[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5035-5037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             COTE D'IVOIRE

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, a few minutes ago, I talked at some length 
about a very significant amendment that is going to be coming up, and 
that is to take jurisdiction away from the Environmental Protection 
Agency having to do with cap and trade, something they were unable to 
do legislatively and they are going to try to do through regulations at 
the Environmental Protection Agency. I already talked about that issue.
  There is something that has not been mentioned on the floor of the 
Senate that I think is significant. Surprisingly enough, hardly anyone 
is even aware that it is going on. We are all concerned. We hear every 
day about the atrocities that are committed in Libya and about the 
people who are being mowed down. What they do not realize is that is 
not the only place that is going on.
  I have to share, as much as I hate to do it because I am disagreeing 
with our State Department when I say this, but I have to say it because 
somebody has to say it. Right now, the potential of having large 
numbers of people tortured and murdered in Cote d'Ivoire is taking 
place. Let me set the stage so people will be aware of it.
  I have had occasion to be in Cote d'Ivoire--some people call it the 
Ivory Coast--in west Africa. It is an area where a lot of the slave 
trade came from to this country. It is a place that has been led by a 
President named Laurent Gbagbo for the last 10 years. I first became 
acquainted with the country before he was President of Cote d'Ivoire. 
In fact, his wife Simone--she is now his wife; she was not his wife at 
that time--was a member of Parliament. I sat through what happened in 
2002 when there was a real effort primarily by one individual--his name 
is Alassane Ouattara from the northern part of Cote d'Ivoire--charging 
against him. It is kind of interesting because Cote d'Ivoire is one 
country, but in the north, they have primarily the Muslim area and in 
the south and east primarily the Christian element. There has been a 
real effort for quite some time for the chosen one up there, who is 
Alassane Ouattara, to defeat President Gbagbo.
  Here is the problem. There is an election that took place a few 
months ago. It appeared that Ouattara actually beat the incumbent 
President, President Gbagbo. We were all concerned about whether this 
was a straight election. I am going to tell you in a couple of minutes 
why it was not but also try to call this to the attention of the 
administration.
  In January after the election took place, I wrote a letter to 
Secretary Clinton, and I said: I wish to have you reevaluate--I am 
going to have that letter at the conclusion of my remarks printed in 
the Record--to look at this and evaluate this as to what actually went 
on in that election and how it was rigged.
  Ouattara tried to deny involvement in a mass slaughter that took 
place a couple days ago. That was in a town called Duekoue. Duekoue is 
in the southern part, an area that is very strongly in favor of 
President Gbagbo. Somewhere between 300 and 1,000 people in that 
western town of Duekoue were slaughtered with guns and machetes.
  Mr. Ouattara and his people tried to deny their involvement in the 
mass slaughter, but his forces took the town days earlier and the 
Gbagbo forces were not even near the town. They left a week before this 
happened. Do not believe me, but the Guardian, which is a British 
newspaper, reported last night--I am going to quote from the newspaper:

       The U.N. mission said traditional hunters, known as Dozos, 
     fought alongside Ouattara's forces and took part in killing 
     330 people in the western town of Duekoue. The International 
     Committee of the Red Cross said at least 800 people were 
     killed in intercommunal violence in Duekoue last week.

  What we do not know is that 800 plus the 330, so roughly it is 1,000.

       Guillaume Ngefa, deputy head of the human rights division 
     of the UN mission in Ivory Coast, blamed 220 of the deaths on 
     the pro-Ouattara forces.

  The full article goes into a lot of detail.
  Also, a BBC reporter at Duekoue wrote in the last 24 hours:

       I spot four pigs eating something dark in a charred 
     courtyard. Standing by a newly dug mass grave, a U.N. soldier 
     from Morocco is choking with rage and grief. I ask him if any 
     of the dead are children. He nods and begins to sob, quietly, 
     into his facemask.

