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Ivory Coast President Ouattara Formally Inaugurated

   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicolas Sarkozy
   in attendance as were leaders of Burkina Faso, Senegal, Liberia, Ghana,
   Guinea, Mali, Togo, Nigeria

   Scott Stearns | Dakar  May 21, 2011
   Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara (L) waves next to French
   president Nicolas Sarkozy (R) on May 21, 2011 at the airport in
   Yamoussoukro

Photo: AFP

   Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara (L) waves next to French
   president Nicolas Sarkozy (R) on May 21, 2011 at the airport in
   Yamoussoukro

   Alassane Ouattara has been inaugurated as Ivory Coast's new president,
   six months after he won an election that the previous president refused
   to recognize.
   President Ouattara took the oath of office more than three weeks ago.
   So Saturday's inauguration in the political capital Yamoussoukro was
   more of a rally for supporters of the man who outlasted former
   president Laurent Gbabgo in the political crisis that followed
   November's vote.
   With Gbagbo under house arrest, the formal Ouattara inauguration was a
   chance for foreign governments to show their support for the new
   leader. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French
   President Nicolas Sarkozy were in attendance as were the leaders of
   Burkina Faso, Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Togo, and Nigeria.
   President Ouattara said Ivorians now face the world, themselves, and
   their destiny. He said the nation should celebrate peace, without which
   there can be no development.
   The economic and development challenges facing the new leader are
   substantial. Ouattara has moved quickly to reopen banks, pay overdue
   civil service salaries, and resume cocoa exports. France and the
   European Union are providing more than $820 million in emergency
   assistance.
   Ouattara took power April 11 when former president Gbagbo was captured
   after U.N. and French attack helicopters bombed the presidential
   compound where he was holding out in an underground bunker.
   Gbagbo refused to recognize U.N.-certified electoral results that
   showed Ouattara won their November run-off. He used the military to
   besiege Ouattara's hotel as members of his party's youth wing attacked
   Ouattara supporters and West African immigrants from countries that
   backed Ouattara's claim to the presidency.
   The International Criminal Court intends to investigate crimes by both
   Ouattara and Gbagbo forces. President Ouattara says Ivorian justice
   will prosecute anyone found guilty of human rights abuses, whether they
   fought for him or against him.

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