Dear Sidi, I hope you and the Family are doing fine and far away from the troubles. However I have been following the debate here and it seems that the general line is that a new elections should be called for.This perhaps might be a way out of the present crisis,since all what the other opposition party is calling for is a new elections.But I have my doubts as why all these troubles now.Did the Ivorians voted for Gbagbo because they did not have a better favourite ?or did they vote for him expecting that he will call for new election after vining victory ? Ouattara has always been the favourite of the west,this is because of his political background.He has never question the politics of the West in the continent.And the fact that his participation in the former undemocratic and dictatorial government of Felex Houphouet Boigny is an indication that his sense of democracy is limited.Remember that when Gbagbo was a political victim,during the Pro-Democratic unrest,Ouattara was a man of power.The bitter relationship between the two must not be reduced to the unfortunate statement of Gagbo that he ,Ouattara ,is not an Ivorian. The pressure that is put on Gbagbo is very unfortunate,why,because this is a very opportune time for Ivorians to get the records straight,they came out in the streets in their thousands to defend their victory ,and if Ouattara ,instead of helping to advance this victory,called upon his supporters to come out and demand for new elections is without doubt very unfortunate.If the same pressure have been put on Guei,before the elections,perhaps the story will be different.That the OAU,instead of looking at the problem from a very different angle to find a solution to the problem,decides to echoed the hypocritical demand of the West,is without doubt very unfortunate.In my opinion,Ouattara should either join the National Reconciliation Government or continue his opposition activities,whiles waiting for the next election. For Freedom Saiks ----- Original Message ----- From: Sidi Sanneh <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 5:05 PM Subject: Re: FWD: "POWER-HUNGRY" WIFE THE RUIN OF IVORY COAST'S GUEI > Bro. Habib, > > Your concern about further lives being lost in the current crisis is not > only real but justified given the outcome of today's meeting between Gbagbo > and Ouattara at the private residence of the former. Despite the two > embrassing before and after their brief meeting and Ouattara's reference to > "President Gbagbo" (inplying recognision), the deep seated rivalry between > the two still remains. The fact that Ouattara's main priority, even after > meeting Gbagbo, is "to mourn the dead and to bury his dead supporters" and > not to join the new government says it all. In my view, to avert further > bloodshed, the fundamental issue of legitimacy must be addressed and one of > the options available > to Ivorian politicians is your suggestion i.e. for a > re-run of the presidential elections in line with the US, OAU, ECOWAS and > countries such as South Africa. To gloss over the difficult and sensitive > issue of legitimacy, in my view, would prove disastrous in the long run. > Little wonder Koffi Annan, after his Rwanda experience, is taking a clear > and unequivocal stance on this one. > > Sidi Sanneh > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] > if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------