Ivory Coast’s Ouattara Is Sworn In as President, Pledges Reconciliation
Alassane Ouattara was sworn in as Ivory Coast’s president today and pledged to reconcile the west African nation after its violent post-election crisis.
“Today is the beginning of a new era for all Ivorians that marks a common will to write a new page of history for Ivory Coast,” he said today in Yamoussoukro, the political capital.
The 69-year-old economist’s victory in the November election led to four months of violence between his supporters and those loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who ruled the world’s largest cocoa producer for a decade and who refused to cede power.
Gbagbo was captured by the Ivorian Republican Forces militia in Abidjan, the commercial capital, on April 11 following a 10-day siege on the city. French troops, United Nations peacekeepers and the pro-Ouattara fighters battled Gbagbo’s armed supporters. At least 2,000 people were killed during the crisis, according to the UN.
“To all Ivorians and to all who are living on Ivorian soil, I appeal for reconciliation and hope. I am solemnly committed to begin the reconciliation process through dialogue, solidarity and justice,” Ouattara said in the speech.
The ceremony was attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, as well as at least 10 regional heads of state, including Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Paul Biya of Cameroon.
“This is more than just an inauguration,” Ouattara said in the speech. “It is the return of Ivory Coast into the international and African scene that we are celebrating today.”
Ouattara spent the post-electoral stalemate holed up in the seaside Golf Hotel in Abidjan, where he named ministers and enforced a ban on exports of cocoa and coffee in a bid to starve Gbagbo of funds.
Thousands of jubilant residents lined the streets of Yamoussoukro as U.N. armored vehicles were deployed to secure the city, which is the birthplace of Ivory Coast’s first president Felix Houphouet-Boigny.
To contact the reporters on this story: Pauline Bax in Abidjan and Olivier Monnier in Yamoussoukro via Accra at ebowers1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
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