BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
28/02/2011
Belarus accused of violating Ivory Coast embargo
By Harvey Morris in New York,
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The UN has accused Belarus of supplying three attack helicopters to one of the opposing factions in Ivory Coast, in violation of an international arms embargo.
A statement from Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, said the first aircraft was reported to have been delivered to the forces of Laurent Gbagbo, incumbent president, on Sunday night with the others scheduled to arrive on Monday.
Mr Gbagbo has refused to accept the outcome of elections in November in which the UN recognised the winner as Alassane Ouattara, the rival candidate.
The UN statement described the shipment as a serious violation of an embargo in force against Ivory Coast since 2004. Mr Ban hoped the Security Council would meet urgently to discuss the issue, warning that action would be taken against both Belarus and the Gbagbo camp.
Belarus on Monday denied the UN’s claims. The foreign ministry in a statement called the allegations “not compliant with reality” and added that it was part of a broader attack of “lies and defamation” aimed at discrediting the government.
Belarus has a large defence industry that was a critical part of Soviet-era weapons manufacturing, with many of the USSR’s high-technology arms being produced in the former Soviet republic. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Belarus has reportedly been used as a conduit for the export of Russian weapons, as well as selling arms like air defence systems to Iraq.
The Security Council last month ordered the deployment of an additional 2,000 peacekeepers to the Ivory Coast in response to rising political tensions and reports of human rights violations. The council also authorised deployment of three armed helicopters to back up the force’s capabilities. A 9,000-strong UN force has been stationed there since 2004 to monitor a civil war ceasefire
Source:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/49ba426e-4344-11e0-aef2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1FHQbKZ3u
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