Blue-helmet blues

摘要

The UN peacekeepers in Cote d'lvoire think their mandate is clear: to provide stability, so that elections can be held in October next year. Many Ivorians, however, want them to take sides. "The UN is here for one thing, and one thing only: to disarm the rebels," says Charles Ble Goude, the leader of the Young Patriots, an important and rather menacing pro-government group. "If the blue helmets haven't started disarming them within a month," he told a recent rally, "I will not be responsible for what happens to them."