I Coast wants to plug leak

2004-05-06 10:27

New York - Ivory Coast's United Nations envoy on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the leak of a UN report accusing senior Ivory Coast officials of ordering a violent crackdown against anti-government protesters in March.

"We demand that an enquiry be conducted in the matter and sanctions taken against those responsible" for the leak to the media, UN ambassador Philippe Djangone-Bi said during a news conference.

A UN commission's report obtained by French media said at least 120 people were killed when security forces confronted protesters in March.

"Clearly, the members of this commission have betrayed the confidence of the Ivorian people. They should be held accountable for what they did," Djangone-Bi said.

The report, which was obtained by AFP and first reported on Monday by Radio France Internationale, said: "What happened on 25 and 26 March was the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians and the committing of massive human rights violations."

The report, written by a UN commission, said the crackdown was "carefully planned and executed" by security forces under orders from "the highest state authorities". Civil war

Ivory Coast plunged into civil war in September 2002 when rebels rose up against President Laurent Gbagbo.

A January 2003 peace accord called for Gbagbo to cede power to a prime minister within a unity government ahead of elections in a year and a half.

The March demonstration was called to protest Gbagbo's reluctance to fully implement the peace deal.

Djangone-Bi called for the creation of a commission to investigate allegations of human rights violations "that started with the beginning of the war."

French troops and UN peacekeepers are deployed in the divided West African country, with rebels in control of the north and west.

Djangone-Bi declined to comment on the report, saying "a state cannot discuss the content of a document we have not seen officially," but he said the leak was aimed at "weakening" Gbagbo.

Ivory Coast has asked to meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the matter and is "waiting for the answer," Djangone-Bi said.

UN spokesperson Fred Eckhard said the report will go to the Security Council early next week.

- AFP