Ivory Coast: Peacekeeping Chief Defends UN Role In Gbagbo Ouster

The head of the UN’s peacekeeping operations says the world body had “no other option” when it intervened in Ivory Coast this week, even if that move paved the way for the arrest of hold out president Laurent Gbagbo by his opponent Alassane Ouattara’s forces.

 Alain Le Roy told reporters at a news conference UN actions were within the framework of the Security Council resolution allowing UNOCI to take “all necessary means” to prevent the use of heavy weapons against civilians.

 Less than a week after Laurent Gbagbo’s arrest, the UN continues to draw criticism from those who say it went beyond its mandate and effectively took sides in a civil war.

 The United Nations and France have repeatedly tried to distance themselves from Gbagbo’s arrest, insisting all week that Ouattara’s forces had carried out the final raid on the former President’s compound without outside help.

Le Roy did however concede that UN and French intervention to protect civilians from heavy weapons set the stage for Gbagbo’s ousting.

 “ I agree, it is clear that the forces loyal to President Ouattara took advantage of that, and attacked the residence.” said Le Roy “Our intention was not any kind of regime change, that is not our mandate. Our mandate is to target heavy weapons when they are used, they were used every day of that week. So we had no option but to do it.

Le Roy said Gbagbo should have known UN retaliation against heavy artillery could give Ouattara’s forces an important advantage.

 “The fact that the forces loyal to Ouattara took advantage of it, there nothing we can do about it.” said Le Roy.“If Ouattara had heavy weapons targeting us or targeting the civilian population, we would have done the same.”

 The new Ouattara government may have trouble moving to its goal of national reconciliation if domestic opinion perceives it is in power thanks to outside intervention by the UN and especially by France, the former colonial power in the country.

 The Ouattara government’s prosecution of Laurent Gbagbo will also likely be a key aspect of the reconciliation process. 

 Although many of Gbagbo’s supporters defected to the Ouattara camp in the past few weeks, the former President still has a considerable support through out the country.

 Le Roy said President Ouattara’s forces were guarding Gbagbo and his family inside an apartment at the Golf Hotel and that UN officers were also positioned outside to ensure his safety.

 The UN peacekeeping chief confirmed that Mr. Gbagbo’s wife and son Michel were physically abused when first taken into custody, but UN officials had since received assurances from the Ouattara camp that they would be treated “in a correct manner”. 

 One of Gbagbo’s minister’s, Desire Tagro , died under mysterious circumstances hours after he was taken into custody by Ouattara supporters. Le Roy said UNOCI officials transported the former interior minister to a local hospital for emergency medical treatment on a gun shot wound to the jaw, but were unable to prevent his death. 

 Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies have voiced serious concern over the plight of the population displaced by armed clashes. More than 800 000 people have fled their homes since the start of the fighting, over 120 000 of whom have crossed into neighboring Liberia.

Yesterday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) appealed for 160 million dollars to address humanitarian needs over the next nine months. OCHA says aid agencies have been able to reach affected areas in the west of the country, but security concerns were preventing greater humanitarian access to Abijan, were a large portion of the population is without water, food and electricity. 

 The UN says its troops are actively patrolling the city and that calm is slowly returning to the country’s economic capital, with ports and banks scheduled to re-open sometime next week.