20110108
africanews

Canada and Britain have rejected the expulsion of their ambassadors by the incumbent president of Ivory Coast. They say they recognize only the authority of his challenger and the internationally-recognized winner of the country's presidential election, Allassane Ouattara.

Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo's government had said Canadian ambassador Marie Massip and United Kingdom ambassador Nicholas Westcott were no longer welcome in Ivory Coast. The countries were expelled after their governments decided not to recognize Ivorian ambassadors appointed by Gbagbo.

In a proclamation read on state-run television, Gbagbo spokesman Ahoua Don Mello said the foreign minister’s decision to withdraw their accreditation was in accordance with principles of reciprocity concerning diplomatic relations.

However Mr. Ouattara's shadow government described the expulsion orders as without merit.

"The decision of Mr. Gbagbo is useless since he is not the official government,” VOA quoted Mr. Ouattara's foreign minister Jean-Marie Kacou Gervais as saying. He said that Mr. Ouattara was in support of the stand taken by Britain and Canada.

The international community has called on Mr. Gbagbo to hand over power to Mr. Ouattara and West African leaders have threatened to use legitimate force to push Mr. Gbagbo out from office if he fails to leave.

But the seeming united stand of the regional leaders was reportedly weakened on Friday when Ghana's President John Atta Mills said his country will be neutral in the Ivorian crisis and expressed doubts that military force will solve the problem.