I coast buys itself some time
2004-12-15 09:19
United Nations - UN Security Council diplomats said on Tuesday they had found a way to give mediation efforts on the troubled Ivory Coast more time to work before implementing any new sanctions.
Individuals in the war-torn west African nation blamed for holding up a stalled peace accord had been due to be hit with a travel ban and assets freeze automatically at midnight on Wednesday.
To get around that - and give South African President Thabo Mbeki more leeway to work out a deal between Ivory Coast rebels and the government - the list is likely to be kept on hold for the moment, diplomats said.
"As long as there is no list, of course, you cannot impose? targeted sanctions," said Gunter Pleuger, Germany's UN ambassador.
"I think we will take some time, and we hope of course that in the meantime, the mission of President Mbeki hopefully might be successful," Pleuger told reporters.
The new sanctions were authorised by the Security Council last month in a resolution that also slapped an immediate arms embargo on the country, which remains divided into rebel- and government-held areas.
Resolution 'driven' by France
That resolution was driven by Ivory Coast's former colonial master France, which blew up most of the country's air force after a government bombing raid killed several French peacekeeping troops.
But the retaliation set off deadly anti-French and anti-foreign riots in the country, which was once a regional powerhouse as the world's top cocoa producer but has been mired in chaos since the rebels rose up in September 2002.
Both the rebels and the government of President Laurent Gbagbo have been blamed for delays in implementing subsequent peace accords, and Mbeki is trying to bring new life to the process.
"We have decided to give Mr Mbeki's facilitation efforts a chance to be completed before doing anything else," said Algeria's UN ambassador Abdallah Baali, current president of the Security Council.
Another council diplomat who asked not to be named said: "Being able to bring out a list later on is a way to keep pressure on the parties, and hopefully get them moving in the right direction."
Mbeki has already been able to coax some general agreements between the two sides, and diplomats said slapping sanctions on individuals now could undermine any hope of further success.
Thousands of French and UN peacekeepers are stationed in Ivory Coast, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday said the UN force should get an increase of both troops and air support.
In a report to the Security Council, Annan said the 6 240-strong UN force found itself "strained to the limit" when the rioting broke out last month.
He requested the council to authorise an additional infantry battalion of 850 troops, along with eight attack and light helicopters, and hundreds more police and support personnel.