I have been glued to the press reports from the West African nation of the Ivory Coast,
or Cote d'Viore; it seems the bad old days of African strongmen, belligerent of world opinion
and democratic freedoms, using the gun to project their power and secure their graft, has
returned to this once shining pearl of West Africa. Reports of mass abductions, of the military
firing indiscriminately on unarmed protesters, of an entrenched leader, still claiming to represent the people, but increasingly representing only the dying vestiges of strongman rule. Streams of refugees, unbelievably, fleeing to Liberia, which only a few years back was embroiled in its own terrible civil war. World opinion and condemnation has been strong; however, an example needs to be made of Laurent Gbagbo and his military; a multinational force, under the guises of the UN, but with strong western (read: French and American) backing needs to be given the mandate to disarm Gbangbo and his loyal militia, prepare war crimes trials against them in The Hague, and protect and implement the rule of the winner of this month's elections, Mr. Alassane Quattara.
An example needs to be made for both the recent past, and the near future; these acts of aggression towards human rights and democratic principals of freedom will not be tolerated in West Africa, or elsewhere. The jewel of West Africa can soon ride up and shine again. Once again, a stark reminder; how much easier it is to destroy than to build, in the most fragile of regions.
