Fund for Peace Calls for Urgent Steps to be Taken By International Community to Avert Mass Violence in Cote d'Ivoire 2/18/2003
From: Krista Hendry of the Fund for Peace, 202-223-7940, ext.234 or 571-212-7676 (cell); E-mail: khendry@fundforpeace.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- The Fund for Peace (FfP) calls for urgent steps to be taken by the international community to avert mass violence in Cote d'Ivoire. Thousands have been killed over the past five months and an estimated 1 million people have fled their homes. Without intervention, atrocities could rival those of Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The FfP recommends the following steps: -- Insist on the removal of all foreign forces. -- Re-negotiate the terms of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Agreement hammered out under French auspices in January. If progress is not made at the upcoming Franco-African summit this week, peace talks are likely to collapse entirely. -- Support Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) taking the lead as peace-keepers. ECOWAS should also act as diplomatic intermediaries to negotiate a new ceasefire and political settlement if no progress is made at the Franco-African summit. . The situation has degenerated rapidly since a September 19 mutiny, which mushroomed into a rebellion that has taken over more than half the country. Cote d'Ivoire has death squads, youth militias, hate radio, well-armed vigilantes, hired mercenaries, Liberian and other external troops, splintering rebel forces, deepening ethnic tensions and government security forces that are out of control. Foreigners are either fleeing or in imminent danger from xenophobic hostility being whipped up by all forces. Mass graves have been found containing hundreds of bodies. "Cote d'Ivoire is imploding violently," said Dr. Pauline H. Baker, President of the FfP, "and international intervention is the only way to avert a major catastrophe. This is the worse time for the international community to be asked to respond, but another genocide is possible and we cannot allow that to take place. The country is on the brink of full-scale collapse," she warned. Participants from fifteen African countries attending an FfP conference last year urged sub-regional organizations, such as ECOWAS, to take the lead in situations of this type. An FfP study of the country's risk of violent collapse concluded that Cote d'Ivoire was unraveling quickly from internal causes that were not adequately addressed. This alert is being issued in advance of the report's completion because of the critical nature of the crisis. ------ The Fund For Peace is a Washington-based NGO whose mission is to prevent war and alleviate the conditions that cause war. It promotes education and research for practical solutions and is a consistent advocate of promoting social justice and respect for the principles of constitutional democracy. For more information, please visit: www.fundforpeace.org. The report from the African conference can be found at http://www.fundforpeace.org/publications/reports/ffpr-africa(unde r)conference_report.pdf. A summary of the in-depth study of Cote d'Ivoire, with an assessment of specific indicators of conflict, will also soon be available on the Web site. Pauline H. Baker has been the President of The Fund for Peace since 1996. Dr. Baker is an expert in foreign policy, conflict prevention and management, ethnic conflict, peace building, and Africa. Her complete bio can be found at http://www.fundforpeace.org/thefund/president.php. |