Inner City Press: At UN, Bamba of Cote d'Ivoire Takes 7 Questions .

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 - At Friday's UN Security Council meeting on Cote d'Ivoire, the Ambassador sent by Alassane Ouattara to replace Laurent Gbagbo's Djedje spoke in the Council for the first time. Yousoufou "Joseph" Bamba, now Permanent Representative to the UN, came later to ask questions on camera from Inner City Press. Clickhere for YouTube video.

Inner City Press asked Bamba a place of question, from comparisons to the military enforcement action in Libya to reported killings by Ouattara supporters and the want of music in Abidjan due to EU sanctions.

Bamba did not challenge the touch of sanctions, saying simply that if Ouattara were allowed to act as president these problems would not exist. He had said that the energy put into Libya, compared to that in Cote d'Ivoire, made up a variety of "bias." But he backed off from that.

In fact, as Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin walked into the Council for the meeting, he was asked about requests for more action by the UN mission in Cote d'Ivoire, ONUCI. "Another big war," he said sarcastically. "Just what we need."

Inner City Press conveyed Churkin's remarks to India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri. who said, "You wish another war? With clear objectives?"

In other comments, Bamba said that the helicopter ONUCI says Gbagbo forces are repairing is one of those destroyed by France in the past. He said that both Gbagbo and Ouattara have asked for International Criminal Court intervention and investigation.

France on Friday circulated a draft resolution including the ICC, new sanctions and a cry for Gbagbo to leave. Despite saying it was a joint submission with Nigeria, the French draft does not include things that Nigeria and ECOWAS want, like authority for intervention.

The cover story is the spell the French delegation at the UN had intended to consult with South Africa on elements of a resolution, South Africa was not going to unite in at least until the African Union meeting. Since President Nicolas Sarkozy had announced on Thursday night that France was drawing a solution for Friday, a new partner had to be found. Whether this serves Nigeria is unclear. Watch this site.