Ban pledges to help AU solve Ivory Coast crisis at summit - Summary

Sun, 30 Jan 2011

Addis Ababa - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pledged to help the African Union resolve Ivory Coast's political crisis as leaders from the 53-nation bloc gathered in Addis Ababa amid the equally pressing troubles facing Egypt and Tunisia.

Ivory Coast - along with the looming splitting up of Sudan - was high on the official agenda of the two-day meeting, although the crises in Tunisia and Egypt also cast their shadow over proceedings.

November's presidential election in Ivory Coast provoked a violent crisis in which over 270 people have died, according to the UN, with both incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his internationally-recognized rival Alassane Ouattara laying claim to the presidency.

The AU has agreed to set up a panel comprising five heads of states to deliver "legally binding conclusions" on the West African nation within a month - a further step away from earlier threats from African leaders to use force to oust Gbagbo.

Ban, in comments made during a closed-door meeting in Addis Ababa late Saturday, promised to provide a senior official to work with the panel.

"We must preserve our unified position, act together, and stand firm against Mr Gbagbo's attempt to hang on to power through the use of force," Ban said.

AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said that military action threatened early on in by West African bloc ECOWAS was not on the table at the moment.

"ECOWAS has never said that the military option is for tomorrow," he said. "They have always said it would be the final resort."

Violent protests in Tunisia that ended the reign of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and a similar uprising in Egypt aimed at removing President Hosny Mubarak were not on the official agenda.

But Ban still touched on the issues, particularly Egypt - where dozens are believed to have died in clashes between protesters and security forces over the last few days.

"With respect to Egypt, I once again make a call for restraint, non-violence, and respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights," he said in a speech to the summit.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, addressing African leaders, said France "stands in all friendship and respect alongside the Tunisians and the Egyptians at this crucial moment."

"Violence, from whichever source, is never a solution, because violence only breeds more violence," he said.

African leaders were more cagey on the subject, with AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping only prepared to say the AU was observing the "worrying" situation in Egypt.

Equatorial Guinea's strongman leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema was named the new chairman of the AU, taking over from Malawi's president, Bingu wa Mutharika at the summit in a move sure to enrage human rights' campaigners.

Obiang seized control of the central African nation from his uncle in a 1979 coup and has long faced criticism for his authoritarian rule. He has also been accused of siphoning off funds from the oil- rich country.

The AU is also expected to deliver backing for Kenya's efforts to defer for one year an International Criminal Court probe into top politicians accused of bearing the most responsibility for post-election violence that claimed over 1,300 lives following disputed presidential elections in December 2007.

Foreign ministers have already backed Kenya's stance, and the heads of state are expected to rubber-stamp this decision as the summit wraps up on Monday.

Ping told journalists Africa was not opposed to the criminal court, but accused Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of targeting only Africans for prosecution and ignoring crimes committed in elsewhere.

"We are against Ocampo, who is rendering justice with double standards," he said.

The future of Sudan, where on Sunday preliminary results from the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission revealed almost 99 per cent voters chose to split from the north in a January referendum, is expected to be discussed at a special meeting Monday.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and southern Sudan president Salva Kiir are expected to attend the meeting.