  I repeat, the massacre was not caused by the Gbagbo forces but by the 
Ouattara forces who had taken over the town. President Gbagbo has 
called for a cease-fire repeatedly. I repeat that. He has called for a 
cease-fire but the Ouattara forces have rejected it. Why?
  This massacre could have been avoided if Ouattara had accepted 
mediation through the African Union. On March 27, the African Union 
sent former Cape Verde Foreign Minister Jose Brito to mediate between 
Ouattara and Gbagbo. Gbagbo accepted the mediation. Ouattara did not.
  I have been following the events closely in Cote d'Ivoire since last 
fall, and after having spoken with various African dignitaries, I am 
convinced there is a serious question as to whether Ouattara is the 
legitimately elected President of Cote d'Ivoire.
  I have received substantial evidence of massive voter fraud in the 
rebel-held north of Cote d'Ivoire. That is the area from which Ouattara 
comes. I have sent the evidence to Secretary Clinton on two occasions 
spanning the last few months. One letter is where we actually have the 
evidence of the number of votes that were stolen. In one letter I 
pointed out--the last letter, which I

[[Page 5036]]

will have printed in the Record--the evidence which shows that Ouattara 
received 94,873 votes that were listed on a tally sheet for one of the 
five regions in the rebel-held north. Times this by four, and it comes 
very close to the margin of votes that allegedly President Gbagbo lost. 
That is 400,000 votes.
  If, indeed, a similar amount of voter fraud exists in these regions, 
Gbagbo is the actual winner of the November 28 Presidential election. 
That is too complicated. Look at it this way: In those five regions--
they do not call them precincts; some of the small ones they call 
precincts, so it is a little confusing. In the first letter I sent, I 
commented that Gbagbo, in what we would call a primary, had won 
thousands of votes in each one of those five precincts up north. 
However, in the primary runoff, he got zero. I suggest to you that is a 
statistical impossibility. You cannot get zero after you had thousands 
of votes.
  In my letter to Secretary Clinton, I called for the United States to 
support new elections there, but thus far those efforts have received 
an inadequate response. Based on the news Ouattara has murdered some 
1,000 people in Duekoue, I hope the United States will reconsider its 
position and call for a new election.
  This Wednesday, April 6, will mark the 17th anniversary of the 1994 
Rwanda genocide. I went back for the anniversary of that genocide. I 
have been there many times before. We know that the U.N. Secretary 
General Kofi Annan and others knew the extent of this violence early on 
but did nothing about it. Now we know there can be another genocide 
occurring, and we do know in advance. That is why the United States is 
going to have to call for an immediate cease-fire to prevent Ouattara 
and his rebel army from committing a mass slaughter of the Ivoirians, 
especially the many youths with sticks and baseball bats who are 
protecting President Gbagbo at the present time around the Presidential 
palace.
  You have to get this mental picture: They have these young kids 
marching around. They do not have weapons. They are carrying baseball 
bats and 
2 x 4s.
  I have also been told in the last half hour that U.N. helicopters--
U.N. peacekeeping helicopters--are firing on Gbagbo's military camp, 
causing massive explosions. There could be some confusion on this 
because two of the articles that came out in the last half hour--one 
was talking about the French, who are kind of behind and supporting, of 
course, Ouattara, that they are involved in this. The other says the 
United Nations. I am not sure. One of the two is.
  Lastly, I sent Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John 
Kerry--by the way, I talked with him personally about this situation. 
He is very concerned about it. I requested he convene a hearing as soon 
as possible into the atrocities committed by forces loyal to rebel 
leader Ouattara, as well as into what I believe were flawed elections 
that gave legitimacy to his claim of the Presidency.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the two letters 
sent to Secretary Clinton, along with the letter sent to Senator Kerry, 
and the miscalculation of the election that I honestly in my heart 
believe was stolen. This is the tabulation of the precincts. Add up the 
precincts and in just one precinct, there was a mistake of over 85,000 
votes--just in one precinct.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                 Washington, DC, February 9, 2011.
     Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
     Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Secretary: I write regarding my grave concerns 
     over the conduct of the second round of voting in the 
     presidential election held in Cote d'Ivoire last November 28, 
     2010.
       As you know, the Independent Electoral Commission of Cote 
     d'Ivoire announced the results of their counting of ballots 
     and declared Alassane Ouattara the winner. It is my 
     understanding of the Constitution of Cote d'Ivoire, however, 
     that it is the Constitutional Council of Cote d'Ivoire and 
     not the Electoral Commission which certifies and declares the 
     winner of presidential elections. I also understand that the 
     Electoral Commission announced the final vote tallies almost 
     16 hours after its constitutionally mandated time to report 
