Posted on 11/02/2005 9:28:24 PM PST by Simmy2.5
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - A red T-shirt draped over the statue of a former colonial governor bears a curt message for French peacekeepers in this war-divided West African country: "Get out."
The tenuous relationship between Paris and its former colony suffered another blow Wednesday when the French Defense Ministry confirmed that troops in Ivory Coast suffocated an Ivorian prisoner in an armored vehicle in May, and commanders knew of the killing but did not notify their superiors.
Gen. Henri Poncet, who commanded the peacekeeping mission, was suspended from duty and given an official warning while the investigation continues.
"Certainly this is bad for our image and makes our job harder," said Lt. Col. Jean-Luc Cotard, spokesman for the 4,000-strong peacekeeping force known as Unicorn. "But it won't affect our mission. We are here to help keep the peace."
France's image problems are a microcosm of the complex relationship between the West and much of Africa. The world's poorest continent has painful memories of the colonial period, yet depends on former colonists for economic, political and other support — even while its leaders express concern that the global trade system the West has built shuts them out of development.
Africans are suspicious of outsiders' influence on their societies, but are forced by poverty and the weakness of their own governments to head West for education and jobs.
France's colonial history in Ivory Coast was not particularly brutal, and violence from its peacekeepers has been the exception and not the rule. But many Ivorians still believe that French forces are trying to sow troubles and blame France for the once-stable nation's woes.
Ivory Coast has been in turmoil since 2002, when rebels launched a failed coup and seized the northern half of the world's largest cocoa producer.
Opposition runs deepest in the loyalist south, where everyone from disaffected youth to top government officials believe France not only supports the rebellion but controls it. France denies the accusations and says the government and troops are neutral.
France boosted its military contingent in Ivory Coast dramatically after the 2002 coup attempt sparked gunbattles in Abidjan, once known as "the Paris of West Africa" because of its smart, cosmopolitan population and towering glass skyscrapers.
The French later were joined by 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers. Both forces are trying to prevent an all-out war, deploying mostly along a demilitarized zone separating the two sides.
In November 2004, loyalist jet fighters broke a long-standing cease-fire, bombarding rebel positions in the north. A Nov. 6 raid inexplicably struck a French position, killing eight soldiers.
France responded by destroying Ivory Coast's small air force, seizing the international airport in Abidjan and sending armored vehicles into the streets.
Outraged mobs rampaged through the city, smashing French-owned shops and forcing thousands of French citizens to flee. Dozens were killed when French troops fired on demonstrators.
In June, a French military court sentenced 12 soldiers to prison for repeatedly robbing a bank in the rebel-held north. That month, the French army said it was investigating four soldiers for allegedly sexually abusing an Ivorian girl.
Cotard said such investigations showed France was willing to address its army's shortcomings.
"When we find weeds in our force, we pull them up," Cotard told The Associated Press. "We have nothing to hide."
Few details have been made public in the investigation of the May 13 death of Ivorian civilian Firmin Mahe, who reportedly shot at French troops, prompting them to return fire.
The French Defense Ministry issued a statement Wednesday saying force commanders knew of the killing but did not report it to their superiors. The French weekly Le Point cited anonymous military sources as saying the wounded man was suffocated by a plastic bag and dumped in a mass grave.
The ministry suggested Poncet and two other suspended officers were suspected of a cover-up. The ministry said it had information revealing a "serious breach in the law, military rules and orders."
Some Ivorians dismiss the French investigation.
"It's just a show," said Abidjan resident Charles Willy. "They want to make us forget what happened in November, but won't. They betrayed us. We don't want them here anymore."
On Saturday, Ivorian forces held a rare public exercise and parade on the grassy banks of an Abidjan lagoon. Several French military officials were invited.
As they arrived, hundreds of militants supporting President Laurent Gbagbo lined an adjacent road. The crowd made throat-cutting signs with their hands and booed the French troops.
"We have to be careful. We're trying to keep tensions low, so we ask our soldiers to keep their guns pointed down," Cotard said. "The difficulty is trying to show strength without using it."
Many of the Ivorians killed in November 2004 died outside the Hotel Ivoire. The statue of the colonial governor across the street is now a monument to the slain.
"Unicorn, Get Out" say words scrawled in white paint on the T-shirt's back and front. On the statue's side, another red banner says: "Never forget those who fell by the bullets of the French army."
A statue of a former colonial French governor seen with graffiti reading 'Ivory Coast is not Rwanda, nor the Central African Republic, but a people unified and strong'' in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Monday, Oct. 31, 2005. Draped over the prominent public statue of a former colonial governor, the red T-shirt reads operation 'Operation Unicorn Get out.' (AP/Photo Schalk van Zuydam)
Occupation...
Same goes for Idaho!
The fwench need their forces at home to quell rioting in Parisiene suburbs.
Maybe they should go back to France so they can deal with an insurrection by muslims in Paris.
Just in time too, they ate needed at home....
ate = are
darn spell checker...
The French forces immediately surrendered to the statue...
Ivory Coast: The only nation in the world named after two popular American brands of bath soap.
Aren't they going by "Cote d'Ivoire" these days?
("La Trou de Merde Suppurere " might be a better name...)
Opinion has become 'news'. One has to wonder why they have to "head west" for education and jobs instead of building up their own nation from within like every other successful nation has done.
hahahahaha
oddly enough, it's muslims from former colonies that are now rioting in Paris. Surrender is near. Le France is Dead, Long live Muhammed!
I am with the Ivorians. Those Colonialist-Imperialst Frenchies should go home.
Yeah, but then they'd have to surrender to the rioters...
Nipplemancer wrote:
oddly enough, it's muslims from former colonies that are now rioting in Paris. Surrender is near. Le France is Dead, Long live Muhammed!
---You mean i can't just stop in france anymore and ask in my phony french accent: "Pardon me, Do you have any Grey Poupon?"? I'm heartbroken, i love mustard with my pork.
I LOVE PORK I LOVE PORK I LOVE PORK I LOVE PORK I LOVE PORK I LOVE PORK!!!!!!!PORK FOR EVER PORK PORK PORK PORK !!!!
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