Paris to recognize Ouattara's envoy

Mon Dec 27, 2010

The French government has ramped up pressure on Ivory Coast's incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to admit defeat, saying it would recognize his rival's envoy to Paris.

Spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry Bernard Valero said Paris along with other members of the international community recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the recent election over Gbagbo.

Paris said it would therefore recognize Ouattara's envoy over that of the embattled incumbent Ivorian president.

Following the signal, supporters of Ivory Coast's presidential claimant Ouattara peacefully took control of the Paris Embassy.

Ouattara's supporters took over the French Embassy in Yamoussoukro after supporters of Gbagbo departed, a police source said on Monday.

“They have taken control of the embassy which was empty," AFP quoted the unnamed police source as saying. "They are indeed Ouattara supporters."

“We did not damage anything, we just removed Gbagbo's portrait from the wall," said Marcel Youpeh, who represents the pro-Ouattara group RHDP in France.

“We no longer recognize those who were named by Gbagbo, they must go. What's more France no longer recognizes them either. Ivoirians have come to say they've had enough," Youpeh added.

The decision to recognize a new envoy in Paris came a day after French authorities confiscated an official plane belonging to Gbagbo at Basel airport.

France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler, along with the rest of the international community, have been calling on Gbagbo to step down as they see Ouattara as the rightful winner of last month's presidential polls in the West African country.

The Ivorian president, however, has so far shown reluctance to hand over power despite threats of military force against him.

Gbagbo turned the warnings around, saying that Ivory Coast could face another civil war should Western African countries attempt to overthrow him by force.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157448.html.