09 de diciembre de 2010 • 13:50
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Los ministros de Exteriores de la Unión Europea tratarán el próximo lunes la situación en Costa de Marfil, aunque no aprobarán de momento sanciones contra ese país, se anunció hoy. "Discutiremos la cuestión en la reunión de ministros de Exteriores" comunitarios del lunes, dijo la responsable de Política Exterior de la UE, Catherine Ashton, al término de un Consejo de Ministros de Desarrollo. Ashton añadió que está siguiendo estrechamente la evolución de la crisis política en el país africano y que está en contacto con el secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki-moon. Sin embargo, por ahora es "demasiado pronto" para tratar posibles sanciones, según dijo la portavoz de Ashton, Maja Kocijancic, aunque recordó que la UE puede emplear este tipo de medidas.
El pasado lunes, otra portavoz comunitaria dijo que Ashton está dispuesta a imponer sanciones contra Costa de Marfil "si no hay resolución rápida a la crisis política" de ese país tras las recientes elecciones presidenciales. El Consejo de Paz y Seguridad de la Unión Africana (UA) decidió hoy suspender como miembro de la organización a Costa de Marfil hasta que el presidente electo del país, Alassane Ouatara, pueda asumir efectivamente su cargo. Con esta decisión, la UA se une a las resoluciones adoptadas en días pasados por el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas y la Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Occidental (CEDEAO), que sugirieron medidas personalizadas contra Laurent Gbagbo, quien fue derrotado en las elecciones pero se niega a entregar el poder
viernes, 10 de diciembre de 2010
Las carreteras de Costa de Marfil, primeras víctimas de una década de crisis
10 de diciembre de 2010 • 06:10
Comentarios
El primer presidente de Costa de Marfil, Félix Hufué Buañí, fallecido en 1993, dejó el país en una situación estable y próspera, con las mejores carreteras de África Occidental, unos logros arruinados por una década larga de guerra civil y crisis política aun sin resolver. Aprovechando los importantes ingresos generados en los años sesenta por las exportaciones de cacao y café, Hufué Buañí construyó una excelente red de carreteras para posibilitar una circulación fluida de personas y bienes, tanto en el interior del país como entre Costa de Marfil y los países vecinos.
Después de más de una década de problemas políticos y abandono de las infraestructuras, buena parte de las calzadas se encuentran destrozadas, lo que lleva a que los viajes por carretera sean un auténtico martirio para los transportistas y viajeros. Los 350 kilómetros que separan la frontera entre Burkina Faso y Bouaké, la segunda ciudad de Costa de Marfil, se recorrían antaño en cuatro horas, pero hoy los enormes agujeros que plagan las carreteras obligan a los conductores a circular a velocidad de tortuga para no romper los amortiguadores. El recorrido de casi 200 kilómetros entre la localidad de Uangolodugu y Katiola es un verdadero quebradero de cabeza para los conductores, sobre todos para los camioneros que van del puerto de Abiyán hacia Mali y Burkina Faso.
Pero el mal estado de las carreteras no es la única dificultad con la que se encuentran los conductores y viajeros, pues también hay interminables puntos de control de seguridad de los milicianos de las Fuerzas Nuevas, que controlan la zona. Los vehículos tienen la obligación de detenerse en los distintos puntos de control, unos veinte entre la frontera con Burkina Faso y Bouaké, mientras que la duración de la parada depende del humor de los milicianos o de la "propina" que reciban de los conductores.
En ocasiones, los efectivos de las Fuerzas Nuevas retienen a los vehículos en los puntos de control durante más de una hora, lo que afecta especialmente a los camioneros. "Nosotros estamos acostumbrados y lo tomamos con calma", dijo a Efe Mousa Diarra, cuyo camión con carga de pesticidas tuvo que permanecer una semana en el puerto de Abiyán a causa del actual conflicto postelectoral, en el que el país se ve amenazado por al reanudación de la guerra civil, con dos presidentes y dos gobiernos. Con su camión ahora atrapado en una larga cola en la localidad de Katiola, ubicada a 55 kilómetros de Bouaké, Diarra, que recorre esa ruta desde hace más veinte años, no presenta el menor signo de impaciencia.
Diarra admite, sin embargo, que este conflicto justifica el refuerzo de medidas de seguridad y afirma que su deseo es que el país, antes considerado la locomotora económica de África Occidental, llegue a la paz lo antes posible para que las carreteras vuelvan a ser lo que eran. Los años de crisis vividos en la última década han frenado el desarrollo económico y social del país, especialmente en el centro y en el norte, bajo control de los ex rebeldes de las Fuerzas Nuevas, cuyo líder, Guillaume Soro, ha sido primer ministro del Gobierno de unidad tras la firma de la paz en 2007. "Todo está parado por aquí a causa de los conflictos. No se ha realizado desde el inicio de la crisis (hace más de una década) ningún proyecto importante en la zona", comentó a Efe Adama Bakaoyoko, corresponsal de una agencia de internacional de noticias en Bouaké.
Un clima de total tranquilidad reina en esta ciudad, la capital de las Fuerzas Nuevas de Soro durante la guerra, de 2002 a 2007, que aún sigue controlada por los antiguos rebeldes, y las actividades transcurren en calma, mientras la administración y los comercios funcionan con normalidad. El toque de queda decretado por el presidente, Laurent Gbagbo, que lleva en el poder desde 2000 y que pretende permanecer otro lustro, aunque no ha sido reconocido por la comunidad internacional, no rige en absoluto en Bouaké, como pudo confirmar Efe.
Por la noche, la Calle Princesa, donde están concentrados los pequeños restaurantes y bares, sigue su vida con animación en esta ciudad, que apoya como presidente a Alassane Ouatara, reconocido como ganador de los comicios presidenciales del pasado 28 de noviembre por la Comisión Electoral Nacional Independiente (CENI) de Costa de Marfil y la Comunidad internacional.
Comentarios
El primer presidente de Costa de Marfil, Félix Hufué Buañí, fallecido en 1993, dejó el país en una situación estable y próspera, con las mejores carreteras de África Occidental, unos logros arruinados por una década larga de guerra civil y crisis política aun sin resolver. Aprovechando los importantes ingresos generados en los años sesenta por las exportaciones de cacao y café, Hufué Buañí construyó una excelente red de carreteras para posibilitar una circulación fluida de personas y bienes, tanto en el interior del país como entre Costa de Marfil y los países vecinos.
Después de más de una década de problemas políticos y abandono de las infraestructuras, buena parte de las calzadas se encuentran destrozadas, lo que lleva a que los viajes por carretera sean un auténtico martirio para los transportistas y viajeros. Los 350 kilómetros que separan la frontera entre Burkina Faso y Bouaké, la segunda ciudad de Costa de Marfil, se recorrían antaño en cuatro horas, pero hoy los enormes agujeros que plagan las carreteras obligan a los conductores a circular a velocidad de tortuga para no romper los amortiguadores. El recorrido de casi 200 kilómetros entre la localidad de Uangolodugu y Katiola es un verdadero quebradero de cabeza para los conductores, sobre todos para los camioneros que van del puerto de Abiyán hacia Mali y Burkina Faso.
Pero el mal estado de las carreteras no es la única dificultad con la que se encuentran los conductores y viajeros, pues también hay interminables puntos de control de seguridad de los milicianos de las Fuerzas Nuevas, que controlan la zona. Los vehículos tienen la obligación de detenerse en los distintos puntos de control, unos veinte entre la frontera con Burkina Faso y Bouaké, mientras que la duración de la parada depende del humor de los milicianos o de la "propina" que reciban de los conductores.
En ocasiones, los efectivos de las Fuerzas Nuevas retienen a los vehículos en los puntos de control durante más de una hora, lo que afecta especialmente a los camioneros. "Nosotros estamos acostumbrados y lo tomamos con calma", dijo a Efe Mousa Diarra, cuyo camión con carga de pesticidas tuvo que permanecer una semana en el puerto de Abiyán a causa del actual conflicto postelectoral, en el que el país se ve amenazado por al reanudación de la guerra civil, con dos presidentes y dos gobiernos. Con su camión ahora atrapado en una larga cola en la localidad de Katiola, ubicada a 55 kilómetros de Bouaké, Diarra, que recorre esa ruta desde hace más veinte años, no presenta el menor signo de impaciencia.
Diarra admite, sin embargo, que este conflicto justifica el refuerzo de medidas de seguridad y afirma que su deseo es que el país, antes considerado la locomotora económica de África Occidental, llegue a la paz lo antes posible para que las carreteras vuelvan a ser lo que eran. Los años de crisis vividos en la última década han frenado el desarrollo económico y social del país, especialmente en el centro y en el norte, bajo control de los ex rebeldes de las Fuerzas Nuevas, cuyo líder, Guillaume Soro, ha sido primer ministro del Gobierno de unidad tras la firma de la paz en 2007. "Todo está parado por aquí a causa de los conflictos. No se ha realizado desde el inicio de la crisis (hace más de una década) ningún proyecto importante en la zona", comentó a Efe Adama Bakaoyoko, corresponsal de una agencia de internacional de noticias en Bouaké.
Un clima de total tranquilidad reina en esta ciudad, la capital de las Fuerzas Nuevas de Soro durante la guerra, de 2002 a 2007, que aún sigue controlada por los antiguos rebeldes, y las actividades transcurren en calma, mientras la administración y los comercios funcionan con normalidad. El toque de queda decretado por el presidente, Laurent Gbagbo, que lleva en el poder desde 2000 y que pretende permanecer otro lustro, aunque no ha sido reconocido por la comunidad internacional, no rige en absoluto en Bouaké, como pudo confirmar Efe.
Por la noche, la Calle Princesa, donde están concentrados los pequeños restaurantes y bares, sigue su vida con animación en esta ciudad, que apoya como presidente a Alassane Ouatara, reconocido como ganador de los comicios presidenciales del pasado 28 de noviembre por la Comisión Electoral Nacional Independiente (CENI) de Costa de Marfil y la Comunidad internacional.
jueves, 9 de diciembre de 2010
Aumenta la presión contra el "golpe" en Costa de Marfil
Alassane Dramane Ouattara emite su voto en la segunda ronda de las presidenciales en Costa de Marfil
© Basile Zoma/UN Photo/afrol News
afrol News, 9 de Diciembre - Los líderes de África Occidental han "reconocido por unanimidad a Alassane Dramane Ouattara" como "el presidente electo de Costa de Marfil". La protesta contra el "golpe" del presidente saliente Laurent Gbagbo es universal.
En una reunión extraordinaria de los jefes de Estado de la Comunidad Económica de Estados de África Occidental (CEDEAO) en Abuja, Nigeria, celebrada ayer, se ordenó al presidente saliente Gbagbo "respetar los resultados de la segunda vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales, que dieron la victoria a Ouattara, "y entregar el poder sin demora, en el mejor interés del pueblo de Costa de Marfil".
La cumbre de Abuja contó con la presencia de siete presidentes de África Occidental - Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Malí, Nigeria, Senegal y Togo - y embajadores de otros países de la CEDEAO. El presidente de Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, encabezó la reunión.
