Prodi Withholds Cash, Says Time is Running Out

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
NEWS
November 13, 2003
Posted to the web November 13, 2003
Abidjan
The European Union said on Thursday it would continue to withold 400 million
euros (US $465 million) of aid to Cote d'Ivoire until there was real progress
in putting the country's faltering peace process back on track, but it warned
that time was running out.
Roman Prodi, the President of the European Commission, told reporters after
talks with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo that "Time is against Cote
d'Ivoire."
"There was a stronger international engagement in Cote d'ivoire, but there's a
little bit of despair [now]," he added.
The UN Security Council, meeting in New York, meanwhile noted that the
situation in Cote d'Ivoire "continues to constitute a threat to international
peace and security in the region."
The rebels who occupy the north of Cote d'Ivoire signed a French-brokered peace
agreement with Gbagbo in January and joined a broad-based government of
national reconciliation three months later. But the rebels pulled out of the
cabinet on 23 September, protesting that that Gbagbo was refusing to delegate
effective powers to ministers, and froze plans to disarm.
Prodi said he had spoken by telephone to Ghanaian President John Kufuor who
hosted a West African summit on Tuesday that tried to break the seven-week-old
impasse in Cote d'Ivoire. But Prodi said both he and Kufuor agreed that the
meeting between Gbagbo and six other heads of state from the region had been a
failure.
Prodi said the European Union would continue to withhold US $400 million of aid
earmarked for Cote d'Ivoire until progress was made in restoring peace and
stability.
"We are waiting for the country to make progress, the money is on the table",
he said, without elaborating.
The head of the European Commission was speaking after meetings with Gbagbo,
Prime Minister Seydou Diarra and the leaders of the main opposition parties
represented in parliament.
Prodi said he still believed that the January peace agreement still represented
the best solution for peace in Cote d'Ivoire, which plunged into civil war 14
months ago.
Asked about the future of the once-stable country, Prodi said: "I am never
pessimistic or optimistic, but I am very preoccupied."
The UN Security Council said there was an "urgent need for all parties to
participate fully" in the government of national reconciliation and it urged
the rebels to return to the cabinet.
It also stressed the need to "implement fully the content of the Linas
Marcoussis (peace) agreement."
The Council spelt out what it meant in some detail. It said there was an
"urgent need to begin reforming land law and electoral rules, restore public
services and the authority of the state throughout the territory of Cote
d'Ivoire and end the use of mercenaries and the illicit purchase of weapons."
The Security Council requested UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to report back
on how the United Nations might enhance its role in Cote d'Ivoire by January
10. It delayed a decision on increasing the number of military liason officers
attached to the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire (MINUCI) until then. Annan had
recommended that their number be increased from 34 to 76.

   

  =============================================================================
   Copyright © 2003 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks. All rights
        reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
  =============================================================================