     such results. It seems that this election was not carried out 
     in accordance with the constitution of this country.
       A second and more troubling aspect of this second round of 
     voting is the credible allegations of massive voter fraud--
     amounting to several hundred thousand votes--in the rebel-
     held north of Cote d'Ivoire. I am in receipt of evidence of 
     these allegations, and I have enclosed it for your review.
       An example of the kinds of voter fraud allegations that you 
     will find in these attached materials are the tallies of 
     precincts where, in the first round of voting, President 
     Laurent Gbagbo received several thousand votes, but in the 
     second round he received zero votes. This prima facia 
     evidence of large scale voter fraud is very troubling.
       Although the Obama Administration has recognized Alassane 
     Ouattara as the winner of the election over President Gbagbo, 
     I ask that you investigate these credible allegations of 
     massive voter fraud and reassess whether the United States 
     should continue to recognize Alassane Ouattara as the winner. 
     Equatorial Guinean President and new African Union Chairman 
     Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has appointed a special panel 
     of five African country leaders to present recommendations to 
     the Union in a month's time on how to resolve this 
     presidential election crisis. This would be a good 
     opportunity for the U.S. to become involved in this 
     assessment and investigate these allegations. I would 
     recommend that serious thought be given to a recount of the 
     votes supervised by an internationally sanctioned 
     organization like the African Union, the Organization for 
     Security and Cooperation in Europe or even the Organization 
     of American States. I would further suggest that experienced 
     U.S. electoral organizations become involved like the 
     International Republican Institute, the National Democratic 
     Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral 
     Systems. A fair and impartial recounting of the votes might 
     be one way to end this crisis peacefully.
       I look forward to your response.
           Sincerely,
                                                  James M. Inhofe,
     U.S. Senator.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                   Washington, DC, March 29, 2011.
     Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
     Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Secretary: I write you again regarding my grave 
     concerns over the conduct of the second round of voting in 
     the presidential election held in Cote d'Ivoire last November 
     28, 2010. I also write to inform you that a new presidential 
     election should be held in Cote d'Ivoire. This is the only 
     way to prevent further bloodshed, stop a new civil war and 
     ensure a truly free and fair election.
       As I stated in my letter of February 9, 2011, Cote 
     d'Ivoire's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) announced 
     the results of their counting of presidential ballots and 
     declared Alassane Ouattara the winner. Under the Constitution 
     of Cote d'Ivoire, however, it is the Constitutional Council 
     of Cote d'Ivoire and not the Electoral Commission which 
     certifies and declares the winner of presidential elections. 
     In addition, the Electoral Commission announced the final 
     vote tallies almost 16 hours after its constitutionally 
     mandated time to report such results. This most important 
     election phase was not carried out in accordance with the 
     constitution of this country.
       A second troubling aspect of this second round of voting is 
     the credible allegations of massive voter fraud--amounting to 
     several hundred thousand votes--in the rebel-held north of 
     Cote d'Ivoire. I received evidence of these allegations and 
     sent it to you in my earlier letter, but have yet to receive 
     a reply.
       The evidence included tallies of precincts where, in the 
     first round of voting, President Laurent Gbagbo received 
     several thousand votes, but in the second round he received 
     zero votes. This prima facia evidence of large scale voter 
     fraud I found very troubling.
       In the 57 days since my last letter, I have spoken with 
     numerous officials on the ground during last year's 
     presidential election. This includes African leaders I met 
     with during my trip to this region last month. I have also 
     obtained new evidence of massive voter fraud in the rebel-
     held north. Specifically, one exhibit (enclosed) is a copy of 
     an official regional electoral return document from the 
     Electoral Commission. It shows Ouattara receiving a total 
     149,598 from five northern cities. But when the total is 
     officially reported in the amount column (``Totaux'' column), 
     Ouattara receives 244,471; a difference of 94,873 votes!
       I have been a frequent traveler to Africa for the past 15 
     years. I have visited Cote d'Ivoire nine times, the last 
     being June of 2010. I am probably the most knowledgeable 
     person about Africa in the U.S. Senate. From all the evidence 
     I now have gathered, I am convinced that it is mathematically 
     impossible for President Gbagbo to have lost the election by 
     several hundred thousand votes. And if a similar amount of 
     fraud exists in

