Several hundred of
cocoa growers chanting anti-European slogans marched to the European
Union (EU) offices in Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday and burned a pile of
cocoa sacks to protest against sanctions crippling the industry.
A pile of several
60-kg sacks of beans were set ablaze as planters carried banners
reading ‘Shame on the EU’ and ‘No to economic slavery’, and gathered
outside the European Union’s Abidjan headquarters in the late morning.
There were no reports of violence. The cocoa industry in the country
is grinding to a halt, partly because of the EU sanctions on incumbent
leader, Laurent Gbagbo, and his supporters after his refusal to quit
power.
