1. Posted on Monday 18 April 2011 - 09:47

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   Selay

   

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   Selay Marius Kouassi, AfricaNews in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

   A page in the history of Ivory Coast has been turned. There is now only one president and his name is Alassane Ouattara. After clashes between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces and after the capture of Gbagbo and his followers, public opinion in Ivory Coast is focused on hope for a new beginning and concerns about the challenges of social reconstruction.

   

   
   The announcement of Gbagbo’s arrest
   
   “The nightmare is over for Ivorians”, Ouattara’s defense minister and prime minister Soro Guillaume told journalists in the conference room of the Golf Hotel (Headquarters of Ouattara’s government), to loud cheers from Ouattara’s supporters in the audience.
   
   Gbagbo was found in the tiny bunker of the presidential residence of Cocody by the Republican forces (armed forces backing Ouattara) after French troops fired rockets on the residence to “destroy the heavy weapons that Gbagbo was suing against civilians”.
   
   Gbagbo and some members of his clan and his loyal collaborators were sent to Golf Hotel. The strongman is now being detained in custody in a secret place in the north of the country.
   
   Mood following Gbagbo’s arrest
   
   The mood in Ivory Coast following Gbagbo's detention was a combination of euphoria and relief. Many people viewed defiant Gbagbo's capture as a triumph of Ouattara's forces, while others viewed it as a tragedy.
   
   In Yopougon, Gbagbo's stronghold, his supporters view Gbagbo as a hero for managing to resist the international pressure for four months. The streets were empty, nobody was celebrating publically. People still believed that a miracle would happen. Meanwhile pro-Ouattara people in Yopougon were afraid to celebrate, fearful of any retaliation from young Gbagbo supporters.
   
   In Abobo, Adjamé, and Koumassi -pro-Ouattara areas- people became incredibly excited when they heard Gbagbo had been captured. Empty streets were suddenly filled with cars; people were honking their car horns. In Abobo, some fighters of pro-Outtara 'invisible commando' unit have been shooting in the air.
   
   However on both sides, people were worried about the future.
   
   Many people believed that Gbagbo's arrest could trigger more resistance against the French troops and pro-Ouattara forces. They thought unrest in the country will drag on endlessly as many Gbagbo supporters and militiamen still have weapons. Some feared that Gbagbo's arrest could boost the rise of militiamen and a Gbagbo shadow army and could herald fresh chaos for Ivory Coast.
   
   The day after Gbagbo’s arrest
   
   A day after the capture of Gbagbo, the sun rises on what was left of the Ivorian capital Abidjan. In the streets, Laurent Gbagbo’s capture was discussed with precautionary discretion. “Historic”, “shameful”, “incredible”, “sad”...are some of the adjectives used in Abidjan to describe the capture of Laurent Gbagbo on the afternoon of 11 April 2011.
   
   Residents tried to find their way amid glass debris, broken furniture, and household appliances in the streets. They were out looking for neighbours or lost relatives; or simply to have a feel of the situation in the city.
   
   Checking on the neighbours
   
   For the first time in ten days of “hibernation”, Anatole Kouadio stepped outside and shared a few hugs with Martin N’Guessan, one of his neighbours who stayed in the area throughout the conflict.
   
   Anatole and Martin knocked on their neighbours’ doors. No sign of life. They probably fled the area or something terrible happened to them. Rather than speculating on their whereabouts, the two friends prayed for them. “From where they are, may God have mercy on them and return them safely home”, whispered Martin.
   
   Slowly back to normal
   
   In Abobo, north of Abidjan, streets were coming to life with people. Some carefully drove around on their last fuel reserves, since all gas stations remaineed closed. “I avoid making unnecessary detours. I’m trying to manage my fuel reserves until the reopening of gas stations”, noted Cloyo Penantcho.
   
   
   
   Amélie Yavo, vender at the local Abobo market, was happy to see things slowly getting back to normal. “I am happy to see people walking around in the market and asking for item prices. This is a sign of life. When the banks open, cash will once again flow and customers will buy our goods”, she confidently declared.
   
   In the Ivorian economic hub and in other towns of the west African country, the issue of French intervention and neocolonialism was on everybody’s lips since a video footage released by TCI -a pro-Ouattara TV station- showed French troops surrounding the presidential residence, where Mr Gbagbo was holed up, and helping Ouattara’s forces penetrate the premises.
   
   French military intervention and neocolonialism
   
   The intervention of French troops has gotten many people talking. “I blame French troops who encircled Gbagbo’s residence and captured him. They said they did not enter the area. They are telling lies. What where they doing in the neighborhood? They used the Ouattara forces as a smokescreen to cover their neocolonialism business. They have decided to impose their puppet Alassane Ouattara, as President of Ivory Coast.” said Phillipe Amoulé, an engineer and diehard support of the deposed president of Ivory Coast.
   
   Likewise Phillipe, Armand Gouegnon, a 27 year-old barber think Gbagbo was France’s fall guy. « Gbagbo was a fierce opponent of the Françafrique, this is why France did not want him to rule Ivory Coast where French have invested plenty of money. I am afraid that in the coming months, France will dictate Ivorians everything they need”.
   
   Morro Anouma, a female university teacher explained why Ivorians should not blame France. “Laurent Gbagbo has been using the nationalist angle as a smokescreen to win and the sympathy of panafricanists all over the world and the love of the unenlightened Ivorian populations. All those who pretend Gbagbo was against the French and against francafrique system are wrong. Gbagbo himself pretends to be against French neocolonialism. It’s not true” said Morro.
   
   The 53-year old university teacher gave reasons to support her opinion of Gbagbo’s fake nationalism. “Gbagbo gave to the French all the market opportunities in Ivory Coast and it was the French to whom he turned to, earlier in 2002, when the new forces troops (rebels) were marching on Abidjan.
   
   The French troops stopped the progress of New forces troops. And recently I learned that, Marie-Antoinette Singleton, Gbagbo’s daughter who currently lives in France, has turned to five Paris-based French lawyers to study the legality of the detention of her father. Now how can Gbagbo pretend to be against French? Besides, what nationalism are Gbagbo people talking about?” added Morro.
   
   Reconciliation
   
   For many Ivorians, the episode of Gbagbo’s arrest, the violence and lootings are over. Efforts should now be concentrated on rebuilding the country and reconciling its children.
   
   For many, reconciliation will start at the Golf Hotel, where the main actors of the Ivorian crisis are incidentally gathered.
   
   “God moves in mysterious ways. He managed, through a series of events beyond human understanding, to gather all five major actors in the crisis in the same building. Charles Blé Goudé, Guillaume Soro, Alassane Ouattara, Laurent Gbagbo and former president Henri Konan Bédié are at the Golf Hotel”, says Méssou N’Goran, a 47-year-old carpenter.
   
   “It’s the ideal place to start the reconciliation process the people are hoping for. Each party claimed, at an earlier stage, that it was open to discussion. Well, this is the time to walk the talk”, recommends Méssou.
   
   Adopt the South African model
   
   Ivorians hope for reconciliation. However, a reconciliation model tailored to the Ivorian case still needs to be defined.
   
   Bintou Konaté, a nurse, speculates: “I think that the South African model, i.e. the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, would work. With a large number of West African cultures represented in the Ivorian population, we are as much a multicultural people as South Africans. We could learn from their experience. We should not marginalise any of these people with which we have lived for decades”, Bintou adds.
   
   To each leader his mission! Ouattara’s mission will be to restore a war-torn country to its former African glory.

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1. Posted on Wednesday 20 April 2011 01:25

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   3 berichten
   Lid sinds April 2011

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