I Coast on brink of genocide – UN ambassador

  1. Posted on Thursday 30 December 2010 - 07:34
    guyson
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    Nangayi Guyson, AfricaNews reporter in Kampala, Uganda Photo: Selay Kouassi
    The new Ivory Coast ambassador to the United Nations Youssoufou Bamba has warned the country is "on the brink of genocide". Embattled president Laurent Gbagbo has locked horns with world acclaimed leader Alassane Ouattara leading to intense tension in the cocoa-rich West African state.
    Deserted Street in Abidjan_Photo Selay Kouassi
    In a TV interview, Bamba said there had been large scale violation of human rights as a result of the ongoing political unrest.

    The UN formally welcomed Bamba, who was appointed by Ouattara, at the UN's New York headquarters on Wednesday, solidifying UN support for Ouattara.

    At a press conference, Bamba said Ouattara had been elected in a "free, fair, transparent, democratic election".

    "To me the debate is over, now you are talking about how and when Mr Gbagbo will leave office," he said.

    Bamba said Ouattara's main concern now was the "massive violation of human rights" in the past few weeks. He said 172 people had been killed "only because they want to demonstrate, they want to speak out, they want to defend the will of the people".

    "We think it's unacceptable. Thus, one of the messages I try to get across during the conversations I have conducted so far, is [that] we are on the brink of genocide."

    Bamba said some houses had been marked according to the residents' tribal background, and that he was concerned about what could happen next.
    "Something should be done," he said.

    "We expect the United Nations to be credible and the United Nations to prevent violation and to prevent the election to be stolen from the people," he said.

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