IVORY COAST: Mamadou Koulibaly, one of the few heavyweights in former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo's party not being held for criminal charges, resigns over frustration with party hardliners

Record ID: 181645

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Mamadou Koulibaly, one of the few heavyweights in former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo's party not being held for criminal charges, resigns over frustration with party hardliners
  • Date: 13th July 2011
  • Summary: NEWSPAPER HEADLINES READING "KOULIBALY ABANDONS GBAGBO AND FPI" AND "THE PARTY WILL FINALLY TRULY DIE" (IN FRENCH) / PEOPLE LOOKING AT NEWSPAPERS
  • Embargoed: 28th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7NV7HQ2GJMVDT2TG2CMKR8F03
  • Story Text: The head of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo's FPI party said on Tuesday (July 12) he had quit in frustration at the inability of its hardline members to move on and form a credible opposition.
    Mamadou Koulibaly's resignation as head of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) is likely to throw Gbagbo's already weak and fractured party into further disarray ahead of legislative elections expected by the end of the year.
    "The opposition mission is not to stand there crying, wallowing in self pity, complaining about itself for five years. It has to be proactive, self-confident and constructive for the good of the Ivorian people. It's because I want to implement these ideas that I took a firm decision to leave the FPI," said Koulibaly.
    Gbagbo lost an election in November to Alassane Ouattara, but he refused to accept defeat, triggering a violent power struggle that tipped the country back into civil war until he was ousted by French-backed rebels in April.
    He is currently being detained in the north, awaiting trial for alleged economic crimes and a possible International Criminal Court probe into war crimes during the post-election conflict that killed at least 3,000 people.
    Koulibaly, seen as a moderate and one of the few heavyweights in Gbagbo's party not being held on criminal charges, was made interim president while former party chief Pascal Affi N'Guessan awaits trial in the north.
    The FPI's supporters and media have shown little remorse for the crisis or the killings of Ouattara supporters committed as they tried to entrench Gbagbo's position and crush dissent.
    Koulibaly said he woud be working on building his own independent party.
    "I will apply myself with my team to create a political party, whose name reflects in part our vision: Freedom and Democracy for the Republic (LIDER), a new party which will work towards the restoration of a society of trust, where Ivorians will not distrust each other based on tribal, ethnic, regional and religious reasons," he said.
    On the streets of Abidjan, Koulibaly's exit was greeted with mixed reactions.
    "If he set up a political party to resolve the problems of the Ivorian people, then I commend him for that. But if he created a party for the sake of appearances, then I think it is not worth it. Because what we ask from a leader is how useful can he be to the community and what can he do for the community. Today we have a problem of reconciliation and if he can reconcile the Ivorians through his party then his party will be welcomed," said Maitre Gone, in Abidjan.
    "We should all stand together, wait, listen and hold a party meeting before making any decision. He decided to leave without holding a meeting with all involved. I do not approve of that and I think that Mamadou Koulibaly has betrayed the FPI," said Raymond Kouadio.
    FPI refused to join Ouattara's proposed unity government last month, unless Gbagbo is released, thereby cutting itself out of power completely, although Ouattara has re-appointed some of Gbagbo's former military officers.
    Twenty four of Gbagbo's close associates await trial for crimes including embezzlement and harming state security.
    Despite deep international support, Ouattara still faces the task of reconciling a nation bitterly divided by years of instability and ethnic strife.
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