ABIDJAN: At least 237 people were arrested Saturday in Ivory Coast during a protest against what activists called the country’s authoritarian drift, according to a statement by the Minister of the Interior and Security on national television.
Protesters reported the use of tear gas and makeshift roadblocks near the planned start of the march.
Ivory Coast, a nation of 32 million and the largest economy in Francophone West Africa, is due to hold a presidential election in two weeks. Earlier this year, four main opposition figures, including former President Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam, were barred from running by the electoral commission.
Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara, who has been in power since 2010, announced his intention to run for a fourth term earlier this year, in a controversial move following a 2016 constitutional change that removed the presidential term limit.
The day before the protest, the prefect of Abidjan declared that all marches in the capital on Saturday were illegal because of the need to maintain order during the election period.
“All these people will be held accountable for their actions,” Gen. Vagondo Diomandė, the Minister of the Interior and Security said, reiterating that the protest was illegal.
Elections in Ivory Coast have usually been fraught with tension and violence. When Ouattara announced his bid for a third term, several people were killed in election violence.
Ouattara is the latest among a growing number of leaders in West Africa who remain in power by changing constitutional term limits. He justified his decision to run again by saying that the Ivory Coast is facing unprecedented security, economic and monetary challenges that require experience to manage them effectively.
Over the past decade, groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group have been spreading from the Sahel region into wealthier West African coastal states, such as Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin.
Ivory Coast arrests 237 protesters amid rising tensions before presidential election
https://arab.news/pafbv
Ivory Coast arrests 237 protesters amid rising tensions before presidential election
- Protesters reported the use of tear gas and makeshift roadblocks near the planned start of the march
- The day before the protest, the prefect of Abidjan declared that all marches in the capital on Saturday were illegal
South Korea calls for resuming dialogue with North
- President Lee Jae Myung has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North since taking office in June
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Sunday for dialogue with North Korea to resume, after Pyongyang last week shunned the prospect of diplomacy with its neighbor.
Since taking office in June, a dovish Lee has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North, which reaffirmed its anti-Seoul approach during a party meeting last week.
“As my administration has repeatedly made clear, we respect the North’s system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts, nor pursue any form of unification by absorption,” Lee said in a speech marking the anniversary of a historical campaign against Japan’s colonial rule.
“We will also continue our efforts to resume dialogue with the North,” he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, describing its overtures as “clumsy, deceptive farce and a poor work.”
Speaking at the party congress in Pyongyang, Kim said North Korea has “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots.”
But he also said the North could “get along well” with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status.
Speculation has mounted over whether US President Donald Trump will seek a meeting with Kim during planned travels to China.
Last year, Trump said he was “100 percent” open to a meeting.
Previous Trump-Kim summits during the US president’s first term fell apart after the pair failed to agree over sanctions relief — and what nuclear concessions North Korea might make in return.
