25 October -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed amazement at what he called the "audacity" of Côte d'Ivoire's General Guei, and drew parallels with events in that country and the recent change of government in Serbia.
Asked to comment on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Annan told reporters that he was following the still-unfolding events very closely, adding that General Guei had twice this year tried to violate the rights of his country's people.
Mr. Annan said the unfolding development in Cote d'Ivoire and what happened in Serbia recently were "sending out a message that people are getting to know their rights and people are going to assert their rights."
"The days of coup d'états and the manipulation of elections are over," he said, adding that "those who would want to do that in the future should be very, very careful."
The Secretary-General stressed the power of people's growing awareness of their rights, "and their insistence that their voice must be heard," pointing out that if this process continued to gain momentum, "democracy will be in good shape."
Earlier this month, Mr. Annan strongly deplored restrictions on the free choice of voters of Côte d'Ivoire after the announcement that many candidates, including some representing important political parties, would be excluded from the presidential elections. The Secretary-General recalled that the UN had repeatedly demanded that the country's authorities work on a political transition leading to a return to constitutional legality, based on democratic elections for the President and legislature.
The UN subsequently decided that it would not coordinate electoral observers for Côte d'Ivoire's presidential elections as previously planned because so many countries and organizations that were providing observers and funding had withdrawn their support.
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