Government crisis in Ivory Coast 2010/2011

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The government crisis in Ivory Coast in 2010/2011 was the disputes surrounding the outcome of the second round of the 2010 presidential election , which took place at the end of November 2010. Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara both claimed victory for themselves. While the UN Security Council , the European Union and the African Union recognized Ouattara as legitimate president, Gbagbo refused to resign. Latent tensions between the immigrants from neighboring states represented by Ouattara and the local population exacerbated the situation.

The division of Ivory Coast before the government crisis: green the areas controlled by the Forces Nouvelles rebels, red the government-controlled areas, yellow the buffer zone

This led to clashes between the two camps, which were ended by the intervention of the western states in favor of Ouattara. The International Criminal Court (ICC) estimates that more than 3,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the crisis. There were also up to a million refugees. The refugees moved mainly within the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Liberia were also the main destinations of the refugees.

background

Division and civil war

The elections were held in a divided country. Rebels held the northern part of the Ivory Coast and government troops held the southern part . The division of the country was the result of the civil war that raged between 2002 and 2007 , which in turn included the exclusion of candidates and voters with a migration background from the northern neighboring states of Ivory Coast and the like. a. belonged to the 1995 and 2000 presidential elections in Ivory Coast .

choice

The presidential elections took place on October 31, 2010 and November 28, 2010. As a result of the Ivorian civil war, the elections originally planned for 2005 had been postponed several times. Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo won the first round of elections ahead of his main challenger, Alassane Ouattara .

course

Two presidents

Two days after the runoff election, the first differences regarding the final result became apparent. A supporter of Laurent Gbagbo forcibly prevented the announcement by the Independent Electoral Commission in front of the television cameras . As a result, the constitutionally last possible date for the announcement of the election results passed. The Constitutional Council , scheduled for next instance , then declared Gbagbo the winner, while the electoral commission belatedly awarded Alassane Ouattara the presidency. The Opération des Nations Unies en Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI, in German Operation of the United Nations in Côte d'Ivoire [= Ivory Coast] or UNOCI), which is ultimately responsible for verifying the election , declared Ouattara the winner. Both parties could not come to an agreement, and so both Gbagbo and Ouattara were sworn in as Ivorian president in quick succession and each set up their own government. Gbagbo appointed the N'Gbo Aké government with Gilbert Marie N'gbo Aké as prime minister and Ouattara authorized Guillaume Soro to form the Soro III government .

Various international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) soon positioned themselves clearly on the side of Ouattara. The European Union (EU) decided on sanctions at a conference of foreign ministers, but these were not put into effect for the time being. The UN Security Council acted even more cautiously at first. Various states warned their citizens not to travel to Ivory Coast.

From the day of the runoff election, Gbagbo issued a curfew that was regularly extended. In addition, following the decision of the Constitutional Council, he restricted the freedom of the press and ordered the army to close the borders. As a result, numerous violent clashes took place between the two parties, claiming many victims and severely restricting public life. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported the first mass refugee movements in the direction of Liberia and Guinea .

Fight and end the conflict

After the international community became active, the Ivory Coast was decoupled from the world economy. After the civil war flared up again, the fighting initially took place mainly along the armistice line in accordance with the Treaty of Ouagadougou and in parts of the former capital Abidjan . The Abobo district in particular was at the center of the conflict, as it was the only district in Abidjan with a political majority for Ouattara. The conflict increased in intensity until conditions escalated into civil war-like conditions at the end of February.

On the side of Ouattara, the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (FN) fought , which had controlled the north of the country since the end of the civil war in 2005–2007 . On March 17, Ouattara founded the Forces républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI), which consisted mainly of the Forces Nouvelles and were to become the new armed forces of the Ivory Coast. The original armed forces (FDS), in particular the elite Republican Guard , supported Gbagbo, who had his power base in the south of the country. In addition, the youth organization Jeunes Patriotes (COJEP) fought on Gbagbo's side. In March the offensive of the Forces républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire intensified and Duékoué was taken .

On the territory of the Ivory Coast there were UN soldiers in the framework of the Opération des Nations Unies en Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI) and French elite forces of the Opération Licorne . They supported Ouattara on various occasions. So they guarded the Hotel du Golf , where he had been since the beginning of the crisis. Especially later on, they intervened directly in the fighting.

At the end of March, the FRCI launched a lightning offensive accompanied by massacres, which was quickly successful and resulted in the capture of large parts of Abidjan in early April. Gbagbo himself holed up with a hundred or two hundred of his followers in the bunker of the presidential residence besieged by the FRCI, and other of his remaining troops also offered massive resistance in the center of the metropolis. Intense fighting ensued, in which all sides used heavy weapons in the urban area. The ONUCI and units of the French armed forces intervened decisively on the side of Ouattara, which finally led to the arrest of Gbagbo on April 11th. This was transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on November 30th . Gbagbo's camp disintegrated.

The first elections after the crisis took place on December 11, 2011 and were peaceful.

See also

Web links

Commons : Government Crisis in Ivory Coast 2010/2011  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Ivory Coast: Opposition warns of civil war  - News
 Wikinews: Ivory Coast: People are fleeing threatening violence  - news
 Wikinews: Thousands are fleeing the Ivory Coast to neighboring Liberia  - News

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gbagbo's transfer to The Hague has consequences. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . December 1, 2011, accessed December 1, 2011 .
  2. ↑ a b Parliamentary elections in Côte d'Ivoire are peaceful. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . December 12, 2011, accessed December 13, 2011 .