La cumbre de la CEDEAO decidió imponer sanciones a Costa de Marfil "incluyendo la suspensión de todos los órganos de decisión de la CEDEAO hasta nuevo aviso". Esta es la reacción normal del organismo regional ante un golpe de Estado o de inconstitucionalidad en otros países miembros.
El organismo regional de África Occidental, hasta el momento, ha tenido un gran éxito en el restablecimiento de la constitucionalidad en sus países miembros tras emitir amenazar o aplicar sanciones. CEDEAO también tiene la posibilidad de lanzar una intervención armada si sus órdenes no se cumplen.
Philip Crowley, portavoz del Departamento de Estado, comentó que la decisión de la CEDEAO llevaría a Costa de Marfil hacia el camino "del aislamiento de la comunidad mundial, y muy especialmente de sus vecinos de África", a menos que el presidente Gbagbo opte por "tomar la decisión correcta".
El fuerte mensaje emitido por la CEDEAO se suma a una declaración similar del presidente de la Unión Africana (UA), Bingu wa Mutharika. El líder de la UA instó a Gbagbo a respetar la voluntad del pueblo expresada en las urnas y le recordó que "Costa de Marfil no puede permitirse otra guerra civil".
"Ouattara es el ganador de las elecciones", dijo Mutharika, que también es presidente de Malaui. "Naciones Unidas y otros organismos africanos coinciden en aprobar que las elecciones fueron libres y justas y que Ouattara había ganado", añadió el jefe de la UA en un comunicado remitido a afrol News desde L
El Consejo de Seguridad debatió el martes la situación en Costa de Marfil
© Ryan Brown/UN Photo/afrol News
ilongwe, Malaui.
Previamente, varios gobiernos africanos ya habían condenado el "golpe" por parte del presidente saliente Gbagbo. Por ejemplo, la presidencia de Botsuana emitía el domingo un comunicado "felicitando a Alassane Ouattara como ganador de las elecciones presidenciales de Costa de Marfil". El gobierno de Botsuana se mostraba "profundamente preocupado por los líderes africanos que rechazan los resultados electorales que no son a su favor", añadió el comunicado.
Pero también fuera de África aumenta la presión contra el derrotado presidente Gbagbo. El presidente de EEUU, Barack Obama, ha instado hoy al presidente Gbagbo a dimitir, diciendo que, de otro modo, Costa de Marfil no podía contar con el apoyo de EEUU. Así se lo ha dejado saber a Gbagbo en una carta al líder de Costa de Marfil.
También la Unión Europea (UE), principal socio de Costa de Marfil en la cooperación al desarrollo, advirtió a Gbagbo de consecuencias si no renuncia al poder. La "ministra de Asuntos Exteriores" de la UE, Catherine Ashton, advirtió que el bloque podría congelar las ayuda al desarrollo al país africano, estimadas en 255 millones de euros, e imponer sanciones contra el gobierno de Costa de Marfil.
Mientras tanto, la ONU - que tiene desplegados alrededor de 9.000 soldados en Costa de Marfil - daba ayer su pleno apoyo a la victoria electoral de Ouattara. "El pueblo de Costa de Marfil ha optado por Alassane Ouattara, con un margen irrefutable, como ganador frente a Laurent Gbagbo", dijo el representante de Naciones Unidas en el país, Young-Jin Choi, en una conferencia de prensa en Abidjan.
El representante de la ONU refutó incluso públicamente, punto por punto, las acusaciones de irregularidades lanzadas por Gbagbo, y señalando que incluso si se impugna el recuento, todavía era "evidente que Ouattara había ganado".
Mientras tanto, en la sede de Naciones Unidas en Nueva York, se informó ayer que el organismo internacional iba a "intensificar la diplomacia a favor de" Ouattara. El secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki-moon, apoyó plenamente las declaraciones de su representante y respaldó la campaña a favor de Ouattara.
Por staff writer
Sarkozy agradece a Moscú su cambio de posición en Costa de Marfil
París, 9 dic (EFE).- El presidente francés, Nicolas Sarkozy, mostró hoy su satisfacción por el apoyo del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU a la elección de Alassane Ouattara como presidente de Costa de Marfil, al tiempo que agradece a Moscú el cambio de actitud que permitió adoptar el texto.
En una declaración publicada por el Elíseo, Sarkozy asegura que habló anoche con su homólogo ruso, Dmitri Medvedev, a quien agradece "la ayuda aportada por Rusia" en la adopción de la resolución.
El Consejo de Seguridad aprobó anoche una declaración para pedir respeto al resultado de las elecciones presidenciales de Costa de Marfil que apuntan a un triunfo del ex primer ministro Alassane Ouattara.
Al tiempo condenó "en los términos más duros todo esfuerzo de negar la voluntad del pueblo" y amenazó con sanciones para "quienes traten de amenazar el proceso de paz".
El texto fue aprobado gracias al cambio de actitud de Rusia, que desde el pasado viernes se oponía al mismo.
La ministra francesa de Exteriores, Michèle Alliot-Marie, por su parte, descartó por el momento imponer sanciones a Costa de Marfil para obligar al presidente saliente, Laurent Gbagbo, a dejar el poder.
"No estamos todavía en ese nivel, hay procedimientos internacionales que se pueden poner en marcha y la transición no se produce", aseguró la jefa de la diplomacia gala en la radio "France Inter".
Precisó que Francia mantiene el contacto con Gbagbo para que la transición se produzca sin violencia, al tiempo que mostró la importancia de que no haya enfrentamientos en un país que "junto con Senegal fue el modelo de democracia en África durante años".
Alliot-Marie también indicó que trabajan para garantizar la seguridad de los 15.000 franceses residentes en el país, que se encuentra sumido en la incertidumbre tras las elecciones del pasado día 28 en las que los dos candidatos reivindican la victoria.
Ouattara fue declarado ganador por la Comisión Electoral Independiente, pero el Consejo Constitucional invalidó esa decisión y proclamó ganador a Gbagbo. EFE
Fuente: http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=618403
En una declaración publicada por el Elíseo, Sarkozy asegura que habló anoche con su homólogo ruso, Dmitri Medvedev, a quien agradece "la ayuda aportada por Rusia" en la adopción de la resolución.
El Consejo de Seguridad aprobó anoche una declaración para pedir respeto al resultado de las elecciones presidenciales de Costa de Marfil que apuntan a un triunfo del ex primer ministro Alassane Ouattara.
Al tiempo condenó "en los términos más duros todo esfuerzo de negar la voluntad del pueblo" y amenazó con sanciones para "quienes traten de amenazar el proceso de paz".
El texto fue aprobado gracias al cambio de actitud de Rusia, que desde el pasado viernes se oponía al mismo.
La ministra francesa de Exteriores, Michèle Alliot-Marie, por su parte, descartó por el momento imponer sanciones a Costa de Marfil para obligar al presidente saliente, Laurent Gbagbo, a dejar el poder.
"No estamos todavía en ese nivel, hay procedimientos internacionales que se pueden poner en marcha y la transición no se produce", aseguró la jefa de la diplomacia gala en la radio "France Inter".
Precisó que Francia mantiene el contacto con Gbagbo para que la transición se produzca sin violencia, al tiempo que mostró la importancia de que no haya enfrentamientos en un país que "junto con Senegal fue el modelo de democracia en África durante años".
Alliot-Marie también indicó que trabajan para garantizar la seguridad de los 15.000 franceses residentes en el país, que se encuentra sumido en la incertidumbre tras las elecciones del pasado día 28 en las que los dos candidatos reivindican la victoria.
Ouattara fue declarado ganador por la Comisión Electoral Independiente, pero el Consejo Constitucional invalidó esa decisión y proclamó ganador a Gbagbo. EFE
Fuente: http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=618403
miércoles, 8 de diciembre de 2010
Reuters on softs (cocoa, coffee and sugar)
10:02 08Dec10 -SCENARIOS-Possible outcomes in Ivory Coast's power struggle
By David Lewis and Tim Cocks
ABIDJAN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has left the country with two candidates claiming the presidency, after incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defied international pressure to concede defeat to his rival Alassane Ouattara.
West African regional body ECOWAS has joined world leaders in recognising Ouattara as president and urged Gbagbo to step down in a row that has raised the threat of violence, deepened divisions and risks isolating the top cocoa grower.
Here are a few possible scenarios:
A COMPROMISE
A compromise is appearing increasingly unlikely as both sides continue to dig their heels in.
They have both named governments. Gbagbo's team occupies official government buildings while Ouattara's cabinet is run out of a hotel protected by a ring of United Nations troops.
Brokering a deal is made especially difficult by the fact that so many nations have followed the U.N. in backing the electoral commission's declaration of Ouattara as winner -- and so are unlikely to be trusted by Gbagbo as mediators.
Little has filtered out of talks held with both sides by former South African President Thabo Mbeki over the weekend, but the decision by ECOWAS to suspend Ivory Coast over the row has hardened positions further.
Ouattara's camp have said they can discuss all options apart from one in which Gbagbo remains president. ECOWAS has said a power-sharing deal, such as those seen in Kenya and Zimbabwe, would be a bad idea in the circumstances.
Gbagbo has made a career out of defying international pressure and, with the backing of state television, has lambasted the U.N.'s recognition of Ouattara as international meddling and a threat to the country's sovereignty.
MASSIVE POPULAR PROTESTS
Ouattara's camp says it will not call its supporters onto the streets, mainly because they fear that there would be a bloodbath if the security forces, which are still loyal to Gbagbo, crack down on demonstrators as in the past.
Gbagbo himself used the street to oust General Robert Guei during a violently disputed election between the pair in 2000, bringing thousands of his supporters onto the streets to force the coup leader to accept defeat.
Gbagbo's camp is also calling for calm, though there are fears his supporters in Abidjan, where he won just over half the vote, could react violently to pressure on him to leave power.
This could turn into ethnic violence, especially in the west which is known as a tinderbox of tribal tensions.
Conscious of prospects of violence, the U.N. has started pulling out 600 non-essential staff out of the country.
A COUP OR WAR?
Despite an arms embargo on Ivory Coast, analysts say both sides have been re-arming for years. The row has reignited north-south divisions as hundreds of thousands of votes were cancelled in the north, which is still held by rebels.
The rebels, who have backed Ouattara, say troops have been put on high alert and warn they will try and take the rest of the country if attacked.
The likelihood of a big military push by either side is not that high, and would be the worst-case scenario for neighbouring countries in no fit state themselves to take in civilians fleeing a war.
But analysts warn that despite public declarations of loyalty to Gbagbo, there are divisions within the military and an attempt by soldiers in Abidjan to enforce the election result by ousting Gbagbo cannot be ruled out.
THE CRISIS DRAGS ON
The rebels who were already running affairs in the north have got behind Ouattara, meaning that the division of the country into two parallel administrations since the 2002-2003 war has if anything been reinforced.
Worse, the original framework of a process aimed at uniting the country and holding elections has now disappeared -- meaning there is no clear way out of the impasse either for the country or its leaders.
Foreign powers and regional bodies which were neutral during this process have since taken sides, so Gbagbo is increasingly isolated and could soon find access to funds drying up.
The IMF has said it will not do business with anyone not recognised by the U.N., while both the World Bank and the African Development Bank have said they will review ties.
Debt relief is likely to be put on hold and sanctions could well be imposed. One option is "targeted sanctions" -- travel bans and foreign asset freezes -- on Gbagbo and associates.
