PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE

The international commission established to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in Côte d’Ivoire during street protests in March had betrayed the confidence of the Ivorian people and should be held accountable for its actions, that country’s Permanent Representative, Philippe Djangone-Bi, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

He said that, while Ivorian authorities were still awaiting the conclusions of the commission, which had been set up at the request of the Government to investigate the events of 25 and 26 March, the contents of its report had been leaked on 3 May to Radio France International (RFI) and other media outlets.  That had shed doubt on the commission’s impartiality and credibility.  Moreover, the hurried publication of the report on the Internet was clearly aimed at weakening Côte d’Ivoire’s President and could negatively affect the national reconciliation process.

The attitude of scorn on the part of some media agencies could no longer be accepted, he said, adding that when American or British soldiers committed criminal acts in Iraq, they never pointed to the White House or 10 Downing Street.  Such double standards would not be accepted, especially when those who had failed in their coup d’état were now trying to use the respectability of the United Nations to achieve their goals.  “We in Côte d’Ivoire are appalled at the way the commission of inquiry is treating this matter”, he said.

The leaking of the commission’s conclusions was not an accident, but a meticulously planned action, he continued.  In response, the Ivorian Government would file a protest and demand an inquiry into the matter, as well as sanctions against those responsible.  Côte d’Ivoire expected that another commission would be sent to Côte d’Ivoire soon to look into allegations of human rights violations that had started at the beginning of the war there on 19 September 2002.  A strong signal was needed from the international community as to its neutrality and balanced approach to a resolution of the conflict.  An inquiry into those alleged human rights violations, especially in the north and west, would reflect that fairness.

He said people had been locked up in houses and set on fire.  Pregnant women had been raped and their foetuses cut out with machetes.  Unarmed gendarmes had been massacred and tens of thousands of displaced people had been crammed into courtyards in the south.  That was a “cruel and stark reality” which had not moved some defenders of human rights, simply because the perpetrators were purported to be on the rebel side.  It seemed the international community had a selective approach to human rights violations, responding quickly to requests for an inquiry only when violations were supposedly committed by government forces.  Any final decision on the Ivoirian situation as a whole, and on the current report, should await the investigation of a new commission, he stated.

Reporting on other developments, he said that, while implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement had been slow, the President was doing his best and the Cabinet had adopted all but six reform bills.  Two of those, relating to the condition of eligibility and nationality reform, would go directly to referendum due to their importance and sensitivity.  Four others would be adopted upon the

return of those ministers who had withdrawn from the Cabinet.  Meanwhile, disarmament had not yet started and the country was still divided, with ex-rebel forces holding the north.  It was hoped that the Security Council’s last presidential statement on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire would be applied fairly and would encourage all the parties to move towards peace and reconciliation.

Asked which parts of the report were true and which false, the Permanent Representative replied that he had not seen it, adding that the Ivorian authorities should have received the report first.  Côte d’Ivoire was a MemberState of the United Nations and one had to wonder how it could be treated in such a way.

Responding to another question, he said the commission should have adopted a more balanced approach.  As soon as its members had arrived in Geneva, they had given their findings to the media, a clear indication that the leaks had been planned.  While the media undoubtedly had an editorial line, the United Nations had certain procedures.  The report must first be given to Côte d’Ivoire’s leaders.

He said the purpose of hurrying to put the report on the web had been to weaken the President, divide the people and create a sense of distance between the people, the Government and the security forces.  No one would point to the White House in such a way, he said, adding that Côte d’Ivoire was not a banana republic.

A correspondent, noting that President George W. Bush was at that moment giving television interviews to Arab networks because the White House had been implicated in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, asked Mr. Djangone-Bi his response to the fact that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had had to make serious statements about those allegations.

The Permanent Representative pointed out that Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair were in possession of all the dossiers.  As soon as the Ivorian authorities had the dossier in their hands, they would comment.  He would not discuss a document that had appeared on the Internet.  Côte d’Ivoire was a sovereign State, awaiting a copy of the document in French.  The two situations were not similar.

Asked the Ivorian Government's version of the March events, he said that according to national police, there had been 37 victims.  Two had been killed on 26 March and the rest on 25 March.  Two police officers had been shot and slashed with machetes.

Saying one community was systematically killing another would lead to retaliation, he warned, saying that was what had happened in Rwanda.  Moreover, the march resulting in the violence had been illegal.  The organizers had been begged not to march, but to meet in a stadium and they had refused.

Asked what kind of sanctions the Government thought would be appropriate, he said it was not his business to decide.  It was up to the United Nations to define the precise nature of any sanctions.  It seemed everyone had forgotten that the war in Côte d’Ivoire had started from outside.  A fair approach was needed in finding solutions to the country’s problems and credibility must be maintained at all times.  The Security Council must not be used indirectly by other forces.

To a question about whether he expected to meet with the Secretary-General, he replied that he had already requested a meeting and was awaiting a response.

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