By Philip Sherwell in New York and Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg
The president of Ivory Coast has refused to “abdicate” in the wake of post election violence and said that any attempt to remove him will be met by force, his American representative has told The Daily Telegraph.
Michael Espy, US agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton, predicted that “renewed civil war is inevitable” if the crisis is not defused.
He is one of two Clinton-era Democratic veterans who are lobbying on behalf of the isolated regime, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads US demands that Laurent Gbagbo accept defeat by Alassane Ouattara in last month’s presidential run-off.
“President Gbagbo is very clear that he’s not backing down,” Mr Espy said after meeting the Ivorian leader and his senior advisers in Abidjan. “He is absolutely certain that this election was stolen by the rebel forces in the north. He is not going to abdicate.”
Mr Gbagbo’s defiance comes in the face of universal condemnation by his West African neighbours, the United Nations, US and Europe.
On Friday, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) held an emergency summit in Nigeria and declared that if he does not go “the community will be left with no alternative but to take other measures, including the use of legitimate force, to achieve the goals of the Ivorian people”.
On Tuesday, the presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde will visit Ivory Coast as a last-ditch attempt to avoid bloodshed.
Mr Gbagbo’s camp rejected the “unacceptable” threat of military intervention. Ahoua Don Mello, the regime’s spokesman, branded it a “Western plot directed by France”.
“The people of Ivory Coast will mobilise. This strengthens our faith in Ivorian nationalism,” he said.
Mr Espy, who appeared on Ivorian television to argue Mr Gbagbo’s case, said: “If any move is made by the UN or other forces to jeopardise the safety or position of the president, his supporters would come out.
There would be resistance, you can be sure.
“The president and his advisers believe the result of the vote was not accurately reported. They produced a stack of documents and witnesses detailing how in the north, ballot boxes were stolen and his polling monitors were harassed, threatened and in some cases were killed. The [show] evidence of election fraud, repression and violence.”
But Government sources told The Daily Telegraph they believe support for Mr Gbagbo is wavering among some senior Army officers who have hitherto backed him against Mr Ouattara and any military action would be met with little serious opposition.
“Mr Gbagbo has support in the Army, from people from his tribe, but we know that it is not the majority and if the African Union were to send troops, we are confident that the Ivory Coast military will not fight,” a source said.
Mr Gbagbo’s camp approached Mr Espy to represent him in talks with the Obama administration and the UN.
Figures released by the United States suggest that 200 people have already been killed in violence surrounding protests by pro-Ouattara supporters and death squads targeting people in their homes.
United Nation estimates of almost 500 people officially confirmed as missing mean the numbers of dead could be far higher.
An estimated 14,000 refugees have already fled their homeland for Liberia, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
“With their numbers growing, the humanitarian needs are increasing for the mostly women and children refugees as well as for the villagers hosting them,” the agency said in a statement.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
