LOC11:25
08:25 GMT
PARIS, Dec 9 (KUNA) -- French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said
Thursday that Alasanne Ouattara was the legitimate president of the Ivory
Coast "in the eyes of all the international community."
Speaking on "France Inter" radio, the minister pointed out that Ouattara
was not just supported by France but he was also the president "in the eyes of
the United Nations since yesterday, and before that in the eyes of ECOWAS (the
Economic Community of West African States), the African Union and Europe."
The UN Security Council on Wednesday backed Ouattaras election despite a
decision by the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council which backed his opponent,
Laurent Gbagbo.
She remarked that incumbent Ivory Coast president Gbagbo, who is refusing
to accept defeat at the hands of Ouattara, had no legitimacy anymore.
"Indeed, things are clear. It has been said by everyone," Alliot-Marie
remarked about the election result.
Both Ouattara and Gbagbo have appointed Prime Ministers to form new
governments, leading to gridlock and a dangerous stand-off in Ivory Coast that
has already experienced a bloody civil war and has a tense balance between
ethnic groups in the north and south of the country.
Alliot-Marie recalled that Ivory Coast has a long democratic tradition and
was even a model for Africa along with Senegal.
"What we need today is that the results of the will of the people of Ivory
Coast, expressed in a vote that was controlled by the United Nations, be
respected," the French foreign minister affirmed.
She said that the transition "must take place gently and there must be no
violence."
She also warned that "there are a certain number of procedures that could
be put in place at the international level if the transition is not carried
out" by Gbagbo.
The minister also remarked that this was not a problem just for France, but
it was also being followed closely at European and international level.
France has close economic ties with Ivory Coast and is the major foreign
investor in that country. There are also 15,000 French nationals living and
working in Ivory Coast.
"We do not ignore the presence of our compatriots in Ivory Coast. Their
safety is a major concern. Today, their security is not threatened," she
indicated, although she noted that special recommendations had been given to
French residents in Ivory Coast during the electoral period there. (end)
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