Awwal 15, 1432 H/Feb 18, 2011, SPA -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said parties in Ivory Coast must cooperate with the five-member African Union (AU) high-level panel tasked with finding a solution to the nearly three-month old political impasse in the West African country. Both incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo and his challenger Alasanne Ouattara have claimed victory in the Nov. 28 presidential poll. The United Nations, along with the United States and the European Union, have recognized Ouattara as the winner. “The secretary-general urges all Ivorian parties to extend their full cooperation to the high-level panel and to create a political and security environment conducive to the success of the panel's efforts,” Ban spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. The panel consists of the presidents of Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, South Africa, and Tanzania, as well as the chairmen of the AU Commission and the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The United Nations has more than 9,000 peacekeeping troops in the Ivory Coast, and Ouattara remains under U.N. protection at the Gold Hotel in the commercial capital, Abidjan. Supporters of Gbagbo have blockaded the hotel since early December. Ban also called for “the removal of the siege on the Golf Hotel” and “for an immediate end to the acts of violence against the civilian population,” Nesirky said. More than 400 people have been killed in since the standoff began and some 26,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, particularly Liberia. Meanwhile, country's financial system is reportedly grinding to a halt with banks closing and the stock market suspended, sparking a run on the lenders left open as the political crisis drags on.
