Two former Ivorian rivals talk peace at The Hague

A warm handshake between two former Ivorain rivals.

The gesture was unlikely ten years ago between Guillaume Soro and Charles Blé Goudé during the 2010-2011 post-election crisis in Ivory Coast.

The former head of the Ivorian rebellion Guillaume Soro and candidate for the 2020 presidential election, met Charles Blé Goudé, former head of the Young Patriots, who’s on a conditional release and awaiting a decision by the International Criminal Court, according to a joint statement.

The search for peace is the focus of this meeting. In the joint statement, both parties see this meeting as “the opportunity for long and fruitful exchanges of truth on the national socio-political situation.”

The two men, who were once leaders of the Student and School Federation of Ivory Coast, remembered the time they spent in prison as students and expressed their compassion and solidarity to the Ivorian people for the trauma they suffered during the conflict that killed 3,000 people.

Guillaume Soro then supported the current President Alassane Ouattara while Blé Goudé was one of the most ardent supporters of the regime of former President Laurent Gbagbo.

AFP