Businesses warn that they cannot continue in the current environment and say many are likely to go bust. They are also likely to stop paying taxes until they know who is in charge.
The country's economy risks grinding to a halt, with the risks of serious social unrest as a result. ((Editing by Giles Elgood; mark.john@thomsonreuters.com; Dakar Newsroom +221 33 864 5076))
09:31 08Dec10 -Ouattara's Ivory Coast poll win irrefutable - UN
* UN's Choi rejects interference charge
* Says Gbagbo victory impossible given results
* Cocoa futures ease from four-month highs
By Tim Cocks
ABIDJAN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A U.N. review of Ivory Coast's Nov. 28 election shows incumbent Laurent Gbagbo had no grounds to dispute results giving rival Alassane Ouattara victory, the head of the local United Nations mission said on Wednesday.
Defying international calls to step down, Gbagbo has sworn himself in for a new term and named a government, despite provisional results that gave Ouattara a near 10-point margin.
Ouattara has taken the presidential oath in a rival ceremony and refused to back down in a power struggle that risks sending the West African country, the world's top cocoa grower, back into conflict, 8 years after civil war split it into north and south. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For more stories on the election, click [ID:nCOC754498]
For Ivory Coast scenarios, click [ID:nLDE6B40AH] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
U.N. mission chief Y.J. Choi rejected accusations from the Gbagbo camp that he had meddled in internal affairs by declaring Ouattara the winner, and said an Ivorian Constitutional Council move to annul Ouattara's victory was not based on facts.
"I am not interfering in Ivorian affairs ... I am only doing my job as requested by the Ivorian authorities," Choi told a news conference.
"I remain absolutely certain that I have found the truth concerning the will of the Ivorian people. The people have chosen one person ... Mr. Alassane Ouattara with an irrefutable margin," he said.
"PLOTTERS' SUMMIT"
Gbagbo's allies argued intimidation and fraud skewed the vote in the rebel-held north, a complaint the Constitutional Council -- run by a staunch Gbagbo ally -- upheld and used as grounds for cancelling hundreds of thousands of votes.
But Choi said there had been fewer recorded acts of violence in the north than in pro-Gbagbo western districts, and noted that even when all the contested votes were stripped out of the final tally, Ouattara still had a majority.
"Even such an exercise did not alter ... the outcome of the second round," he said.
Gbagbo remains in control of the army and state television and has shown no signs of backing down despite calls from the United States, the European Union and the West African ECOWAS bloc, which on Tuesday suspended Ivory Coast.
His camp was not available for comment on the ECOWAS move despite repeated phone calls on Wednesday. But the pro-Gbagbo Notre Voie dismissed the meeting of West African leaders in the Nigerian capital Abuja as "The Plotters' Summit".
Cocoa futures eased on Wednesday after touching four-month highs this week, with the March ICE contract down $38 or 1.2 percent at $3,046 a tonne at 1220 GMT.
Uncertainty over Ivory Coast's prospects kept the yield on its $2.3 billion Eurobond above 12 percent.
Clashes with security forces and between rival supporters have left at least 28 dead and 280 wounded since Nov. 26, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, with some observers fearing the real toll is double that.
Ivorians have sought to continue life as normal and the business centre of the main city Abidjan was humming with activity on Wednesday. But local business leaders have warned of looming problems for the economy unless the impasse ends soon.
"A number of businesses will not be able to pay taxes while others risk going bust," said the CGECI business federation. (Additional reporting by David Lewis; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
20:38 07Dec10 -WRAPUP 5-West African bloc backs Ouattara as Ivorian leader
* ECOWAS group suspends Ivory Coast, recognises Ouattara
* ECOWAS head says "national unity" governments don't work
* Cocoa futures reach new four-month high
(Adds U.N. Security Council talks)
By Joe Brock and David Lewis
ABUJA/ABIDJAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The West African regional bloc ECOWAS recognised Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president-elect on Tuesday after a disputed ballot and urged incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat.
Gbagbo earlier defied international demands for him to yield and he named a new cabinet, two days after Ouattara had announced his parallel government from a lagoon-side hotel guarded by U.N. peacekeepers.
After an emergency summit attended by regional heads of state in Nigeria, the 15-nation ECOWAS further increased pressure on Gbagbo by suspending Ivory Coast's involvement in the group.
ECOWAS' acting president, Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathon, warned against efforts to cut a deal, as in Zimbabwe or Kenya.
"We've seen that these governments of national unity ... it doesn't really work...Elections have been declared, somebody has won, so he has to hand over," he said.
The dispute over the outcome of last month's poll in the world's top cocoa-growing country has raised the risk of renewed violence in a nation still divided after a 2002-2003 war, prompting the United Nations to begin pulling out some staff.
Gbagbo was sworn in as president last week and appointed the new government in defiance of calls from the United Nations, the United States, France and others for him to accept provisional results of the Nov. 28 poll that made Ouattara the clear winner.
International backing for Ouattara is based on copies of result sheets collected by the United Nations across the country.
"The heads of state and government recognised Mr Alassane Dramane Ouattara as president-elect of Ivory Coast," ECOWAS leaders said after the meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
At the United Nations, diplomats said Russia had blocked a U.N. Security Council statement that would recognise Ouattara as the election winner
After five-and-a-half hours of closed-door discussions, the council adjourned for the day with Russian envoys saying they needed further instructions from Moscow, the diplomats said.
RESIGNATION CALLS
Gbagbo, who has kept control of the army and state television, has dismissed calls on him to quit as meddling and on Tuesday held a first cabinet meeting.
The line-up was missing former finance minister Charles Koffi Diby, who handled talks with the IMF and World Bank on $3 billion of debt relief and has a strong international reputation.
Speculation grew that he had changed sides after former IMF official Ouattara named him in his government. Diby did not turn up for Ouattara's parallel cabinet meeting on Monday and has not spoken about his intentions.
Clashes with security forces and between rival supporters have left at least 28 dead and 280 wounded since Nov. 26, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Mindful of the risk of bloodshed, Ouattara spokesman Patrick Achi said he would keep supporters off the streets: "We have not chosen the approach of taking the streets or starting violence."
Cocoa futures jumped to four-month highs on concern about supply bottlenecks, with the second-month contract up over 1.5 percent at $3,140 per tonne during Tuesday trade.
The yield on Ivory Coast's $2.3 billion Eurobond, a bellwether of investors' mood, has risen to above 12 percent from below 10 percent before the vote. Emerging markets fund Exotix downgraded it to "sell" from "hold".
Business leaders warned of a catastrophe for firms unless political leaders quickly found a solution to the row.
"A number of businesses will not be able to pay taxes while others risk going bust," the CGECI business federation said.
The United Nations, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers in the country, said it was withdrawing around 600 non-military staff to Gambia and Senegal, citing growing tensions.
Despite the risk that the row could re-ignite the conflict between north and south, Ivorians pushed on with life.
Once the showpiece of West Africa, Ivory Coast's leafy, tropical main city of Abidjan was calm on Tuesday, its wide boulevards humming with traffic and impatient hooting as normal.
"We've been in crisis many years, so it's nothing new," said lawyer Herman Dirabou, as he queued to pay his phone bill next to a women frying yams on a sandy pavement.
"Maybe with two presidents we'll get twice as much done."
The Constitutional Council, headed by a staunch Gbagbo ally, overruled the electoral commission, cancelling hundreds of thousands of votes in Ouattara strongholds, alleging fraud.
But the Unitaed Nations has said that even if the allegations were true, Ouattara should still have won.
(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks; Writing by Mark John and Tim Cocks; editing by Tim Pearce and Angus MacSwan)
18:47 07Dec10 -UPDATE 2-Russia blocks UN council Ivory Coast statement
* West wants statement backing Ouattara as president-elect
* Russia says U.N. should not announce an election winner
(Updates with meeting ending without agreement)
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday blocked a U.N. Security Council statement that would recognize challenger Alassane Ouattara as the winner of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election, diplomats said.
After five and a half hours of closed-door discussions, the council adjourned for the day with Russian envoys saying they needed further instructions from Moscow, the diplomats said.
Ivory Coast's electoral commission last week announced that Ouattara had won the Nov. 28 poll, but the Constitutional Council overturned the result, awarding victory to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. The head of the U.N. mission in the West African nation, Y.J. Choi, declared Ouattara the winner.
"Russia questioned the U.N. announcing the winner," one Western envoy said in New York. Western officials have said Choi was entitled to do so as under a 2005 post-civil war peace deal he was empowered to certify election results.
"This is a unique situation," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said.
"I don't know why Russia is quibbling with resolutions that it itself voted for," she told reporters, adding that Choi was "not picking a winner, he's simply certifying the results of the Independent Electoral Commission."
Endorsement of Ouattara by the Security Council would leave Gbagbo with few supporters in the outside world after West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday recognized Ouattara as president-elect. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also publicly backed Ouattara's claim.
Russia's position is pivotal because Security Council statements must be unanimous, meaning any council member's opposition would block such a move. Rice, this month's council president, said she hoped debate could continue on Wednesday.
Rice suggested Russia was isolated. "Everybody on the council minus one member had no question about the legitimacy of (Choi's) findings and his actions," she said.
Earlier, in a brief public part of the council meeting, Choi told the council the election result was "very clear."
"There was only one winner, with a clear margin," he said by video link from Abuja, Nigeria, where ECOWAS was meeting.
"The moment has come for us to safeguard the result," he said. "Ignoring the will of the people at this stage would be a let-down of the people of (Ivory Coast) and a waste of significant resources invested over the past eight years by the international community."
Diplomats said that during the closed part of the council session, Choi said extensive checks made by hundreds of members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast to verify the results left no doubt Ouattara had won.
The Constitutional Council's reversal of the result was "not based on facts," he was quoted as saying.
COFFEE
03:00 08Dec10 -UPDATE 2-Vietnam's coffee crop to fall, Brazil unchanged-ICO
* Farmers could boost output by replanting -Vicofa
* Domestic prices are 77 pct above farmer's cost
(Adds ICO comment, Vietnam's plan, domestic output, prices)
By Ho Binh Minh
HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Vietnam's 2010/11 coffee output may drop 2.8 percent to 17.5 million bags, the International Coffee Organization said on Wednesday, reversing its previous forecast of a rise.
Dry weather followed by prolonged rains in the key coffee growing regions of Vietnam, the world's second-largest producer after Brazil, have hurt the crop, triggering supply concerns and a rise in London robusta futures. [SOF/L]
Executive Director Jose Sette of the London-based ICO said the latest forecast came after the organisation received data from member governments, including top robusta producer Vietnam.
ICO in September said output in Vietnam would rise 4 percent to 18.73 million bags. Vietnam's coffee crop year lasts from October to September, starting with a four-month harvest.
ICO maintained its forecast for top producer Brazil's 2010/2011 output at 47.2 million 60-kg bags, a rise of 19.6 percent from the previous crop.
It also kept the 2010/2011 output forecast for Colombia unchanged at 9 million bags, but lowered its estimate of the country's 2009/2010 crop to 8.098 million bags, from 8.5 million estimated in September.
