Boston: India has expressed worry over
the events unfolding in the Ivory Coast, saying the situation
in the West African country is deteriorating "by the hour" and
hoped that a solution would be worked out between the warring
factions.
"We are extremely worried about the unfolding
situation (in Cote d`Ivoire)," India`s envoy to the UN Hardeep
Singh Puri said to a news agency here.
He said the UN Security Council is reviewing the
situation in the West African country and "it is clear that
the situation is deteriorating by the hour."
During the last few days there have been large scale
civilian killings in the wake of the military standoff between
the forces of President elect Alassane Ouattara and Laurent
Gbagbo, who has refused to quit the post even after losing the
November 2010 elections, Puri said.
"I hope that people who have a margin of persuasion
with Ouattara and Gbagbo can appeal to them in order to get a
lull and see if some kind of solution can be found," Puri, who
was in the city to speak at a seminar organised by the South
Asia Initiative at Harvard University, said.
Expressing relief that Indian Ambassador to Ivory
Coast Shamma Jain was evacuated from her residence safely by
UN and French forces, Puri said there are still several
hundred members of the Indian community, including embassy
staff, in the troubled country.
"Apart from issues of their safety, we are also
worried about the kind of impact this military standoff is
having on Ivorian society. There are faultlines, ethnic and
regional, and so the international community is on the edge,"
Puri said.
A Security Council resolution passed gives the United
Nations Operation in Cote d`Ivoire (UNOCI) mandate to protect
civilians, he added.
On the situation in Libya, Puri said India "deplores"
the violence and is "worried" about the civil war situation
that has developed there.
India feels there should be a ceasefire and "there
should be a political solution found (in Libya).
We should now turn around and look for ways and means
of resolving the issue politically," Puri added.
PTI
