The Ivory Coast is in a state of crisis. Lately, the story of this former French possession and once the wealthiest and most industrialized nation in West Africa seems to be slipping under the radar. Understandably, this is more than likely due to the current situation in northern Africa, Libya in particular.After all, Qadaffi is much more recognizable name than Gbagbo. Laurent Gbagbo is the man behind the turmoil in the nation once considered the jewel of West Africa, an area of the world that has far too often been characterized by violence and depravity.
Back in October, the Ivory Coast held presidential elections, with Gbagbo the incumbent, running against Alassane Ouattara, a techocrat who, along with serving as Prime Minister back in the 90s, also once worked for the IMF. Ouattara won the election. His victory was internationally recognized by pretty much anyone you could think of, the United Nations, the African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union and the United States. All declared that Ouattara had been the victor in a free and fair election. Well, Mr. Gbagbo didn't seem to think so, and has since refused to step down.
Now the country appears to come to a stand-off. Gbagbo currently controls the security apparatus of the country, possibly the one thing that is allowing him to remain in place. Indeed, Ouattara remains is essentially under house-arrest in a hotel in Abidjan, the country's largest city and economic center. However, Gbago government faces international sanctions, something that, in the long run, may prevent him from being able to pay his armed forces and security personnel.
In the meantime, however, the country, and most importantly Abidjan, are suffering. This International Herald Tribune article gives a good look into the effect Gbagbo's actions are having:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/africa/02ivorycoast.html?ref=africa
The heading for this blog post comes from something in the article that caught my eye. The article states that Gbagbo is demonizing the whites that live in his country, causing many to leave. This is far too similar to what has happened in Zimbabwe. There, strongman and I-am-here-until-I-die president Robert Mugabe pulled the same trick, blaming the country's whites for the nation's ills, and launched a campaign to take land owned by white farmers. Consequently, large numbers of whites left the country, and the country's economy went with them. White-owned farms were responsible for much of the country's agricultural output and were a source of employment. Zimbabwe was once known as the bread basket of southern-Africa, now it is just a basket case. It is sad to see the same thing taking place it what was once a bright-spot in a very troubled part of the world. Factories in Abdijan owned by whites are closing down, leading to losses of large numbers of jobs.
I do not know if whites in Ivory Coast have as much economic power as they did in Zimbabwe, so perhaps the effect won't be as great. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, something that helped it become an economic powerhouse, that is until civil war struck in 2003. If cocoa production and export is hurt by Gbagbo's antics, then things will be much much worse.
I had a lot of hope for this country leading up to the October elections. It is not often you hear good things coming from West Africa, and I was hoping the country could return to the days prior to the civil war, and Abidjan could once again be the "Paris of Africa". That seems like it will have to wait some time now.
Back in October, the Ivory Coast held presidential elections, with Gbagbo the incumbent, running against Alassane Ouattara, a techocrat who, along with serving as Prime Minister back in the 90s, also once worked for the IMF. Ouattara won the election. His victory was internationally recognized by pretty much anyone you could think of, the United Nations, the African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union and the United States. All declared that Ouattara had been the victor in a free and fair election. Well, Mr. Gbagbo didn't seem to think so, and has since refused to step down.
Now the country appears to come to a stand-off. Gbagbo currently controls the security apparatus of the country, possibly the one thing that is allowing him to remain in place. Indeed, Ouattara remains is essentially under house-arrest in a hotel in Abidjan, the country's largest city and economic center. However, Gbago government faces international sanctions, something that, in the long run, may prevent him from being able to pay his armed forces and security personnel.
In the meantime, however, the country, and most importantly Abidjan, are suffering. This International Herald Tribune article gives a good look into the effect Gbagbo's actions are having:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/africa/02ivorycoast.html?ref=africa
The heading for this blog post comes from something in the article that caught my eye. The article states that Gbagbo is demonizing the whites that live in his country, causing many to leave. This is far too similar to what has happened in Zimbabwe. There, strongman and I-am-here-until-I-die president Robert Mugabe pulled the same trick, blaming the country's whites for the nation's ills, and launched a campaign to take land owned by white farmers. Consequently, large numbers of whites left the country, and the country's economy went with them. White-owned farms were responsible for much of the country's agricultural output and were a source of employment. Zimbabwe was once known as the bread basket of southern-Africa, now it is just a basket case. It is sad to see the same thing taking place it what was once a bright-spot in a very troubled part of the world. Factories in Abdijan owned by whites are closing down, leading to losses of large numbers of jobs.
I do not know if whites in Ivory Coast have as much economic power as they did in Zimbabwe, so perhaps the effect won't be as great. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, something that helped it become an economic powerhouse, that is until civil war struck in 2003. If cocoa production and export is hurt by Gbagbo's antics, then things will be much much worse.
I had a lot of hope for this country leading up to the October elections. It is not often you hear good things coming from West Africa, and I was hoping the country could return to the days prior to the civil war, and Abidjan could once again be the "Paris of Africa". That seems like it will have to wait some time now.
No comments:
Post a Comment