As a result Colombia's production this season would rise 11.1 percent from the previous harvest, larger than a 5.9 percent rise forecast previously.
Sette said the ICO was waiting for more details of the crop size in producing countries, including Vietnam and arabica-producing nations, before fixing its next global output estimate.
The world coffee production estimate in the current 2010/2011 year would still be unchanged at between 133 million and 135 million, up from 119.9 million bags in the previous crop, Sette told a two-day industry meeting in Vietnam.
"We will have final (output) forecast at the end of the crop," Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association Chairman Luong Van Tu said, adding that the next data would be available by the end of the harvest in January.
Vietnam's coffee consumption this year and the next could remain at 10 percent of output, on par with 2009, Tu said, unchanged from a government figure.
Higher demand from new buyers is another factor that has cut Vietnam's coffee exports to traditional markets, said Chief Executive Do Ha Nam of Ho Chi Minh City-based Intimex, Vietnam's second-largest coffee exporter after Vinacafe.
The new buyers include Russia, Poland, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, Nam said.
"The Asian markets are buying increased volumes of Vietnamese coffee not because they will consume it, but they import it for processing and selling to other markets due to cheap prices of Vietnamese beans," Nam told the conference.
Most of the growth in global output in recent years has been generated by Brazil and Vietnam, mainly by higher productivity, not by area expansion, Robert Simmons, head of Coffee and Cocoa at LMC International, told the conference.
STABLE OUTPUT
The area of Vietnamese coffee under harvest has been increasing every year, reaching about 500,000 hectares (1.24 million acres) now, with an average yield of more than 2 tonnes per hectare, Tu said.
As such, the productive area accounts for 94 percent of Vietnam's total coffee under plantation.
Vietnam vowed to keep its planting area stable for an output of 17.5 million bags a year to mitigate impact on the environment, Tu said. [ID:nHAN433450]
If prices remain profitable in coming years, farmers would be able to boost output only by speeding the replanting of ageing trees, which now make up a third of Vietnam's coffee area, he told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.
Robusta in Daklak, Vietnam's top growing province, rose to 35,200-35,400 dong ($1.80-$1.82) per kg on Wednesday from 35,000 dong on Tuesday, tracking a gain in London prices. Vietnamese prices are now 77 percent above farmer's production costs.
"The issue remains the source of funding to support farmers as it takes five years to get the newly planted trees to become productive again," he said, adding that the government has yet to find money for the plan.
Yields will fall after 20 years of production. The soil needs two years to rest before farmers can start planting anew, and the agriculture ministry has recommended alternatives such as green beans or corn. ($1=19,498 dong) (Editing by Himani Sarkar)
03:04 08Dec10 -Buyers try to renegotiate Indonesian coffee deals
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Foreign buyers are trying to renegotiate the prices they have paid for Indonesian coffee after a sharp drop in futures prices, an Indonesian export group official said on Wednesday.
"It's not about some supply shortage that would lead to default or force majeure. They just want us to lower prices," said Pranoto Soenarto, head of specialty coffee at the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries.
Second-month robusta coffee futures on London's LIFFE market hit a two-year high of $2,098 per tonne on Nov. 9. But they fell right back to $1,877 a tonne as of Tuesday, leaving buyers reluctant to pay the prices they had committed to.
"Hopefully, there'll be no default right now, but I can't tell you what will happen in the next few months," Soenarto told Reuters on the sidelines of a coffee conference in Vietnam.
He gave no indication on the size of deals affected. Traders said buyers wanted to delay shipments if they couldn't get an agreement on lower prices. (Reporting by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat; Editing by Alan Raybould)
SUGAR
21:18 07Dec10 -RPT-UPDATE 2-India can export 0.5-1 mln T sugar -govt officials
(Repeats story issued late on Tuesday)
* Futures prices ease off highs
* Market was expecting exports around these levels
(Adds trader comment, updates prices)
NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - This year's good rains mean India can easily export up to 1 million tonnes of sugar, two government officials said on Tuesday, broadly in line with market expectations from the world's second-biggest producer.
"We can easily export 500,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes even if production is 24.5 million tonnes," one government official, who did not wish to be identified, told reporters, referring to unrestricted exports.
A second official, also present, confirmed the figures.
In late November, a senior government official had said India was likely to free up sugar exports if production exceeded 24.5 million. [ID:nBMA008987]. The India Sugar Mills Association has forecast the crop will total 25.5 million. [ID:nLDE6AT0RC]
A more normal monsoon in 2010 allowed the country to recover from last year's drought which forced it to import large quantities, triggering sharp gains in international prices.
The market is waiting for New Delhi to allow unrestricted exports, termed as open general licence (OGL), which could see global prices easing.
India, which is also the world's top consumer of the sweetener, has already allowed some restricted exports this year.
The figures cited by the officials were broadly in line with market expectations, said Jake Wetherall, a soft commodities trader with Rabobank in London.
"If it were 2 million tonnes (of OGL exports) that would be bearish," Wetherall said.
On Tuesday, ICE March raw sugar futures were up 1.24 percent to 29.37 cents a lb at 1204 GMT, off a high of 29.56 cents. Sugar was firmer due to a soft dollar and as adverse weather in key producers such as Australia and Brazil helped to underpin the market.
Last month, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said India was likely to take a decision on allowing unrestricted sugar exports by the third week of December and the country might ship exports on a monthly basis. [ID:nSGE6AT0D1]
India's sugar market is regulated by the government with the objective of keeping prices and supply steady as it is an essential commodity that goes into everyday use and is also politically sensitive. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj, additional reporting by David Brough and Nigel Hunt in London; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan, Jo Winterbottom and Anthony Barker)
03:15 08Dec10 -UPDATE 2-China faces sugar deficit amid low state stocks in 2011
* Sugar deficit seen above 2 mln tonnes in 2010/11
* State reserve low or below 1 million tonnes
* Government needs to import more to refill stocks
* Corn syrup may help fill shortfall
(Adds comments and details)
By Niu Shuping and Tom Miles
BEIJING, Dec 8 (Reuters) - China will face a sugar shortfall of more than 2 million tonnes this crop year, the third straight deficit as consumption outpaces production growth, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.
The world's third largest producer and consumer of sugar is also facing declining state reserves, which could prompt China to source more sugar overseas next year to refill its stocks, after a 60 percent jump in imports in the first ten months of this year.
"There will be more imports next year. There is a possibility that the government may need to import to replenish state reserves," said an industry official who declined to be identified.
"Imports become possible when international prices fall to around 20 cents," said the official, adding that New York raw sugar futures prices at 28.45 cents a lb are equivalent to more than 8,000 yuan per tonne, higher than current domestic prices <0#CSR:>.
China's sugar consumption in 2010/2011 is likely to grow 6.2 percent to 14.62 million tonnes, while domestic sugar output is estimated at about 11 million tonnes, the Journal said.
This would leave a gap of more than 2 million tonnes after taking into account sugar brought in from Cuba in a government deal and private imports under a low-tariff scheme.
LOW RESERVES
The paper cited industry officials at a conference as saying that the government only holds about 1 million tonnes of reserves after sales of 2.1 million tonnes since 2009, far below what is normally seen as a safety level of 3-months' worth of consumption, or about 4 million tonnes.
But some traders and analysts put government stocks at as low as 500,000 tonnes.
China's sugar season starts in October, and sugar mills will finish crushing by the end of April.
"Shortages in the previous two years were largely covered with sales of state reserves, but the current state reserve is only about 500,000 tonnes, not enough to cover next year's deficit," said an industry analyst.
China's sugar imports surged 60 percent in the first 10 months of this year to a record 1.6 million tonnes, according to official Customs data. [SOF/CN]
China imports about 400,000 tonnes of sugar every year from Cuba under a bilateral government agreement.
"It is unrealistic to import more from Cuba as its export is reducing every year. More imports from India or Brazil may be possible," said the industry official.
Corn sweetener, made from corn starch, will continue to help fill the supply gap, and China's production of the syrup will grow to 10 million tonnes next year, after 13 percent growth to 9.2 million tonnes this year, the newspaper reported.
Expected shortages and high global prices helped push Zhengzhou futures to a record high near 7,400 yuan per tonne last month, before Beijing tightened money supply and raised margins for futures trading. (Editing by Michael Urquhart)
03:35 08Dec10 -Indonesia sees 2.425 mln T raw sugar imports in 2011
JAKARTA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Indonesia will issue import permits for 2.425 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2011, up five percent from this year on stronger demand from the food and beverage industry, an official from the industry ministry said on Wednesday.
03:55 08Dec10 -TECHNICALS-New York sugar may drop to 25.60 cents/lb in 4 weeks
* For more technical analyses, please click [TECH/C]
* For a four-week sugar technical outlook: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100812163927.jpg
SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - New York sugar is expected to fall to 25.60 cents a lb over the next four weeks, as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis.
A five-wave cycle was completed on the rise from the May low at 13 cents to 33.39 cents, and the first leg of the correction, labeled as a wave "A" ended around 25.60 cents, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement.
A closer look at the hourly chart confirms the bearish outlook derived from the daily chart.
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100812163505.jpg. The hourly chart shows that the sharp fall from the Nov. 11 high at 33.39 cents is composed of a five-wave cycle and the rebound from the Nov. 17 low at 25.30 cents failed to develop after briefly piercing a strong resistance at 29.35 cents, the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement on the fall from 33.39 cents to 25.30 cents.
Chances are high for sugar to fall to 25.60 cents first, around the previous wave "A" trough, and then to 23.20 cents, the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement level.
Resistance is at 30 cents, a rise above which would invalidate the bearish outlook.
** Wang Tao is a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. The views expressed are his own.
No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses. **
(Reporting by Wang Tao; Editing by Himani Sarkar) ((wang.tao@thomsonreuters.com)
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Marcy Nicholson
Journalist
Thomson Reuters
By David Lewis and Tim Cocks
ABIDJAN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has left the country with two candidates claiming the presidency, after incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defied international pressure to concede defeat to his rival Alassane Ouattara.
West African regional body ECOWAS has joined world leaders in recognising Ouattara as president and urged Gbagbo to step down in a row that has raised the threat of violence, deepened divisions and risks isolating the top cocoa grower.
Here are a few possible scenarios:
A COMPROMISE
A compromise is appearing increasingly unlikely as both sides continue to dig their heels in.
They have both named governments. Gbagbo's team occupies official government buildings while Ouattara's cabinet is run out of a hotel protected by a ring of United Nations troops.
Brokering a deal is made especially difficult by the fact that so many nations have followed the U.N. in backing the electoral commission's declaration of Ouattara as winner -- and so are unlikely to be trusted by Gbagbo as mediators.
Little has filtered out of talks held with both sides by former South African President Thabo Mbeki over the weekend, but the decision by ECOWAS to suspend Ivory Coast over the row has hardened positions further.
Ouattara's camp have said they can discuss all options apart from one in which Gbagbo remains president. ECOWAS has said a power-sharing deal, such as those seen in Kenya and Zimbabwe, would be a bad idea in the circumstances.
Gbagbo has made a career out of defying international pressure and, with the backing of state television, has lambasted the U.N.'s recognition of Ouattara as international meddling and a threat to the country's sovereignty.
