Selay Marius Kouassi, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The reconciliation process in Ivory Coast face a bumpy road ahead, a few days after former President Laurent Gbagbo was taken into custody at the ICC, in The Hague, on charges of crimes of war and crimes against humanity.
Shock and anger have gripped FPI, the Ivorian Popular Front, which announced its withdrawal from electoral race and reconciliation process, as a result of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) warrant for Gbagbo’s arrest and transfer to The Hague.
"The FPI notes with regret the partiality of the judicial process undertaken by the International Criminal Court prosecutor and which ended up with Gbagbo’s transfer to The Hague. What we are witnessing now is victor’s justice,’’ Miaka Ouretto, FPI interim president, said in a statement. Miaka denounced Gbagbo’s move to The Hague as a plot to remove him from active politics.
Gbagbo spent months under house arrest in the Nortern city of Korhogo, under a tight control of UN troops and Ivorian national army, before being charged with ‘‘economic crimes’’ by the General prosecutor.
The ICC started to investigate alleged crimes committed by Gbagbo a few months ago, but there was always a hope among his supporters that he would be released in a bid for reconciliation.
"We received this news with consternation and shock,’’ said Justin Koua, the Interim National Secretary of the FPI Youth League, when he was asked how he felt when he heard ex-Ivorian president was transferred to The Hague.
‘‘But the struggle is not over yet. We are now going to tighten ranks, and stand ready to take further actions.’’ declared Justin who is planning to organize a massive rally protest against the transfer which he regards as ‘‘arbitrary’’.
There are a number of convincing arguments to believe that the impact of the demonstrations planned by die-hard Gbagbo supporters will be considerably less significant and will have less impact on the fate of the ex president, as it seems unlikely that the decision to trial Gbagbo at the ICC will be reversed.
‘‘There is absolutely no doubt that bringing the FPI back into the reconciliation process may be considerably more difficult, particularly since its recent statements and actions have been driven by the will to stand aside from the political game. And its leaders scattered across Africa are afraid to return home for fear of being arrested.’’ noticed Dr. Kouadio Mathurin, a sociologist at Cocody University in Abidjan.
No FPI candidates is standing for this year’s legislative elections and in protest against the transfer of Laurent Gbagbo to the ICC, Mel Théodore, Kabran Appia and Gervais Coulibaly - opposition leaders who supported Gagbo in the elections last year-, decided to withdraw their candidatures from these elections as well.
In Abidjan, there are growing fears that Gbagbo’s transfer to The Hague might disrupt political life in the country and threaten the already fragile reconciliation process.
The reconciliation process in Ivory Coast face a bumpy road ahead, a few days after former President Laurent Gbagbo was taken into custody at the ICC, in The Hague, on charges of crimes of war and crimes against humanity.
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