A Fellow at policy think tank IMANI Ghana, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe has descended heavily on the United Nations describing it as a joke in its handling of issues on the African Continent particularly the Ivorian and Libyan crises. Mr. Cudjoe said the UN has become discredited by its action of allowing the internationally proclaimed elected President of Ivory Coast Alhassan Ouatarra and his rebel forces to kill and maim innocent civilians who are caught in the cross fire of the Ivorian crisis. Speaking on Asempa Today on Tuesday afternoon on the on-going crisis in Ivory Coast even after the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo, Mr Cudjoe said the military intervention as a means of resolving the impasse in the West African country was a mark of bias on the United Nations. “For me I hardly now rely on the UN any longer, because the UN has shown how biased they could be in this Ivorian crisis. I lost confidence in the United Nations long ago from Rwanda up until Iraq when they told the whole world that Sadam had nuclear weapons. I agreed to that foolery my brother, some of us are more republicans and probably more free market believing that [we thought] they were telling us the truth, we believed that Sadam Hussein had nuclear weapons - didn’t you also believe them too?” he fumed. Mr. Franklin Cudjoe warned Ghana to be very careful in our dealings with international organisations to avoid being dictated to. “If you let them dictate taking bold steps when they do not have the full facts as to what happens in a country that was divided into two and rebels having one side of it, what happened in Ivory Coast by way of election was only a charade, what happened in Ivory Coast is a joke”. He also took a swipe at the internationally acclaimed elected leader of Ivory Coast, Mr. Alhassan Ouatarra on his handling of the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo by planning to haul him before court when the nation is plunged in confusion, and when the disputed Ivorian leader had about half the votes of the November 2010 general elections. “Laurent Gbagbo is not what the west has made all of us to believe; this was someone who stood up to the French when they decided to control water, roads, electricity and then when he resist, you pluck him out. "He is not a despot necessarily as they claim - I agree that Gbagbo didn’t do well in holding onto power until the disgraceful end, but then again he was making a strategic point that look people let’s not allow ourselves to be fooled. "Gbagbo’s closing statement when he was caught was such so apt-this was what he said 'look the military part of this crisis is over, now let’s deal with the civilian crisis - that is a mark of a true leader. "He spent 10 years of his rule trying to make sure that he was taking power that was unequally shared by the French, between the rebels and himself, I’m sorry to be sounding like this but please if anyone should tell you the position I used to hold before this, then it tells you that’s a mark of a true scholar. You just don’t rely on one side everyday and then not listen to the other side. I have listened to both and I’m no God but I can tell you I’m speaking from facts, not opinions, not sentiments, not emotions.” The IMANI boss predicts the confusion in Ghana’s western neighbour is bound to continue until the African Union [AU] and the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] impress on Mr. Ouatarra to retract a statement he made that Gbagbo be made to face justice when there is no systematic effort to reconcile the divided country. Franklin Cudjoe who concedes he was also swayed by what he describes as an international conspiracy against Ivory Coast, but added he was so captivated by the remarks of the detained Ivorian leader, that the military part of the crisis was over and that it was time to seek peace in the civilian way. Kwadwo Asare-Baffour Acheampong/ Asempa fm/Ghana