Odinga cuts short Abidjan mission

Mediator Raila Odinga will end his Ivory Coast trip ahead of schedule after failing to make a breakthrough in efforts to resolve Abidjan’s power struggle.

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Abidjan - The African Union's mediator for Ivory Coast will cut short a trip to the country, his spokesperson said on Tuesday, after failing to make a breakthrough in efforts to resolve the country's power struggle.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrived for talks on Monday and had been initially expected to stay for some days as part of efforts to persuade Laurent Gbagbo to step aside as president after an election his rival Alassane Ouattara is widely recognised to have won.

“No, he's not given up on this process,” Odinga's spokesperson Salim Lone told Reuters by telephone. “He's leaving tomorrow morning, then going to Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa to push for the AU leaders to respect the AU position (that Gbagbo must step down)”.

Lone, who earlier said Odinga believed he was making progress, did not give a reason for the curtailed visit, the latest in a series of failed efforts to force Gbagbo out.

Ouattara is recognised by Western and African governments as president-elect, after the electoral commission proclaimed him winner of the November 28 presidential poll and the results were certified by the United Nations mission.

However, Gbagbo has refused to step down and he retains control of government buildings, state television and the security forces, while Ouattara's parallel administration is based in a UN-guarded hotel under siege by pro-Gbagbo forces.

Gbagbo has said he is ready for talks but Ouattara says they are only possible once Gbagbo has stepped down.

Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, called for a “dead nation” - a general strike starting on Tuesday, after two previous strike calls went unheeded. Traffic was only slightly lighter on Abidjan's palm-lined roads and many shops were open.

The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Gbagbo and his inner circle, while efforts continue to squeeze his access to funds.

The latest measure saw EU-registered vessels at the weekend barred from new financial dealings with Ivorian ports but cocoa exporters said business was continuing as normal on Monday.

“We had a meeting with the major shippers and all they are saying is that they are awaiting instructions from Europe but, in the meantime, nothing has changed,” said one exporter, who asked not to be named.

Cocoa output from the world's biggest producer is higher than last year despite the crisis, exporters have said.

Ivory Coast missed a payment on its $2.3-billion bond at the end of December, but has until February 1 before it goes into default. - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/odinga-cuts-short-abidjan-mission-1.1013802

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