MASSIVE POPULAR PROTESTS
Ouattara's camp says it will not call its supporters onto the streets, mainly because they fear that there would be a bloodbath if the security forces, which are still loyal to Gbagbo, crack down on demonstrators as in the past.
Gbagbo himself used the street to oust General Robert Guei during a violently disputed election between the pair in 2000, bringing thousands of his supporters onto the streets to force the coup leader to accept defeat.
Gbagbo's camp is also calling for calm, though there are fears his supporters in Abidjan, where he won just over half the vote, could react violently to pressure on him to leave power.
This could turn into ethnic violence, especially in the west which is known as a tinderbox of tribal tensions.
Conscious of prospects of violence, the U.N. has started pulling out 600 non-essential staff out of the country.
A COUP OR WAR?
Despite an arms embargo on Ivory Coast, analysts say both sides have been re-arming for years. The row has reignited north-south divisions as hundreds of thousands of votes were cancelled in the north, which is still held by rebels.
The rebels, who have backed Ouattara, say troops have been put on high alert and warn they will try and take the rest of the country if attacked.
The likelihood of a big military push by either side is not that high, and would be the worst-case scenario for neighbouring countries in no fit state themselves to take in civilians fleeing a war.
But analysts warn that despite public declarations of loyalty to Gbagbo, there are divisions within the military and an attempt by soldiers in Abidjan to enforce the election result by ousting Gbagbo cannot be ruled out.
THE CRISIS DRAGS ON
The rebels who were already running affairs in the north have got behind Ouattara, meaning that the division of the country into two parallel administrations since the 2002-2003 war has if anything been reinforced.
Worse, the original framework of a process aimed at uniting the country and holding elections has now disappeared -- meaning there is no clear way out of the impasse either for the country or its leaders.
Foreign powers and regional bodies which were neutral during this process have since taken sides, so Gbagbo is increasingly isolated and could soon find access to funds drying up.
The IMF has said it will not do business with anyone not recognised by the U.N., while both the World Bank and the African Development Bank have said they will review ties.
Debt relief is likely to be put on hold and sanctions could well be imposed. One option is "targeted sanctions" -- travel bans and foreign asset freezes -- on Gbagbo and associates.
Businesses warn that they cannot continue in the current environment and say many are likely to go bust. They are also likely to stop paying taxes until they know who is in charge.
The country's economy risks grinding to a halt, with the risks of serious social unrest as a result. ((Editing by Giles Elgood; mark.john@thomsonreuters.com; Dakar Newsroom +221 33 864 5076))
09:31 08Dec10 -Ouattara's Ivory Coast poll win irrefutable - UN
* UN's Choi rejects interference charge
* Says Gbagbo victory impossible given results
* Cocoa futures ease from four-month highs
By Tim Cocks
ABIDJAN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A U.N. review of Ivory Coast's Nov. 28 election shows incumbent Laurent Gbagbo had no grounds to dispute results giving rival Alassane Ouattara victory, the head of the local United Nations mission said on Wednesday.
Defying international calls to step down, Gbagbo has sworn himself in for a new term and named a government, despite provisional results that gave Ouattara a near 10-point margin.
Ouattara has taken the presidential oath in a rival ceremony and refused to back down in a power struggle that risks sending the West African country, the world's top cocoa grower, back into conflict, 8 years after civil war split it into north and south. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For more stories on the election, click [ID:nCOC754498]
For Ivory Coast scenarios, click [ID:nLDE6B40AH] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
U.N. mission chief Y.J. Choi rejected accusations from the Gbagbo camp that he had meddled in internal affairs by declaring Ouattara the winner, and said an Ivorian Constitutional Council move to annul Ouattara's victory was not based on facts.
"I am not interfering in Ivorian affairs ... I am only doing my job as requested by the Ivorian authorities," Choi told a news conference.
"I remain absolutely certain that I have found the truth concerning the will of the Ivorian people. The people have chosen one person ... Mr. Alassane Ouattara with an irrefutable margin," he said.
"PLOTTERS' SUMMIT"
Gbagbo's allies argued intimidation and fraud skewed the vote in the rebel-held north, a complaint the Constitutional Council -- run by a staunch Gbagbo ally -- upheld and used as grounds for cancelling hundreds of thousands of votes.
But Choi said there had been fewer recorded acts of violence in the north than in pro-Gbagbo western districts, and noted that even when all the contested votes were stripped out of the final tally, Ouattara still had a majority.
"Even such an exercise did not alter ... the outcome of the second round," he said.
Gbagbo remains in control of the army and state television and has shown no signs of backing down despite calls from the United States, the European Union and the West African ECOWAS bloc, which on Tuesday suspended Ivory Coast.
His camp was not available for comment on the ECOWAS move despite repeated phone calls on Wednesday. But the pro-Gbagbo Notre Voie dismissed the meeting of West African leaders in the Nigerian capital Abuja as "The Plotters' Summit".
Cocoa futures eased on Wednesday after touching four-month highs this week, with the March ICE contract
Uncertainty over Ivory Coast's prospects kept the yield on its $2.3 billion Eurobond
Clashes with security forces and between rival supporters have left at least 28 dead and 280 wounded since Nov. 26, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, with some observers fearing the real toll is double that.
Ivorians have sought to continue life as normal and the business centre of the main city Abidjan was humming with activity on Wednesday. But local business leaders have warned of looming problems for the economy unless the impasse ends soon.
"A number of businesses will not be able to pay taxes while others risk going bust," said the CGECI business federation. (Additional reporting by David Lewis; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
20:38 07Dec10 -WRAPUP 5-West African bloc backs Ouattara as Ivorian leader
* ECOWAS group suspends Ivory Coast, recognises Ouattara
* ECOWAS head says "national unity" governments don't work
* Cocoa futures reach new four-month high
(Adds U.N. Security Council talks)
By Joe Brock and David Lewis
ABUJA/ABIDJAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The West African regional bloc ECOWAS recognised Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president-elect on Tuesday after a disputed ballot and urged incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat.
Gbagbo earlier defied international demands for him to yield and he named a new cabinet, two days after Ouattara had announced his parallel government from a lagoon-side hotel guarded by U.N. peacekeepers.
After an emergency summit attended by regional heads of state in Nigeria, the 15-nation ECOWAS further increased pressure on Gbagbo by suspending Ivory Coast's involvement in the group.
ECOWAS' acting president, Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathon, warned against efforts to cut a deal, as in Zimbabwe or Kenya.
"We've seen that these governments of national unity ... it doesn't really work...Elections have been declared, somebody has won, so he has to hand over," he said.
The dispute over the outcome of last month's poll in the world's top cocoa-growing country has raised the risk of renewed violence in a nation still divided after a 2002-2003 war, prompting the United Nations to begin pulling out some staff.
Gbagbo was sworn in as president last week and appointed the new government in defiance of calls from the United Nations, the United States, France and others for him to accept provisional results of the Nov. 28 poll that made Ouattara the clear winner.
International backing for Ouattara is based on copies of result sheets collected by the United Nations across the country.
"The heads of state and government recognised Mr Alassane Dramane Ouattara as president-elect of Ivory Coast," ECOWAS leaders said after the meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
At the United Nations, diplomats said Russia had blocked a U.N. Security Council statement that would recognise Ouattara as the election winner
After five-and-a-half hours of closed-door discussions, the council adjourned for the day with Russian envoys saying they needed further instructions from Moscow, the diplomats said.
RESIGNATION CALLS
Gbagbo, who has kept control of the army and state television, has dismissed calls on him to quit as meddling and on Tuesday held a first cabinet meeting.
The line-up was missing former finance minister Charles Koffi Diby, who handled talks with the IMF and World Bank on $3 billion of debt relief and has a strong international reputation.
Speculation grew that he had changed sides after former IMF official Ouattara named him in his government. Diby did not turn up for Ouattara's parallel cabinet meeting on Monday and has not spoken about his intentions.
Clashes with security forces and between rival supporters have left at least 28 dead and 280 wounded since Nov. 26, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Mindful of the risk of bloodshed, Ouattara spokesman Patrick Achi said he would keep supporters off the streets: "We have not chosen the approach of taking the streets or starting violence."
Cocoa futures jumped to four-month highs on concern about supply bottlenecks, with the second-month contract up over 1.5 percent at $3,140 per tonne during Tuesday trade.
The yield on Ivory Coast's $2.3 billion Eurobond, a bellwether of investors' mood, has risen to above 12 percent from below 10 percent before the vote. Emerging markets fund Exotix downgraded it to "sell" from "hold".
Business leaders warned of a catastrophe for firms unless political leaders quickly found a solution to the row.
"A number of businesses will not be able to pay taxes while others risk going bust," the CGECI business federation said.
The United Nations, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers in the country, said it was withdrawing around 600 non-military staff to Gambia and Senegal, citing growing tensions.
Despite the risk that the row could re-ignite the conflict between north and south, Ivorians pushed on with life.
Once the showpiece of West Africa, Ivory Coast's leafy, tropical main city of Abidjan was calm on Tuesday, its wide boulevards humming with traffic and impatient hooting as normal.
"We've been in crisis many years, so it's nothing new," said lawyer Herman Dirabou, as he queued to pay his phone bill next to a women frying yams on a sandy pavement.
"Maybe with two presidents we'll get twice as much done."
The Constitutional Council, headed by a staunch Gbagbo ally, overruled the electoral commission, cancelling hundreds of thousands of votes in Ouattara strongholds, alleging fraud.
But the Unitaed Nations has said that even if the allegations were true, Ouattara should still have won.
(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks; Writing by Mark John and Tim Cocks; editing by Tim Pearce and Angus MacSwan)
18:47 07Dec10 -UPDATE 2-Russia blocks UN council Ivory Coast statement
* West wants statement backing Ouattara as president-elect
* Russia says U.N. should not announce an election winner
(Updates with meeting ending without agreement)
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday blocked a U.N. Security Council statement that would recognize challenger Alassane Ouattara as the winner of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election, diplomats said.
After five and a half hours of closed-door discussions, the council adjourned for the day with Russian envoys saying they needed further instructions from Moscow, the diplomats said.
Ivory Coast's electoral commission last week announced that Ouattara had won the Nov. 28 poll, but the Constitutional Council overturned the result, awarding victory to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. The head of the U.N. mission in the West African nation, Y.J. Choi, declared Ouattara the winner.
"Russia questioned the U.N. announcing the winner," one Western envoy said in New York. Western officials have said Choi was entitled to do so as under a 2005 post-civil war peace deal he was empowered to certify election results.
"This is a unique situation," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said.
"I don't know why Russia is quibbling with resolutions that it itself voted for," she told reporters, adding that Choi was "not picking a winner, he's simply certifying the results of the Independent Electoral Commission."
Endorsement of Ouattara by the Security Council would leave Gbagbo with few supporters in the outside world after West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday recognized Ouattara as president-elect. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also publicly backed Ouattara's claim.
Russia's position is pivotal because Security Council statements must be unanimous, meaning any council member's opposition would block such a move. Rice, this month's council president, said she hoped debate could continue on Wednesday.
Rice suggested Russia was isolated. "Everybody on the council minus one member had no question about the legitimacy of (Choi's) findings and his actions," she said.
Earlier, in a brief public part of the council meeting, Choi told the council the election result was "very clear."
