Thousands Killed In Ivory Coast: World Looks Elsewhere|SPOTLIGHT

and a former PDCI minister in the Gbagbo cabinet.”

After examining challenged ballots, the Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner by a margin of 51.45 percent to 48.55.

Sarkozy, among others, cried foul because of the seven justices, four are appointed by Gbagbo and three are appointed by the president of the National Assembly.  Sarkozy should be one of the last people to complain because, as he knows, the Ivorian constitution is modeled after the French constitution.

In a January interview with me, Gbagbo said the Ivorian judicial system is not unlike the one in the U.S. where the president appoints Supreme Court justices, subject to Senate confirmation.

On March 9, when most of the world was looking at dramatic events in Libya, President Obama issued a three-paragraph statement deploring violence in Côte d’Ivoire that he blamed on “security forces loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo.”

He added, “As we have said since the election results in Côte d’Ivoire were certified, the people of Côte d’Ivoire elected Alassane Ouattara as their president and Laurent Gbagbo lost the election. Former President Gbagbo’s efforts to hold on to power at the expense of his own country are an insult to the universal rights of his people, and the democracy that Côte d’Ivoire deserves… It is time for former President Gbagbo to heed the will of his people, and to complete a peaceful transition of power to President Ouattara.”

President Obama is wrong. It’s time for the United States, France, and even some African countries to stop trying to force their will on a sovereign country. Democracy can often be a messy process and the U.S. can’t intervene in every country that elects a leader it opposes. Clearly, mistakes have been made by supporters of both Gbagbo and Ouattara.  Regardless of which side one favors, Ivorians followed their constitution in choosing Gbagbo over his challenger and that process should be respected.

Considering the sharp political divisions in Côte d’Ivoire, it is unlikely that either Ouattara or Gbagbo could be an effective leader under current circumstances. Therefore, the so-called international community should stop favoring one candidate over the other and instead call for an immediate halt to the killing. Once that’s accomplished, a new election should be held with each candidate obliged to honor the outcome.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his website, www.georgecurry.com You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.

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