Ivory Coast premier must be left free to lead -UN
Source: Reuters
By Irwin Arieff UNITED NATIONS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny must be able to freely exercise his powers without hindrance, the U.N. Security Council said on Thursday in an apparent swipe at President Laurent Gbagbo. A statement approved unanimously by the 15-nation council urged all parties in the volatile West African nation to cooperate fully with Banny in implementing all provisions of a peace plan put in place after a 2002-2003 civil war. The world's top cocoa grower has been divided into a government-controlled south and rebel-held north since the war, which erupted after New Forces rebels tried to oust Gbagbo. Political squabbling has since dogged a string of peace deals seeking reunification through elections. Gbagbo proposed in a televised address on Tuesday to negotiate directly with the rebels in a move diplomats said undermined the internationally-backed peace efforts, which he says have so far produced nothing but deadlock. The council in November adopted a resolution shifting power from Gbagbo to Banny to guide the country to long-delayed elections within a year. The resolution demanded a presidential election by the end of October 2007 after two previous deadlines were missed. Thursday's council statement expressed its "grave concern" at delays in implementing the peace plan and insisted the parties stick to the timeline set out in that plan. The plan specifically put Banny in charge of organizing the election and overseeing a disarmament program. But Gbagbo has clashed publicly with him, saying priority should now go to implementing home-grown peace plans. The council statement, while it did not mention Gbagbo by name, said the U.N. body "reaffirms that the prime minister must exercise his powers without hindrance, including his authority over the defense and security forces ... and calls upon all Ivorian parties to support his efforts."
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