[[Page 5037]]

     the other four regions of the rebel-held north, Gbagbo is 
     actually the winner of the presidential election.
       The hundreds of thousands of potential fraudulent ballots, 
     combined with the unconstitutional method in which the votes 
     were tallied and announced by the Independent Electoral 
     Commission, lead me to conclude that the election was not 
     free and fair. I also conclude that a new presidential 
     election should be held under international sanction and 
     supervision to ensure a free and fair election.
       I am aware that my position is different from that of the 
     Obama Administration, which has recognized Alassane Ouattara 
     as the winner. I ask, however, that you change your position 
     in light of the evidence I have provided, and that you call 
     for a new election. Such a change would not be viewed as 
     inconsistent, but a wise reevaluation in light of new 
     evidence presented. It is also consistent with our American 
     dedication to the principle that democracy works best when it 
     works for all and not for some.
       I recommend that the new election be supervised by 
     internationally sanctioned organizations like the African 
     Union or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe. I would further suggest that experienced U.S. 
     electoral organizations become involved like the 
     International Republican Institute, the National Democratic 
     Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral 
     Systems.
       I am convinced that only though a new election will the 
     people of Cote d'Ivoire end the increasing bloodshed, stop 
     another civil war and ensure free and fair elections.
           Sincerely,
                                                  James M. Inhofe,
     U.S. Senator.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, April 4, 2011.
     Hon. John F. Kerry,
     Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senate, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: It is now clear, based on United Nations 
     reports coming from Cote d'Ivoire that mass killings have 
     occurred in the western town of Duekoue at the hands of 
     forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara. This calls into question 
     his legitimacy to lead that country. The killing of innocent 
     civilians must stop now before this becomes another Rwanda.
       In light of these facts, I request that you convene a 
     hearing as soon as possible into this atrocity committed by 
     forces loyal to rebel leader Ouattara, as well as into what I 
     believe were flawed elections that gave legitimacy to his 
     claim of the presidency.
       Based on the evidence I have seen, and having spoken with 
     various African dignitaries, I brought this issue of 
     fraudulent elections in Cote d'Ivoire to the attention of 
     Secretary of State Clinton on two occasions spanning the past 
     few months. I called for the United States to support new 
     elections there, but thus far, these efforts have received an 
     inadequate response. Based on the news that Ouattara has 
     murdered 1,000 people in Duekoue, I hope the U.S. will 
     reconsider its position and that you will hold this hearing.
       The United States must call for an immediate ceasefire to 
     prevent Ouattara and his rebel army from committing a mass 
     slaughter of Ivoirians, especially the hundreds of youth with 
     sticks and baseball bats, who have formed a human chain 
     around Gbagbo's residence and presidential palace.
       I know your plate is full now regarding the situation in 
     Libya, but I know you are sensitive to this situation and 
     hope you will hold this hearing.
           Sincerely,
                                                  James M. Inhofe,
                                                     U.S. Senator.

  Mr. INHOFE. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant editor of the Daily Digest proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennet.) Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________