"There was only one winner, with a clear margin," he said by video link from Abuja, Nigeria, where ECOWAS was meeting.
"The moment has come for us to safeguard the result," he said. "Ignoring the will of the people at this stage would be a let-down of the people of (Ivory Coast) and a waste of significant resources invested over the past eight years by the international community."
Diplomats said that during the closed part of the council session, Choi said extensive checks made by hundreds of members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast to verify the results left no doubt Ouattara had won.
The Constitutional Council's reversal of the result was "not based on facts," he was quoted as saying.
COFFEE
03:00 08Dec10 -UPDATE 2-Vietnam's coffee crop to fall, Brazil unchanged-ICO
* Farmers could boost output by replanting -Vicofa
* Domestic prices are 77 pct above farmer's cost
(Adds ICO comment, Vietnam's plan, domestic output, prices)
By Ho Binh Minh
HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Vietnam's 2010/11 coffee output may drop 2.8 percent to 17.5 million bags, the International Coffee Organization said on Wednesday, reversing its previous forecast of a rise.
Dry weather followed by prolonged rains in the key coffee growing regions of Vietnam, the world's second-largest producer after Brazil, have hurt the crop, triggering supply concerns and a rise in London robusta futures
Executive Director Jose Sette of the London-based ICO said the latest forecast came after the organisation received data from member governments, including top robusta producer Vietnam.
ICO in September said output in Vietnam would rise 4 percent to 18.73 million bags. Vietnam's coffee crop year lasts from October to September, starting with a four-month harvest.
ICO maintained its forecast for top producer Brazil's 2010/2011 output at 47.2 million 60-kg bags, a rise of 19.6 percent from the previous crop.
It also kept the 2010/2011 output forecast for Colombia unchanged at 9 million bags, but lowered its estimate of the country's 2009/2010 crop to 8.098 million bags, from 8.5 million estimated in September.
As a result Colombia's production this season would rise 11.1 percent from the previous harvest, larger than a 5.9 percent rise forecast previously.
Sette said the ICO was waiting for more details of the crop size in producing countries, including Vietnam and arabica-producing nations, before fixing its next global output estimate.
The world coffee production estimate in the current 2010/2011 year would still be unchanged at between 133 million and 135 million, up from 119.9 million bags in the previous crop, Sette told a two-day industry meeting in Vietnam.
"We will have final (output) forecast at the end of the crop," Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association Chairman Luong Van Tu said, adding that the next data would be available by the end of the harvest in January.
Vietnam's coffee consumption this year and the next could remain at 10 percent of output, on par with 2009, Tu said, unchanged from a government figure.
Higher demand from new buyers is another factor that has cut Vietnam's coffee exports to traditional markets, said Chief Executive Do Ha Nam of Ho Chi Minh City-based Intimex, Vietnam's second-largest coffee exporter after Vinacafe.
The new buyers include Russia, Poland, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, Nam said.
"The Asian markets are buying increased volumes of Vietnamese coffee not because they will consume it, but they import it for processing and selling to other markets due to cheap prices of Vietnamese beans," Nam told the conference.
Most of the growth in global output in recent years has been generated by Brazil and Vietnam, mainly by higher productivity, not by area expansion, Robert Simmons, head of Coffee and Cocoa at LMC International, told the conference.
STABLE OUTPUT
The area of Vietnamese coffee under harvest has been increasing every year, reaching about 500,000 hectares (1.24 million acres) now, with an average yield of more than 2 tonnes per hectare, Tu said.
As such, the productive area accounts for 94 percent of Vietnam's total coffee under plantation.
Vietnam vowed to keep its planting area stable for an output of 17.5 million bags a year to mitigate impact on the environment, Tu said. [ID:nHAN433450]
If prices remain profitable in coming years, farmers would be able to boost output only by speeding the replanting of ageing trees, which now make up a third of Vietnam's coffee area, he told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.
Robusta in Daklak, Vietnam's top growing province, rose to 35,200-35,400 dong ($1.80-$1.82) per kg on Wednesday from 35,000 dong on Tuesday, tracking a gain in London prices. Vietnamese prices are now 77 percent above farmer's production costs.
"The issue remains the source of funding to support farmers as it takes five years to get the newly planted trees to become productive again," he said, adding that the government has yet to find money for the plan.
Yields will fall after 20 years of production. The soil needs two years to rest before farmers can start planting anew, and the agriculture ministry has recommended alternatives such as green beans or corn. ($1=19,498 dong) (Editing by Himani Sarkar)
03:04 08Dec10 -Buyers try to renegotiate Indonesian coffee deals
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Foreign buyers are trying to renegotiate the prices they have paid for Indonesian coffee after a sharp drop in futures prices, an Indonesian export group official said on Wednesday.
"It's not about some supply shortage that would lead to default or force majeure. They just want us to lower prices," said Pranoto Soenarto, head of specialty coffee at the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries.
Second-month robusta coffee futures
"Hopefully, there'll be no default right now, but I can't tell you what will happen in the next few months," Soenarto told Reuters on the sidelines of a coffee conference in Vietnam.
He gave no indication on the size of deals affected. Traders said buyers wanted to delay shipments if they couldn't get an agreement on lower prices. (Reporting by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat; Editing by Alan Raybould)
SUGAR
21:18 07Dec10 -RPT-UPDATE 2-India can export 0.5-1 mln T sugar -govt officials
(Repeats story issued late on Tuesday)
* Futures prices ease off highs
* Market was expecting exports around these levels
(Adds trader comment, updates prices)
NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - This year's good rains mean India can easily export up to 1 million tonnes of sugar, two government officials said on Tuesday, broadly in line with market expectations from the world's second-biggest producer.
"We can easily export 500,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes even if production is 24.5 million tonnes," one government official, who did not wish to be identified, told reporters, referring to unrestricted exports.
A second official, also present, confirmed the figures.
In late November, a senior government official had said India was likely to free up sugar exports if production exceeded 24.5 million. [ID:nBMA008987]. The India Sugar Mills Association has forecast the crop will total 25.5 million. [ID:nLDE6AT0RC]
A more normal monsoon in 2010 allowed the country to recover from last year's drought which forced it to import large quantities, triggering sharp gains in international prices.
The market is waiting for New Delhi to allow unrestricted exports, termed as open general licence (OGL), which could see global prices easing.
India, which is also the world's top consumer of the sweetener, has already allowed some restricted exports this year.
The figures cited by the officials were broadly in line with market expectations, said Jake Wetherall, a soft commodities trader with Rabobank in London.
"If it were 2 million tonnes (of OGL exports) that would be bearish," Wetherall said.
On Tuesday, ICE March raw sugar futures
Last month, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said India was likely to take a decision on allowing unrestricted sugar exports by the third week of December and the country might ship exports on a monthly basis. [ID:nSGE6AT0D1]
India's sugar market is regulated by the government with the objective of keeping prices and supply steady as it is an essential commodity that goes into everyday use and is also politically sensitive. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj, additional reporting by David Brough and Nigel Hunt in London; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan, Jo Winterbottom and Anthony Barker)
03:15 08Dec10 -UPDATE 2-China faces sugar deficit amid low state stocks in 2011
* Sugar deficit seen above 2 mln tonnes in 2010/11
* State reserve low or below 1 million tonnes
* Government needs to import more to refill stocks
* Corn syrup may help fill shortfall
(Adds comments and details)
By Niu Shuping and Tom Miles
BEIJING, Dec 8 (Reuters) - China will face a sugar shortfall of more than 2 million tonnes this crop year, the third straight deficit as consumption outpaces production growth, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.
The world's third largest producer and consumer of sugar is also facing declining state reserves, which could prompt China to source more sugar overseas next year to refill its stocks, after a 60 percent jump in imports in the first ten months of this year.
"There will be more imports next year. There is a possibility that the government may need to import to replenish state reserves," said an industry official who declined to be identified.
"Imports become possible when international prices fall to around 20 cents," said the official, adding that New York raw sugar futures prices
China's sugar consumption in 2010/2011 is likely to grow 6.2 percent to 14.62 million tonnes, while domestic sugar output is estimated at about 11 million tonnes, the Journal said.
This would leave a gap of more than 2 million tonnes after taking into account sugar brought in from Cuba in a government deal and private imports under a low-tariff scheme.
LOW RESERVES
The paper cited industry officials at a conference as saying that the government only holds about 1 million tonnes of reserves after sales of 2.1 million tonnes since 2009, far below what is normally seen as a safety level of 3-months' worth of consumption, or about 4 million tonnes.
But some traders and analysts put government stocks at as low as 500,000 tonnes.
China's sugar season starts in October, and sugar mills will finish crushing by the end of April.
"Shortages in the previous two years were largely covered with sales of state reserves, but the current state reserve is only about 500,000 tonnes, not enough to cover next year's deficit," said an industry analyst.
China's sugar imports surged 60 percent in the first 10 months of this year to a record 1.6 million tonnes, according to official Customs data. [SOF/CN]
China imports about 400,000 tonnes of sugar every year from Cuba under a bilateral government agreement.
"It is unrealistic to import more from Cuba as its export is reducing every year. More imports from India or Brazil may be possible," said the industry official.
Corn sweetener, made from corn starch, will continue to help fill the supply gap, and China's production of the syrup will grow to 10 million tonnes next year, after 13 percent growth to 9.2 million tonnes this year, the newspaper reported.
Expected shortages and high global prices helped push Zhengzhou futures
03:35 08Dec10 -Indonesia sees 2.425 mln T raw sugar imports in 2011
JAKARTA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Indonesia will issue import permits for 2.425 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2011, up five percent from this year on stronger demand from the food and beverage industry, an official from the industry ministry said on Wednesday.
03:55 08Dec10 -TECHNICALS-New York sugar may drop to 25.60 cents/lb in 4 weeks
* For more technical analyses, please click [TECH/C]
* For a four-week sugar technical outlook: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100812163927.jpg
SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - New York sugar
A five-wave cycle was completed on the rise from the May low at 13 cents to 33.39 cents, and the first leg of the correction, labeled as a wave "A" ended around 25.60 cents, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement.
A closer look at the hourly chart confirms the bearish outlook derived from the daily chart.
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100812163505.jpg. The hourly chart shows that the sharp fall from the Nov. 11 high at 33.39 cents is composed of a five-wave cycle and the rebound from the Nov. 17 low at 25.30 cents failed to develop after briefly piercing a strong resistance at 29.35 cents, the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement on the fall from 33.39 cents to 25.30 cents.
Chances are high for sugar to fall to 25.60 cents first, around the previous wave "A" trough, and then to 23.20 cents, the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement level.
Resistance is at 30 cents, a rise above which would invalidate the bearish outlook.
** Wang Tao is a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. The views expressed are his own.
No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses. **
(Reporting by Wang Tao; Editing by Himani Sarkar) ((wang.tao@thomsonreuters.com)
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Marcy Nicholson
Journalist
Thomson Reuters
Crisis en Costa de Marfil: EEUU insta a Gbagbo a pasar el poder a Ouattara
(AFP) – hace 5 horas
ABIYÁN — Estados Unidos llamó el martes al presidente marfileño, Laurent Gbagbo, a "iniciar la transición pacífica" del poder a Alassane Ouattara para sacar al país de la crisis, mientras la ONU inició la retirada de su personal no esencial de Costa de Marfil.
