Côte d'Ivoire: a report of ICG condemns the criminalization of the Ivorian army

Côte d'Ivoire: a report of ICG condemns the criminalization of the Ivorian army

19/12/2011 at 15h: By André Silver Konan 41
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The IGC points to the activities of the commander Issiaka Ouattara. The IGC points to the activities of the commander Issiaka Ouattara. © SIPA

The latest report of International Crisis Group (ICG) is somewhat overwhelming for the Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI). The international NGO denounces criminalization of the army and calls on President Alassane Ouattara to assert its leadership on the issue of security in Côte d'Ivoire.

Racketeering, trafficking in stolen cars towards the neighboring countries of Cote d'Ivoire, indiscipline, criminalization, mafia. Almost all the ills spend. In this report released in Dakar and Brussels, Friday, December 16, entitled "Ivory Coast: Continue convalescence," ICG calls Alassane Ouattara to take its responsibilities to slippages FRCI. "The President of the Republic, the report recommends, should play a more active role in resolving public safety issues.

It will particularly apply to all combatants civilians who fought to uphold their legitimate right to his current role. " ICG fears that the army reform promised by the Head of State is "wrong" because of the excessive involvement of Guillaume Soro, Prime Minister and patron of the former Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN, former rebel) described as "judge and jury."

Former authoritarian comzones

For ICG, the evils that undermine FRCI require urgent responses. And one of these evils is the discipline related to the overwhelming authority of the former comzones (FAFN zone commanders). "The military hierarchy is not always respected in a security apparatus which is traversed by several chains of command, the report said. The men from the FN keep the upper hand over the items from the old regular forces. The military leaders of the rebellion, some of which were raised to high rank, have kept their men around them the most loyal and most experienced. These have not been allocated to other units of FRCI and are autonomous entities that elude traditional hierarchy. " Consequences, including: "Men who are attached to the service of the former zone commanders often refuse to acknowledge or obey the orders of senior officers, who belonged to the SDS (Defence Forces and security, Ed) before the post-election crisis ".

The 21-page report points to an area commander particular Issiaka Ouattara, alias Watao. "A lot fewer, other elements of the FRCI engage in criminal activities on a larger scale, in a more structurally controlled by former military leaders of the FN trying to perpetuate the system that Mafia made their fortunes in zone CNO (Centre-Northwest former besieged areas, Ed). Issiaka Ouattara, alias Wattao, and his men are considered the main responsible for this robbery. " The NGO is however clear that the former "comzone" promoted to deputy commander of the Republican Guard by Ouattara, "rejects these accusations."

Criminalization of the army

Other former "comzones" not specifically named are pinned by the report. Indeed, ICG revealed that "tens of millions of francs CFA that some former" comzones "continue to win monthly enabling them to maintain personal and militias to resist the pressure from the government so that they fall into line. Thus in the economic capital, foreign companies are subject to extortion by elements claiming to FRCI. Individuals are obliged to pay to protect their stores or their homes. This racket is often done with a political alibi: the authors highlight the membership of their victim to the camp of Laurent Gbagbo to justify their actions. "

In general, the report criticizes the criminalization of the Ivorian army, or what amounts to the Ivorian army. "A mass of armed men still revolves around the FRCI without anyone knowing if they are part or not, says ICG. The integration of members of the FN 9000, under the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA), has not yet taken place, and it is very difficult to know who among them is whether the new army . There is also a great unknown: the number and identity of "voluntary" and other civilian fighters "involved in the conflict" who joined the FRCI during or just after the offensive of March and April 2011. Their number is still very unclear.

Always armed, they are central to the problem of criminalization of the security forces or elements that are related. A large majority of these volunteers received no pay and engaged in a crime of survival. " A crime including trafficking so that "car thefts are still many in Abidjan. Some of these flights on international routes supplies of luxury cars which has the main relay the city of Bouake and then passes through Mali and Burkina Faso. "

ICG concluded that "the Ivorian authorities would be wrong to think that the long political and military crisis is now over. Without translation into action of significant messages of reconciliation, without political opposition represented in the institutions without a court worthy of the name and security apparatus in the service of all citizens, the same causes produce the same effects in the long term. "

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Fraud in the parliamentary elections: UNOCI confirmed cases of falsification of minutes

This time, it's official. The scenario of the 2010 presidential recovering from an international conspiracy hatched against President Gbagbo. And with that, there is no room for controversy. UNOCI and "post-Choi" implicitly admits, saying yesterday by the voice of Hamadoun Toure, in related to the parliamentary     , "it does 

not confuse the course calmly, without clashes with other practices and incidents that were reported during the course but also after the election. Yet in the presidential election of 2010, more serious incidents (rape, violence, fraud and listing PV, unable to vote ...) have taken place without this annoyance at all the former head of the UNOCI has minimized that. 

To return to the topic of the day, during the traditional weekly press briefing of UNOCI spokesman Hamadoun Touré noted that there were indeed cases of fraud and abuse as reported by the press. "It has been reported cases of fraud, forgery cases, cases of intimidation and even theft of ballot boxes. We take very seriously these incidents are reported to us and we look, when I speak, as you go. So we take them seriously to summarize my thoughts. We take very seriously and we are also seeking the support of the applicants so that we can, we also know what was discussed during the legislative elections. So do not confuse the course calmly, without clashes with other practices and incidents that were reported during the course but also after the election, "said the spokesman of UNOCI. Of these cases, UNOCI will take all this time his responsibilities during the certification by Bert Koenders. 

"After the Constitutional Council, it was the turn of UNOCI to rule, would depend on the certification decision, a decision, beyond the comments," warned Hamadoun Touré. Question: UNOCI will she make a certification that incriminates the RDR of Alassane Ouattara, while the Western allies have already welcomed this "democratization" Ouattara version?

Frank Toti

Worldwide cocoa shortage to send chocolate prices soaring

 



Make the most of your chocolate treats this Christmas and start stock-pilling those Celebrations tins, they may not be around for much longer as experts predict that a cocoa crisis is imminent.

We will have a million-ton cocoa shortage within eight years, forcing the price of chocolate to rise significantly.
Industry insiders say the growing demand for chocolate in areas where it wasn’t previously popular means cocoa farmers need an area the size of the Ivory Coast to produce more cocoa.
Angus Kennedy, a leading British chocolatier, told The Express: “Part of the problem is the growing demand for chocolate in Asia where countries such as China are turning more towards Western tastes.”
If they do not receive more help to boost cocoa bean crops, prices will push chocolate into a delicacy price bracket and we will be forced to find less appealing chocolate substitutes in the market that “don’t melt in your mouth” says Kennedy.

[See also: Can you identify these famous chocolate bars?]

This could make the price of chocolate leap as manufacturers will be forced to increase the use of nuts and other fillings to add bulk to their bars.
The topic of the looming cocoa shortage was a major issue at a recent confectionery conference, Confection Expo, in November.
Kennedy points out that the demand is not the only reason for the potential chocolate crisis but because of the lack of knowledge of how to produce the best yield of cocoa beans and look after them.
“Our ability to produce more cocoa is extremely limited at the moment and that’s because the farming practices are still archaic.”
But how will this affect the chocolate you buy on the high street?
It’s more likely that the chocolate favourites from Mars, Cadbury and Nestle will suffer. Last year London chocolatier Marc Demarquette warned: “Galaxy, Creme Eggs, every kind of £1 chocolate bar will be a thing of the past.” 
While John Mason, founder of the Ghana-based Nature Conservation Research Council, forecast something much worse: “In 20 years chocolate will be like caviar. It will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won’t be able to afford it.”

 By Bianca Ffolkes