Protest against accusation of xenophobia

The Embassy of Senegal remained closed on Wednesday after over 500 protesters gathered outside to condemn a claim by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade that a Burkinabe suffers more discrimination in Cote d’Ivore than a black person does in Europe. Wade made the statement at a regional conference on racism and xenophobia on Monday in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. It was reported on state television on Tuesday night, followed by a communique by a women’s NGO umbrella calling for the demonstration. Demonstrators marched through the streets of Le Plateau, the central business district in Abidjan, before assembling outside the embassy. Security guards told IRIN that the protesters were already on site by 08:OO GMT. Many carried anti-Senegalese placards and chanted slogans. They demanded to meet with the ambassador, who was absent, the guards said. A Malian shopkeeper at the central market in Le Plateau told IRIN most businesses in and around the market had been closed as a precautionary measure, but that one store was looted by young men. He said he agreed with Wade’s statement. The market has a large number of foreign vendors, but Ivorians, too, closed their businesses for fear of attacks. Some onlookers expressed anger at Wade’s remarks, which some sources saw as the latest in a number of statements unfairly portraying Ivorians and their country as hostile to foreigners. One young man who gave his name as Armand told IRIN that, in the past, African leaders did not comment on the country’s affairs, but “the death of ‘the old man’ now allows people to speak”. He was referring to Cote d’Ivoire first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Wade’s comment came two weeks after other West Africans were attacked by Ivorian mobs following a claim by government officials that foreign nationals participated in a failed attempt on 7-8 January to overthrow the government. On Wednesday, the Ministry of the Interior called for calm and asked the population to refrain from attacking foreigners, in particular “Senegalese who are not responsible for comments made by their head of state”. Ivorian leaders have complained that the country and its people are victims of erroneous perceptions by the outside world. In a communique issued at the end of an extraordinary Episcopal conference held at the weekend, the country’s bishops noted that while “it is true that, today, there is a strong awareness of the Ivorian identity”, this reaction “cannot be viewed as xenophobia or exclusion”. “Cote d’Ivoire has provided enough evidence of its vocation as a host country,” they said. “In fact, it has never closed its doors to anyone. It has even included non-Ivorians in the management of republican institutions,” they added in a reference to the many non-nationals who have worked for the state over the years. “In this regard, Cote d’Ivoire has proven to be a unique example of openness in sub-Saharan Africa,” they added.