Naciones Unidas empezó este martes a retirar a su personal no esencial de este país, o sea 460 personas, en medio de la grave crisis política por la que atraviesa el país, informó una fuente de la ONU en Abiyán. "El traslado se está llevando a cabo. El personal no esencial comenzó a salir del país a principios de la mañana" del martes, indicó a la AFP esta fuente, que pidió el anonimato.
La ONU había anunciado esta decisión el lunes desde Nueva York, a raíz del clima tenso en el país causado por la rivalidad entre los dos presidentes proclamados, Laurent Gbagbo y Alassane Ouattara."Debido a la situación en cuestiones de seguridad en Costa de Marfil y según los procedimientos normales de la ONU, el personal no esencial será temporalmente ubicado en Gambia", informó un portavoz de la organización.La misión de la ONU en Costa de Marfil dispone de más de 10.000 cascos azules, policías y trabajadores civiles.
Un alto enviado de Naciones Unidas le dijo este martes al Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU que el líder de la oposición Alassane Ouattara fue el ganador de las disputadas elecciones presidenciales de Costa de Marfil con "un claro margen"."Hubo un solo ganador, con un claro margen", le dijo al Consejo de Seguridad el representante especial del secretario general de la ONU en Costa de Marfil, Choi Young-Jin."Esperamos que el presidente Gbagbo tomará la buena decisión en los próximos días", exhortó Philip Crowley, portavoz de la diplomacia estadounidense.El resultado de los comicios del 28 de noviembre fue "claro", y el mandatario saliente debe "reconocer la voluntad del pueblo de Costa de Marfil e iniciar una transición pacífica", agregó.
Por su parte en Abuja la Comunidad Económica de los Estados de Africa del Oeste (Cedeao), al concluir una cumbre extraordinaria este martes en Abuja (Nigeria), le pidió a Gbagbo "entregar el poder" inmediatamente. La Cedeao suspendió a Costa de Marfil "de todas sus actividades", anunció el presidente nigeriano Goodluck Jonathan, tras la reunión, a la que ninguno de los dos rivales fue invitado.
El presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, advirtió formalmente a Gbagbo, de la posibilidad de "un creciente aislamiento" y dijo que sufriría "las consecuencias de sus actos injustos" si se aferraba al poder, señaló el lunes un alto funcionario de la Casa Blanca a la AFP. Tanto el actual presidente Laurent Gbago como Ouattara se declararon ganadores de las elecciones presidenciales el 28 de noviembre, tras lo cual han crecido la tensiones al tiempo que ambos han formado sendos gobiernos. Estados Unidos, la Unión Europea y el secretario general de la ONU Ban Ki-moon han declarado que el presidente debería ser Ouattara.
ABIYÁN — Estados Unidos llamó el martes al presidente marfileño, Laurent Gbagbo, a "iniciar la transición pacífica" del poder a Alassane Ouattara para sacar al país de la crisis, mientras la ONU inició la retirada de su personal no esencial de Costa de Marfil.
Naciones Unidas empezó este martes a retirar a su personal no esencial de este país, o sea 460 personas, en medio de la grave crisis política por la que atraviesa el país, informó una fuente de la ONU en Abiyán. "El traslado se está llevando a cabo. El personal no esencial comenzó a salir del país a principios de la mañana" del martes, indicó a la AFP esta fuente, que pidió el anonimato.
La ONU había anunciado esta decisión el lunes desde Nueva York, a raíz del clima tenso en el país causado por la rivalidad entre los dos presidentes proclamados, Laurent Gbagbo y Alassane Ouattara."Debido a la situación en cuestiones de seguridad en Costa de Marfil y según los procedimientos normales de la ONU, el personal no esencial será temporalmente ubicado en Gambia", informó un portavoz de la organización.La misión de la ONU en Costa de Marfil dispone de más de 10.000 cascos azules, policías y trabajadores civiles.
Un alto enviado de Naciones Unidas le dijo este martes al Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU que el líder de la oposición Alassane Ouattara fue el ganador de las disputadas elecciones presidenciales de Costa de Marfil con "un claro margen"."Hubo un solo ganador, con un claro margen", le dijo al Consejo de Seguridad el representante especial del secretario general de la ONU en Costa de Marfil, Choi Young-Jin."Esperamos que el presidente Gbagbo tomará la buena decisión en los próximos días", exhortó Philip Crowley, portavoz de la diplomacia estadounidense.El resultado de los comicios del 28 de noviembre fue "claro", y el mandatario saliente debe "reconocer la voluntad del pueblo de Costa de Marfil e iniciar una transición pacífica", agregó.
Por su parte en Abuja la Comunidad Económica de los Estados de Africa del Oeste (Cedeao), al concluir una cumbre extraordinaria este martes en Abuja (Nigeria), le pidió a Gbagbo "entregar el poder" inmediatamente. La Cedeao suspendió a Costa de Marfil "de todas sus actividades", anunció el presidente nigeriano Goodluck Jonathan, tras la reunión, a la que ninguno de los dos rivales fue invitado.
El presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, advirtió formalmente a Gbagbo, de la posibilidad de "un creciente aislamiento" y dijo que sufriría "las consecuencias de sus actos injustos" si se aferraba al poder, señaló el lunes un alto funcionario de la Casa Blanca a la AFP. Tanto el actual presidente Laurent Gbago como Ouattara se declararon ganadores de las elecciones presidenciales el 28 de noviembre, tras lo cual han crecido la tensiones al tiempo que ambos han formado sendos gobiernos. Estados Unidos, la Unión Europea y el secretario general de la ONU Ban Ki-moon han declarado que el presidente debería ser Ouattara.
La ONU evacúa a su personal de Costa de Marfil
La sombra de la guerra civil planea sobre el país africano que cuenta con dos presidentes «de facto»
Eduardo s. Molano / CORRESPONSAL EN NAIROBI
Día 07/12/2010 - 17.37h
Naciones Unidas comenzó hoy la evacuación de su personal «no necesario» de Costa de Marfil, tras la lucha abierta en las calles del país ente los simpatizantes del mandatario Laurent Gbagbo y el opositor Alassane Ouattara; quienes asumen para sí la victoria en los pasados comicios del 28 de noviembre. Para Farhan Haq, portavoz de la organización, la «actual situación que atraviesa el Estado en materia de seguridad» ha obligado al traslado de cerca de 500 trabajadores a Gambia. De igual modo, el director de Naciones Unidas para Costa de Marfil, André Carvalho, aseguraba que cientos de civiles ya han huido hacia Ghana y Liberia, ante el temor que se recrudezcan unos combates que, desde el sábado, han provocado al menos una veintena de muertos.
El pasado 3 de diciembre, el mandatario Laurent Gbagbo fue proclamado vencedor de las elecciones presidenciales por el Consejo constitucional, con el 51,45% de los votos. Una decisión que invalidaba los resultados entregados previamente por la Comisión electoral, quien otorgaba la victoria a su rival político, Alassane Ouattara.
En las últimas horas, tanto Naciones Unidas, como EE.UU., la UE y la Unión Africana ya han mostrado su apoyo incondicional a la investidura de Ouattara. Sin embargo, Gbagbo desafió el pasado domingo a la comunidad internacional al designar un nuevo gabinete compuesto por el primer ministro Gilbert Ake.
9.000 cascos azules en la región.
Así que, con un país que cuenta «de facto» con dos presidentes, la sombra de una nueva guerra civil comienza a dibujarse en el cielo marfileño.
El propio secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki-moon, ya ha afirmado que los cerca de nueve mil «cascos azules» que se encuentran en la región «harán todo lo que está en su poder para preservar la paz y la seguridad en el Estado». Mientras, la Comunidad económica de los Estados de África del Oeste se reunió hoy de «urgencia» en Nigeria para paliar la crisis. Una organización, que recoge así el relevo del antiguo negociador del conflicto, el ex presidente sudafricano Thabo Mbeki, quien abandonó el país ante la falta de «quórum» político.
Eduardo s. Molano / CORRESPONSAL EN NAIROBI
Día 07/12/2010 - 17.37h
Naciones Unidas comenzó hoy la evacuación de su personal «no necesario» de Costa de Marfil, tras la lucha abierta en las calles del país ente los simpatizantes del mandatario Laurent Gbagbo y el opositor Alassane Ouattara; quienes asumen para sí la victoria en los pasados comicios del 28 de noviembre. Para Farhan Haq, portavoz de la organización, la «actual situación que atraviesa el Estado en materia de seguridad» ha obligado al traslado de cerca de 500 trabajadores a Gambia. De igual modo, el director de Naciones Unidas para Costa de Marfil, André Carvalho, aseguraba que cientos de civiles ya han huido hacia Ghana y Liberia, ante el temor que se recrudezcan unos combates que, desde el sábado, han provocado al menos una veintena de muertos.
El pasado 3 de diciembre, el mandatario Laurent Gbagbo fue proclamado vencedor de las elecciones presidenciales por el Consejo constitucional, con el 51,45% de los votos. Una decisión que invalidaba los resultados entregados previamente por la Comisión electoral, quien otorgaba la victoria a su rival político, Alassane Ouattara.
En las últimas horas, tanto Naciones Unidas, como EE.UU., la UE y la Unión Africana ya han mostrado su apoyo incondicional a la investidura de Ouattara. Sin embargo, Gbagbo desafió el pasado domingo a la comunidad internacional al designar un nuevo gabinete compuesto por el primer ministro Gilbert Ake.
9.000 cascos azules en la región.
Así que, con un país que cuenta «de facto» con dos presidentes, la sombra de una nueva guerra civil comienza a dibujarse en el cielo marfileño.
El propio secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki-moon, ya ha afirmado que los cerca de nueve mil «cascos azules» que se encuentran en la región «harán todo lo que está en su poder para preservar la paz y la seguridad en el Estado». Mientras, la Comunidad económica de los Estados de África del Oeste se reunió hoy de «urgencia» en Nigeria para paliar la crisis. Una organización, que recoge así el relevo del antiguo negociador del conflicto, el ex presidente sudafricano Thabo Mbeki, quien abandonó el país ante la falta de «quórum» político.
lunes, 6 de diciembre de 2010
"Golpe" de Gbagbo en Costa de Marfil
El líder del Consejo Constitucional, Paul Yao N'dré, anuncia el "golpe de Gbagbo" en la televisión estatal
© Présidence/afrol News
afrol News, 3 de Diciembre - Un día después de que la Comisión Electoral declarase al líder opositor Alassane Ouattara ganador de las elecciones presidenciales en Costa de Marfil, el Consejo Constitucional proclama vencedor al actual presidente Laurent Gbagbo.
Ayer, la Comisión Electoral Independiente (CEI) de Costa de Marfil, después de mucho retraso y un bloqueo de dos días por los seguidores del presidente Gbagbo, publicó finalmente los resultados de la segunda ronda electoral del domingo en Costa de Marfil. El líder opositor Alassane Ouattara fue declarado el vencedor, obteniendo el 54,1 por ciento de los votos.
No obstante, pronto quedó claro que el presidente Gbagbo no aceptaría la derrota. El titular alegó un fraude generalizado e intimidación en el norte del país, bastión electoral de Ouattara. Durante el día, las fronteras del país se mantuvieron cerradas.
