Raila arrives in Ivory Coast for talks

By Agencies
Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrived in Ivory Coast to join the African Union team mediating the country’s political crisis following disputed Presidential elections.
Mr Gilbert Ake, his counterpart in incumbent Laurent Gbagbo’s government received him at Felix Houphouet-Boigny International Airport, Monday.
African leaders are in Abidjan for more talks with Ivory Coast’s rival presidents Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara who is internationally recognised as winner of disputed November 28 elections.
The former has refused to step aside despite mounting pressure from World leaders and the African Union. Focus now shifts to the AU joint mission led by Raila that is currently in Abidjan to settle the dispute.
Gbagbo has made it clear that he intends to remain in power and accuses foreign governments of plotting a coup against him.
Agencies reported that the spokesman for Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma, who is among the Heads of State representing the West African alliance, says Gbagbo’s exit is non-negotiable.
But Gbagbo’s aides say the meeting, taking place in Abidjan, is all about negotiation. "They are not coming to negotiate the departure of President Gbagbo," said Ambassador Yao Gnamien, a special advisor to Mr Gbagbo. "They are coming to Cote D’Ivoire just for a process of negotiations so that we can find a peaceful solution to the crisis," he added.
Raila flew from Nairobi on Sunday morning to meet Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan before leaving for Ivory Coast yesterday morning.
West African leaders will now decide what to do next, following Monday’s talks that also include Raila who is the African Union mediator to the crisis.
The West African alliance says it is considering military force to remove Gbagbo, but he is still backed by Ivory Coast’s military.
It emerged that African diplomats were unanimous that they returned to Ivory Coast to persuade President Gbagbo to step down.
The presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde failed in a similar mission last week, and this time they are joined by the Kenyan PM, who is representing the African Union.
Other reports from agencies based in West Africa said the leaders were trying to tempt Gbagbo out of office with a promise that he and his financial assets will be protected.
Raila was the first African leader to call for the forceful ejection of Gbagbo from office and it was feared that his hard-line position would not go down well with Gbagbo’s team.
Civil war looms
The AU and the UN both recognise Ouattara as winner of elections in November and as the rightful Ivorian President.
Golf Hotel where Ouattara is working from is currently surrounded by 800 UN peacekeepers.
As the threat of civil war looms over the country, post-election violence has meanwhile claimed more than 170 lives and led tens of thousands of people to flee into neighbouring countries.
The leaders of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde will be trying to persuade Gbagbo to step down as pressure from his African neighbours grows.
Raila was last week asked by the African Union to lead efforts to resolve Ivory Coast’s political crisis.
So far there have been warnings of possible military intervention if Ouattara is not allowed to assume the Presidency.
The UN’s chief of peacekeeping operations, Alain Leroy said they remained neutral: "We are not at war with anyone and in terms of protecting the public we are doing this in the most impartial way possible. We will protect civilians no matter what their political views or ethnicity."
The BBC reported that hundreds of Christian women gathered in Abidjan on Monday to pray for peace.
They will be hoping that with increased African diplomacy, it might be achieved soon.
Gbagbo says Ouattara should not expect foreign troops to help him and is calling for the departure of UN peacekeepers guarding Ouattara’s hotel.
Ouattara says Gbagbo militants are killing his supporters, and he wants the International Criminal Court to investigate.
The crisis has sent more than 20,000 Ivorian refugees into Liberia and other neighbouring countries.
"Many of them have come without any food, without any assets at all, and those who have some assets like goats, for example, they would sell them below market price just to be able to buy food and water," said Malek Triki, who works for the World Food Programme in West Africa.
"And some of them had during the first few days, even to go back to Ivory Coast in search of food and water.
Relief officials expect as many as 450,000 people may be internally displaced and 150,000 people may eventually seek refuge in Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana."