IVORY COAST: Ivorians react to International Criminal Court charges against former President Laurent Gbagbo

Record ID: 182149

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Ivorians react to International Criminal Court charges against former President Laurent Gbagbo
  • Date: 1st December 2011
  • Summary: NEWSPAPER HEADLINE
  • Embargoed: 16th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Crime,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABFP0TR2JN9BMW1KZPJV0L45UJ
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo will appear before the International Criminal Court in The Hague within days to face charges of crimes against humanity, the first former head of state to be tried by the ICC since its inception in 2002.
    Gbagbo, 66, was arrested and taken from Ivory Coast to the Netherlands on Tuesday (November 29).
    News of his arrest and transfer to Europe has been greeted with mixed feelings back home where the violence that erupted after last year's election in which as many as 3,000 people died, is still fresh in people's minds.
    For bread vendor Patrice Ehouman, the fact that the former president has been taken out of the country to be tried is a slight to the Ivorian justice system. Like many residents he would prefer Gbabgo to be tried at home rather than in Europe.
    "We should be able to fix our problems here, not send a president there. After all he was the leader of this country for 10 years and today they take him away somewhere, why not here? We could try him here. This means that in Ivory Coast we don't have competent judges. We don't have judges in Ivory Coast, we have intellectuals here. Why send a president abroad?" he said.
    More than a million people were displaced during the violence that broke out when Gbagbo refused to cede power to Alassane Ouattara, who international observers recognised as the rightful winner of the November 2010 election.
    According to retired office worker Henry Irie Bi Irie, the ordinary people who were caught up in the violence are the people who have suffered most and should attract the sympathy of the international community, rather than Gbagbo who many blame for the fact that violence was allowed to continue for so long.
    "Today all poor people are disoriented, all poor people who had nothing to do with politics, they don't even have enough to eat. So I ask forgiveness for all those Ivorians, but Gbagbo he deserves to go to the ICC," he said.
    Gbagbo will make an initial appearance in court within a few days where he will be informed of his rights and the charges against him.
    His aides have branded the action "victor's justice," saying it demonstrates the bias of international players towards former IMF executive Ouattara, who came to power after French soldiers helped him oust Gbagbo.
    While ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said that other high level suspects from both sides are also likely to be questioned, some have warned that it won't be enough to stop further outbreaks of violence.
    "It's a move that will bring more problems than we ever thought instead of solutions. Already there are the beginnings of problems, there are people (candidates to the legislative elections) who are boycotting the legislatives, and we'll see more things in the days to come. This will even divide normal people," said Kue Tety, a student.
    "If we really want to go towards true reconciliation, I would like to see that the transfer of president Gbagbo is done respecting justice, because it's this justice that we're looking for at the moment. So if it's not a veritable justice, it won't bring true reconciliation to Ivorians," said local doctor, Denis Kouassi.
    Gbagbo's arrest marks a breakthrough for the ICC prosecutor, as up to now some of his biggest targets have proved elusive.
    Libya's Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed, his son Saif al-Islam seems likely to be tried in Libya, while Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, wanted on charges of orchestrating genocide in the Darfur region, has travelled freely to countries including ICC members Malawi, Chad, Kenya and Djibouti.
    In Gbagbo's case, the ICC and Ivory Coast authorities tried to keep his arrest and transfer to The Hague secret to avoid any risk that it could be derailed or provoke unrest. The arrest warrant was issued under seal, a process that ensures it is kept under wraps until the last minute.
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