State Department Noon Briefing, October 30, 2000
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Q: Okay. I'm not sure that you're ready to comment on the Ivory Coast
situation. Since the situation seems to be calm in the Ivory Coast, is
the US intending to support a new government?
And, secondly, just to try to understand if the Embassy - the US
Embassy in Ivory Coast will be reopened soon. I don't know if it has
opened.
And, third, the discovery of the mass grave in Abidjan. Is the US
intending to say something about that through the State Department?
MR. BOUCHER: All right, let me see how much of this we can deal with.
As you say, the situation in Abidjan and in most parts of the country
is calm. Life has largely returned to normal. Most businesses,
restaurants and schools have reopened. Traffic in Abidjan is normal.
The airport is open for normal business. Still don't know the
whereabouts of General Guei.
And on our Embassy, we have changed the advisory slightly. We still
recommend that American citizens defer all travel to the Cote d'Ivoire
due to the unstable security situation throughout the country, but we
have moved to what we call authorized departure. We have authorized
the departure of family members of US Government personnel and
personnel in non-emergency positions from Cote d'Ivoire.
US citizens in Cote d'Ivoire, we recommend, should establish and
maintain contact with the Embassy and consider their own personal
security situations in determining whether to remain in the country.
As always, US citizens should be aware of their surroundings and use
common sense to avoid locations that could be dangerous.
The Embassy in Abidjan is open today, October 30th, and we're
obviously continuing to assess the situation based on our
understanding of events. With the improvement of the security
situation, the restoration of commercial air service, we move from
ordered to authorized departure for our own personnel.
In terms of the government, we are intending - we will work with the
authorities, with the governing authorities in Cote d'Ivoire, just as
we have done with predecessors. We do want to see the restoration of
democracy in Cote d'Ivoire as soon as possible. We would urge all
parties to cooperate toward that end so that the voice of
disenfranchised Ivorians can be heard.
Q: Does that mean you want to see another election?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think, first of all, we see the October 22nd
election as failed and fundamentally flawed from the outset due to the
exclusion of major opposition parties' candidates and the other
machinations that led up to the elections; nonetheless, Laurent Gbagbo
was inaugurated on October 26th as President of Cote d'Ivoire.
So, first and foremost, we believe the parliamentary elections should
take place as scheduled on December 10th. These have long been part of
the electoral calendar, and if those are free and fair we think that
will be an important step towards creating the necessary conditions
for free, fair and inclusive presidential elections in which the
voices of all different - all Ivorians can be heard.
Q: So the answer is yes?
MR. BOUCHER: So the answer is yes.
Q: You want to see another election?
MR. BOUCHER: We want to see - because this election was flawed, we
need - we will obviously work with the government that has taken
over, that was inaugurated, but we believe that there should be,
first, the parliamentary elections that were planned and, second of
all, free, fair and inclusive presidential elections as well.
....
Q: One more on Ivory Coast. You said that you thought the elections
last week were failed and that you want to see new ones, which I don't
know if you've answered this question but it raises in my mind: Do you
recognize Laurent Gbagbo as president? How would you - how do you
classify him under this situation?
MR. BOUCHER: We recognize countries, not governments, as a matter of
legal practice, so it just comes down to whether you work with a
government in place. And we have said quite clearly we will work with
the government authorities in Cote d'Ivoire.
Q: Do you call for an international investigation about the mass grave
discovery?
MR. BOUCHER: The massacre. First of all, I think it's appalling, the
reports that we have seen. There are at least 50 bodies found at the
site of a mass killing on the outskirts of Abidjan. We have seen the
press reports that say that those killed were supporters of the
opposition leader, Alassane Quattara but, frankly, we don't know the
identities of the killed or the killers and so we have to rely on the
Ivorian authorities for that.
We do applaud the Ivorian authorities' agreement to allow an
international investigation of the tragedy. We welcome the commitment
of Mr. Gbagbo to find the perpetrators of the massacre and to bring
them to justice.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:45 P.M.)
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