Ivorian reggae star and peace ambassador in the country’ crisis, Alpha Blondy, has challenged the stake holders in the peace process to seize the opportunity provided by the international spotlight on the crisis to end delays in reaching a lasting solution, APA learns.
“This international attention towards Cote d’Ivoire is just an encouragement, but no genuine peace is possible unless Ivorians themselves decide to stop the endless prolongation of the peace process that the country has been witnessing,” he said.
“This repeated extra time in the peace process will inevitably lead to a penalty shootout,” the star said, likening the political drama to a football match.
Blondy made the statement on the Ivorian national television Saturday after he paid a courtesy call on the chairman of the country’s Social and Economic Council, Laurent Dona Fologo.
“There is no external solution to the Ivorian conflict,” Blondy said and urged Ivorians to trust each another and be convinced that only they themselves can resolve the political crisis that has been rocking the country since four years now.
He expressed a serious apprehension over the proliferation of arms in Africa which he said was a permanent source of threat to peace on the continent.
It can be recalled that Africa’s most populated country and economic giant, Nigeria, has inaugurated an arm manufacturing company that will produce another version of the AK-47 kalatchnikov which will soon be put on the market.
“Africa has now become a lucrative market for arm dealers and if we do not put the fire out, peace will slip through our fingers,” he warned.
Blondy then lauded the efforts by the international community in helping to reach a peaceful solution in the Ivorian conflict.
Since his appointment as peace ambassador by the UN Operations in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) several months ago, the reggae star has been meeting with all stakeholders in the country’s conflict to discuss peace and dialogue based on mutual trust.
Photo: Alpha Blondy, speaking in Abidjan.
Source: APA News.
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