Esta tarde, en lo que la oposición califica como un "golpe de Estado", el Consejo Constitucional de Costa de Marfil declaró inválidos los resultados provisionales de la CEI. Por el contrario, según dicho órgano, el presidente Gbagbo había conseguido el 51 por ciento de los votos.
El Consejo, creado en 1994, tiene una función reguladora en los referendos y las elecciones. Es presidente ejecutivo, Paul Yao N'dré, fue nombrado por el propio presidente Laurent Gbagbo. Y hoy, N'dré declaraba en la televisión controlada por el gobierno que Gbagbo era el "presidente reelecto" de Costa de Marfil.
Pero Ouattara, líder de la oposición, no acepta la sorprendente declaración emitida por el organismo, y hoy se presentó como ante
El presidente Laurent Gbagbo encuentra a la prensa durante la campaña para las elecciones presidenciales de 2010
© Jonas O/Campaigne Gbabo/afrol News
la opinión pública como "presidente de Costa de Marfil", en un discurso de agradecimiento a sus votantes.
Fuentes de la oposición ya hablan de "un golpe de Estado" perpetrado por Gbagbo y sus aliados en el Consejo Constitucional. Se preguntan cómo el Consejo podría haber hecho un recuento en tan poco tiempo y llegar a la cifra de "51 por ciento" de votos para el presidente titular.
También los seguidores de Ouattara exigen la intervención de Naciones Unidas para evitar el "golpe". La ONU cuenta actualmente con más de 9.000 fuerzas de paz estacionadas en Costa de Marfil.
También el primer ministro Guillaume Soro, líder de los ex rebeldes de Forces Nouvelles que sigue controlando la mitad norte del país, insistió en una intervención de la ONU y pidió que el organismo mundial tenga la última palabra en el conflicto entre la CEI y el Consejo.
Las declaraciones de Soro y los simpatizantes de Ouattara indican que puede haber un riesgo creciente de una nueva guerra civil entre el norte y el sur de Costa de Marfil si el "golpe" de Gbagbo se lleva realmente a cabo.
El gobierno del presidente Gbagbo, mientras tanto, ha tomado varias medidas para asegurar su control del poder. Todas las fronteras se han cerrado, incluido el espacio aéreo, y los medios de comunicación extranjeros, entre ellos RFI y BBC, han sido silenciados.
Por staff writer
viernes, 3 de diciembre de 2010
La oposición vence en Costa de Marfil
Alassane Ouattara hace campaña por la presidencia de Costa de Marfil
© RHDP/afrol News
afrol News, 2 de Diciembre - El líder opositor Alassane Ouattara ha sido declarado ganador de las presidenciales del domingo en Costa de Marfil, obteniendo el 54,1 por ciento de los votos. El presidente Laurent Gbagbo no acepta la derrota.
La Comisión Electoral Independiente (CEI), después de muchas demoras y la interferencia por parte del presidente Gbagbo, finalmente, ha presentado los resultados oficiales de las elecciones presidenciales de Costa de Marfil. Sorprendentemente, el norteño Alassane Ouattara fue declarado ganador y será el próximo presidente de Costa de Marfil.
El anuncio de la CEI ha sido posible después de una intervención de la comunidad internacional, que exigía al partido gobernante abandonar el bloqueo a la Comisión.
El presidente Gbagbo ya ha anunciado que no aceptará los resultados del norte del país, dispuesto a ir al Tribunal Constitucional. Se trata del bastión electoral de Ouattara, que desde la guerra civil de 2002 ha estado controlado por los rebeldes de Forces Nouvelles. De acuerdo con el partido en el poder, los ex rebeldes habían obligado a los votantes a apoyar a Ouattara.
Además de bloquear las oficinas de la CEI desde ayer, los partidarios del partido del actual presidente Gbagbo atacaron las oficinas en Abidjan del partido de Ouattara.
El ataque produjo enfrentamientos mortales, dejando ocho muertos y decenas de heridos. Los 9.000 soldados de Naciones Unidas estacionados en Costa de Marfil, están ahora intentando calmar la situación en Abidjan.
El Tribunal Constitucional marfileño ya ha declarado que revisará los resultados electorales, en respuesta al retrasado anuncio de la CEI y la posible influencia de la presión política sobre la CEI. El Tribunal, probablemente, también examinará las acusaciones de fraude lanzadas por el presidente Gbagbo.
El presidente Gbagbo, que ha permanecido en el poder desde el año 2000, obtuvo más votos en la primera ronda electoral. Sin embargo, los candidatos derrotados en esa ronda han dado su apoyo a Ouattara.
Por staff writer
© afrol News. Todos los derechos reservados
La tensión se mantiene en Costa de Marfil tras cierre de fronteras
(COSTA DE MARFIL) POLITICA,ELECCIONES | > AREA: Política
03-12-2010 / 13:20 h
Abiyán, 3 dic (EFE).- La tensión se mantiene hoy en Costa de Marfil, después de que los militares cerraran ayer las fronteras, tras el anuncio de la victoria del opositor Alassane Ouattara en los comicios presidenciales celebrados el 28 de noviembre, un resultado que no aceptan los seguidores del actual gobernante, Laurent Gbagbo. En Abobo, un populoso barrio del norte de Abiyán donde Ouattara tiene un gran apoyo, la tensión es más palpable y hoy se puede observar un gran despliegue de agentes de policía y unidades de la Gendarmería.
Pese a que ayer la Comisión Nacional Independiente (CEI) dio como ganador a Ouattara, con un 54 por ciento de los votos, frente al 46 por ciento de Gbagbo, el presidente del Consejo Constitucional, Paul Yao N'Dré, dijo que esos resultados son "nulos". Según N'Dré, la nulidad se debe a que se anunciaron después de las 72 horas que tiene la CEI para hacer públicos los resultados después del cierre de las urnas.
Un miembro del Frente Popular Marfileño (FPI), de Gbagbo, impidió a la CEI que anunciase el martes, dentro del plazo, los resultados, al arrancar los papeles que tenía en la mano al portavoz del organismo y romperlos. El FPI ha presentado impugnaciones para anular la votación en varias regiones del norte, donde Ouattara tiene el grueso de sus seguidores, y, ahora, N'Dré pretende revisar esas reclamaciones, que de ser aceptadas podrían dar la victoria a Gbagbo y crear una situación de gran tensión y efectos imprevisibles.
Mientras se espera la comunicación del Consejo Constitucional, la vida en Abiyán, que desde el lunes está casi desierto, se ha recuperado en cierta medida, y hoy se podía ver más movimiento en las calles y muchas tiendas y oficinas han reabierto sus puertas. De momento, el país sigue con las fronteras cerradas al tráfico de personas y mercancías por orden militar, mientras se mantiene el toque de queda nocturno decretado por el Gobierno al menos hasta el domingo. También han sido suspendidas las emisiones de radios y televisiones extranjeras por el Consejo nacional de Comunicaciones. Ya antes de la publicación de los resultados, hombres armados atacaron en la madrugada del jueves una sede de la Reagrupación de los Republicanos (RDR), de Ouattara, mataron al menos a cuatro personas, hirieron a 41 más y hay varias desaparecidas, posiblemente secuestradas.
Gbagbo fue elegido presidente en 2000 para cinco años y se ha mantenido otros cinco en el poder al retrasar la convocatoria de comicios por la guerra civil, de 2002 a 2007, que dividió al país entre el sur, leal al Gobierno de Abiyán, y el norte, controlado por las Fuerzas Nuevas del actual primer ministro, Guillaume Soro. Las Fuerzas Nuevas, que estarían en el lado de Ouattara y que tienen una gran influencia en el norte, permanecen armadas y se teme que si los seguidores de Gbagbo cambian los resultados electorales a su favor se podría producir otro enfrentamiento civil. Un contingente de unos 8.000 soldados de la Misión de Naciones Unidas en Costa de Marfil (ONUCI) trata de mantener la paz en el país y evitar confrontaciones entre los militares y las Fu
03-12-2010 / 13:20 h
Abiyán, 3 dic (EFE).- La tensión se mantiene hoy en Costa de Marfil, después de que los militares cerraran ayer las fronteras, tras el anuncio de la victoria del opositor Alassane Ouattara en los comicios presidenciales celebrados el 28 de noviembre, un resultado que no aceptan los seguidores del actual gobernante, Laurent Gbagbo. En Abobo, un populoso barrio del norte de Abiyán donde Ouattara tiene un gran apoyo, la tensión es más palpable y hoy se puede observar un gran despliegue de agentes de policía y unidades de la Gendarmería.
Pese a que ayer la Comisión Nacional Independiente (CEI) dio como ganador a Ouattara, con un 54 por ciento de los votos, frente al 46 por ciento de Gbagbo, el presidente del Consejo Constitucional, Paul Yao N'Dré, dijo que esos resultados son "nulos". Según N'Dré, la nulidad se debe a que se anunciaron después de las 72 horas que tiene la CEI para hacer públicos los resultados después del cierre de las urnas.
Un miembro del Frente Popular Marfileño (FPI), de Gbagbo, impidió a la CEI que anunciase el martes, dentro del plazo, los resultados, al arrancar los papeles que tenía en la mano al portavoz del organismo y romperlos. El FPI ha presentado impugnaciones para anular la votación en varias regiones del norte, donde Ouattara tiene el grueso de sus seguidores, y, ahora, N'Dré pretende revisar esas reclamaciones, que de ser aceptadas podrían dar la victoria a Gbagbo y crear una situación de gran tensión y efectos imprevisibles.
Mientras se espera la comunicación del Consejo Constitucional, la vida en Abiyán, que desde el lunes está casi desierto, se ha recuperado en cierta medida, y hoy se podía ver más movimiento en las calles y muchas tiendas y oficinas han reabierto sus puertas. De momento, el país sigue con las fronteras cerradas al tráfico de personas y mercancías por orden militar, mientras se mantiene el toque de queda nocturno decretado por el Gobierno al menos hasta el domingo. También han sido suspendidas las emisiones de radios y televisiones extranjeras por el Consejo nacional de Comunicaciones. Ya antes de la publicación de los resultados, hombres armados atacaron en la madrugada del jueves una sede de la Reagrupación de los Republicanos (RDR), de Ouattara, mataron al menos a cuatro personas, hirieron a 41 más y hay varias desaparecidas, posiblemente secuestradas.
Gbagbo fue elegido presidente en 2000 para cinco años y se ha mantenido otros cinco en el poder al retrasar la convocatoria de comicios por la guerra civil, de 2002 a 2007, que dividió al país entre el sur, leal al Gobierno de Abiyán, y el norte, controlado por las Fuerzas Nuevas del actual primer ministro, Guillaume Soro. Las Fuerzas Nuevas, que estarían en el lado de Ouattara y que tienen una gran influencia en el norte, permanecen armadas y se teme que si los seguidores de Gbagbo cambian los resultados electorales a su favor se podría producir otro enfrentamiento civil. Un contingente de unos 8.000 soldados de la Misión de Naciones Unidas en Costa de Marfil (ONUCI) trata de mantener la paz en el país y evitar confrontaciones entre los militares y las Fu
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