Ivory Coast's Ouattara calls for strike

Mon Dec 27, 2010

Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara has called for a general strike to put pressure on the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to step down.

The announcement was made on Sunday shortly after Gbagbo issued a warning that any attempts to oust him would lead to a civil war.

"I can confirm that we have called for a general strike across the nation from tomorrow," Ouattara's spokesman Patrick Achi was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The international community has recognized Ouattara as the winner of last month's presidential election, warning that Gbagbo's refusal to step down could plunge Ivory Coast into civil war.

Also on Sunday, the official aircraft of Gbagbo was blocked at the Basel-Mulhouse airport that is jointly administered by French and Swiss authorities. Swiss officials confirmed that the presidential plane was on the airfield, but provided no further details.

Earlier on Saturday, leaders from the Economic Community of West African States threatened that the community would be "left with no alternative but to take other measures, including the use of legitimate force," should the president refuse to step down.

Gbagbo said in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro that any military measure against his government would be a dangerous precedent.

"All threats must be taken seriously. But in Africa, it would be the first time African countries would be ready to go to war because an election went badly," Gbagbo said.

He has frequently stated that the current pressure on him is an international conspiracy against his government led by France and the United States.

At least 14,000 Ivorian people have fled the violence and political chaos in the country, seeking a safe haven in neighboring Liberia in case a civil war breaks out, the UN refugee agency said.

Post-election violence, which triggered after the disputed run-off election, has left at least 173 people dead.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157314.html.