Cut Off, Ivory Coast Chief Is Scraping for Cash: How a Strongman Keeps His Grip on Ivory Coast (451 hits)
By ADAM NOSSITER
President Laurent Gbagbo is intent on paying two groups vital to his hold on power: the military and civil servants.
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — The global squeeze on the finances of Laurent Gbagbo, the strongman who refuses to cede power after losing a presidential election here, has included sanctions, asset freezes and financial interdictions, all in the hope of dislodging him without military force. ... But Mr. Gbagbo, a political survivor accustomed to staying in office well beyond his legal term, has a financial plan of his own: pushing the banks and companies around him to continue supplying him with cash, diplomats and local businessmen say. {Picture showing a soldier passing by an image of Mr. Gbagdo on a banner at a rally in Abidjan on Saturday.}
