New York, July 04, 2005

CUP-CI President calls for strong action on Ivory Coast

After observing the lack of results of the recent efforts of the international community to encourage Ivory Coast political leaders to put their jealousies behind them and seek peace for their country, Mr. Modeste Seri, President of the Ivorian civil society organization CUP-CI† feels that the time has come for strong international action against the country’s current leaders.

“The leading members of the political class of the Ivory Coast continue to show irresponsibility and contempt for the peace agreements to which they pretend to have committed themselves. They are prolonging the artificial conflict they created, bringing the Ivory Coast to ruin. They are exhausting the patience of the suffering Ivorian people and that of the international community, which has gone to great efforts in support of a return to peace. For the Ivorian people and for the international community the lack of responsibility and maturity of the so-called leaders of the Ivory Coast is now clear without doubt”, Mr. Seri said in New York today.

The latest events prove beyond question Mr. Seri’s statements in recent months doubting the prospects for peace under the current Linas Marcussis formula and its subsequent extensions (Accra III, Pretoria I and II).  “Many meetings can be held, and many pieces of paper can be signed, but they shall be worthless unless there is a sincere will to find peace and put personal ambitions aside. Political leaders worth of the name should instead be giving priority to the interests of the people of the Ivory Coast as a whole” according to Mr. Seri. 

The ongoing war that is destroying the country is the result of the lack of seriousness and honesty of most members of the old political class of the Ivory Coast. This war is creating deep communal hatreds. The wounds will take a long time to heal. The people are dying. The institutions of the country are deteriorating. Its once prosperous economy is being destroyed. The Ivory Coast now tops failed state lists, as international experts acknowledge. Clearly, the time has come to stop playing the sinister “games” of the political class.

Modeste Seri appeals to his fellow citizens to seek peace, to remember that they are all members of one society. “We all belong to one country. We will not achieve our dreams for the Ivory Coast if we allow ourselves to be manipulated into hating one another. Whoever incites us to forget that we all are brothers and sisters in one nation does not deserve our following”, Mr. Seri added. “We need to realize that only by showing tolerance, discipline and acceptance of one another will we make our country achieve its great potential. Let us return to peace ”, he said.

Mr. Seri also asked the international community to deal strongly with the irresponsible Ivorian leadership. “Why wait any longer? Do not treat them as though they have legitimacy. Through their conduct they have more than shown that they have forfeited it. Instead of wasting more time, please take decisive action to facilitate conditions for the Ivorian people to find their way back to one another, and to be able to hold credible elections for new and responsible leaders”, he concluded.