Brussels, 04/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU strongly condemns the deadly attacks against civilians perpetrated by the forces of Laurent Gbagbo, the self-proclaimed president of Côte d'Ivoire. It once more calls on Gbagbo to hand over power rapidly to Alassane Ouattara, who was democratically elected as president and recognised as such by the international community.
In a statement published on the evening of Thursday 3 March on behalf of the EU, Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, states: “Today, the forces of Laurent Gbagbo opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Abidjan, killing seven unarmed women who were making use of their right to express their support of the legitimate president, Alassane Ouattara. We firmly condemn those killings in the strongest possible terms, express our deepest sympathy for the victims and their families, and urge Laurent Gbagbo to refrain from any further violence, and to hand over power rapidly to the elected president. The Ivorian people have democratically chosen their government and it should not be impeded from assuming office. We urge all involved in acts of violence or incitation to hatred to stop immediately such unacceptable solutions”. The high representative also condemns the “deteriorating rule of law, characterised by illegal nationalisations of banks and arbitrary expropriations of money and property carried out by Laurent Gbagbo”. She points out that the “EU remains firmly committed to support the African-led efforts to ensure respect of the election results”. (A.N./transl.jl)