Ouattara says reconciliation top priority

Sept. 23, 2011

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The Ivorian people must pursue a path of reconciliation as they struggle to emerge from a near civil war, the country's president told the United Nations.

Thousands were killed and many more were displaced following protracted political conflict in Ivory Coast.

Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after the international community recognized rival Alassane Ouattara as the winner of a November election. The conflict that followed pushed the West African nation to the brink of civil war.

Ouattara told the U.N. General Assembly that peace in his country depended on transparent justice, economic growth and sustained stability.

Reconciliation in his country, he said, was a national priority.

"Living together is the cornerstone of my government's program," he said.

Human Rights Watch blamed supporters of Gbagbo, arrested in April, for last week's attacks on Ivorian villages near the Liberian border. Daniel Bekele, African director at the group, said the armed groups appeared to be bent on making a situation exacerbated by the post-election crisis worse for the Ivorian people.

Ouattara said, with the support of the United Nations, his country aimed to hold parliamentary elections before the end of the year. That, he said, would lead to an Ivory Coast "reconciled with itself and other nations."

Ouattara had asked the International Criminal Court to examine post-election violence. Rights groups, however, blame both sides for committing atrocities during the political conflict.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/23/Ouattara-says-reconciliation-top-priority/UPI-22651316792221/.