Ghana Ready to listen to Bedie - Gbeho

Accra (Greater Accra) 28 Dec. '99 Ghana on Tuesday said she is ready to give audience to ousted Ivorian President Henri Konan Bedie as a means of helping restore democratic rule in Cote d'Ivoire.

Speaking in an interview with JOY FM in Accra, Mr Victor James Gbeho, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said there has not been any contact with the ousted leader.

But, he said, Bedie is known to have gone to Nigeria to have talks with President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Bedie, who is living in a hotel in Lome, has had talks with Togolese leader, General Gnasyingbe Eyadema.

Foreign ministers of ECOWAS would be meeting in an emergency session tomorrow in the Malian capital, Bamako, to decide on a collective response.

"The foreign ministers are going to the meeting tomorrow in Bamako to find out how to relate to the military leaders in Abidjan and also how to restore democracy", Mr Gbeho said. General Robert Guei, a former Ivorian Defence Minister, took over the government in a bloodless coup on Thursday 23 December.

He has promised to return the country to civilian rule after putting in place a broad-based government. He has however, not fixed any timetable for it. Mr Gbeho said the military government would not enjoy any support from Ghana nor from any West African state.

He said the tactics used in Sierra Leone and Niger recently would definitely come to bear in their approach to the case in Abidjan to ensure a quick and smooth return to democracy. On whether he thought President Bedie caused the problem himself, Mr Gbeho said his (Bedie's) concept of "Ivorianism polarised the country and created this abnormal situation". Mr Gbeho said Ghana is concerned about events in her western neighbourhood since it does not only have a bearing on security of Ghanaian citizens but also that of other nationals. "Nothing can be guaranteed in military circumstances".

On Mauritania's decision to quit the 16-member community due to talks of an ultimate shift to a single currency unit for the sub-region, the foreign minister said it did not come as a surprise. "This is because Mauritania's attendance at meetings have been very erratic" adding that, " she has also not paid her dues for sometime now. This will not stop us from our mission to state the case of a single currency to them."

He said Mauritania was known to be leading UEMOA countries to kick against the idea of a single currency, as they believe they might lose out in such a process. ECOWAS giants, Ghana and Nigeria have however, taken what they call a "fast track " approach towards a single currency earlier than the ECOWAS date of 2004.