagbo has to be crush and severally punish for his defiance, Sarkozy has decided to make his personal crusade today with the U.S.. To set an example to any future nationalist leader who dared to defy the west with « their oil reserves and mineral  »

It about the Oil, STUPID!

It has captured the essence of the challenge of fighting in Ivory Coast when it was realized that the real problem lies in the following questions: who will control the oil discoveries off the coast of this country? Who is the man to turn to for the perpetuation of relations of domination and the maintenance of Ivory Coast in its state of neo-colony, 50 years after formal independence achieved without struggle and sacrifice? Beyond the Ivory Coast, the neo-colonialists are most afraid that the Ivorian example makes will have a domino effect on peoples of the former French colonies; the Ivorians indeed are set to affirm their desire to true independence beginning with the purging of puppets of the great French bourgeoisie.

The reference to « respect of the democratic choice of the people » is a joke in the mouths of leaders of the imperialist powers who support and protect without qualms cruel dictatorships in the world as long as their interests are being protected..

In all cases, although Gbagbo has close links with the French Socialists, who have shone by their zeal to defend the neo-colonialist, even if his past alliances cast small doubts on the objectives it defends the struggle that ensued between the imperialist powers and the great mass of the Ivorian people, is appall by the arrogance of the former colonizers and decided to no longer tolerate the relations of domination and exploitation, this struggle is creating a movement that transcends all petty calculations of politicians.

This crisis served ultimately as a detonator in a region that has become a strategic issue in the struggle for control of energy resources in Africa. Imperialism wants to inflict a lesson to the people. He wants to cut short the process liberating Ivorian to deter other nations from Africa to take over control of their natural resources. Today unfortunately the people have the last word regardless of any temporary losses in the destruction of an imperialist system which will be condemned by history.

Assuming that Ouattara had won few votes at the elections with great financial and media support of imperialism, the historical legitimacy is not on his side. It is not on the side of the puppets of dominant classes because the mass will longer be deceived by the propaganda of the rich through tribal and sectarian divide to win themselves votes. History is on the side of the people who shake the shackles of imperialist domination and leaders who lead their struggle this way.

The great leaps towards progress will be the people to not at the polls. In general they only confirm the emancipation process undertaken to this point so far. The duty of progressive forces is to support the struggle of peoples for national liberation.

Jocelyne Toure – Ivorian National living in the US

Please Support the Struggle of Gbagbo and the people of Ivory-Coast and pass this along because African and African diasporas must united be free from imperialist forces and their puppets… We need to be angry at the evils forces!

Read about: Sundiata Keita, Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame

Nkrumah, the Algerian liberation and the Indochina war etc…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzsUxYjHmt0[2]

Zouglou:GBAGBO,LE FILS DU PAYS.c’est comment comment

PS : If you can understand, speak or write French please check the following links:

www.Telediaspora.net/fr (on the Cameroon portal look for France Afrique comment

la France fait et defait les Presidents Africains)

www.ivoirediaspo.net

www.youtube.com[3] French war crimes in Algeria and ALGERIE – Les Auschwitz de la France en Algerie

By: Jocelyne Toure

Source URL: https://www.ivoirediaspo.net/the-ivorian-crisis-who-should-be-president/4091.html/

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