SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS USE OF ARMED FORCE IN COTE D"IVOIRE, CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RETURN TO CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

Press Release
SG/SM/7270
AFR/198

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS USE OF ARMED FORCE IN COTE D’IVOIRE, CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RETURN TO CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is dismayed at the reports from Abidjan of attempts at a coup d’etat in Côte d’Ivoire.

He condemns the use of armed force to subvert the country’s legal institutions and calls for an immediate return to the constitutional order in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Secretary-General reiterates that the use of violence to disrupt a country’s political process is unacceptable at a time when there is a universal trend towards establishing or strengthening the democratic system in all countries. This should be realized by those leading the coup.

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