The African Union high-level panel tasked with finding a peaceful way out of the political stalemate in Cote d’Ivoire has summoned Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo to attend the African Union’s Peace and Security Council meeting slated for Thursday, March 10, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ivory Coast’s internationally-recognized President Alassane Ouattara said he agreed to participate in this panel meeting.

"Of course, I have accepted this invitation. And all the arrangements will be made so that I can go there," he said, after an audience he has granted to the AU’s envoy in Hotel du Golf where he has been staying with members of his government for four months now.

On their side, Gbagbo backers, who now describe the African Union as a “puppet of the international community, especially France”, paint the AU invitation as a trick against Gbagbo.

Gbagbo is not likely to attend the AU meeting. Yesterday, a delegation headed by Mr. Alcide Djedje, Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs in the Gbagbo administration, flew to Addis, to represent Ivory Coast’s strongman.

“Gbagbo would be exposed to potential threats in case he agreed to attend the AU meeting” warned Kohon Franck, a fervent Gbagbo supporter in Yopougon. “[…] even sending a delegation to Addis is too risky. This delegation will be humiliated there,” Franck added.

Since the announcement of the AU meeting, Gbagbo closest allies and Pro-Gbagbo dailies have been drawing parallel between what happened to people such as John Garang and Dag Hammarskjold, who mysteriously died in air crashes as they were en route to attend political mediations of the African Union.

“If Gbagbo dares leave the Country, he will be assassinated. His plane will be shot down,” said Konaté Navigué, the Secretary General of the Youth wing of Gbagbo’s political party during a youth rally in Yopougon, a pro-Gbagbo district in Abidjan.

Le Nouveau Courrier, a daily supportive of Gbagbo alleged that France and President Ouattara’s supporters are plotting to exploit the absence of Mr. Gbagbo in Cote d’Ivoire to foment a coup to oust him. Therefore, it is out of question for Mr. Laurent Gbagbo to take the risk by leaving the country at the moment and get caught in the trap.

Le Temps, a pro-Gbagbo daily carries a similar message, adding that a hidden plan is on the agenda of the meeting in Ethiopia. The paper alleged that western countries, intend to take advantage of the absence of the Mr. Laurent Gbagbo to trigger violence throughout the country and consequently force Mr. Laurent Gbagbo into exile.

“In September 2002, when Gbagbo was visiting the pope in Rome, rebels attacked the capital, prompting the civil war that split the country into two parts.

Gbagbo was right to decline the invitation. If he leaves the country, the same thing might happen,” said a high-level adviser to Gbagbo who requested anonymity.

In the Ouattara camp, people feel serene. “The African Union has already given its verdict on the power struggle between President Ouattara and his rival Mr. Laurent Gbagbo and has endorsed the victory of President Alassane Ouattara,” said Achi Patrick, the spokesman of the Ouattara government.

For its part, Le Nouveau Réveil, a daily closed to the RHDP, the coalition supporting Ouattara underscored that the AU meeting in Addis Ababa is the very last chance for Gbagbo to hand over power peacefully to “the legitimate winner of the presidential poll, Alassane Ouattara”.

The recriminations of the Gbagbo camp against the invitation of the African Union are blatant signs that the Gbagbo camp no longer expects anything from the panel.

On the social front, the upsurge of violence in the West and the ransacking of Ouattara’s Ministers’ homes largely contribute to the escalation of violence in the country.