Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé were definitely acquitted. The ICC Court of Appeal announced its decision on Wednesday afternoon, March 31, in The Hague. A news eagerly awaited by the militants and sympathizers of the FPI, the party for Gbagbo, which caused scenes of cheering in the Ivory Coast.
In the Selmer district of Yopougon, where our correspondent went Sidy Yansane, maquis Tantie Margot has been transformed into a mini-cinema for live broadcasting of the ICC hearing. When the judge dismissed the prosecutor’s grounds for appeal, the shouts of joy intensified.
Then comes the apotheosis when the final acquittal of former President Laurent Gbagbo and his minister Charles Blé Goudé is confirmed. The hundred activists present rejoiced. “We are more than happy, we overflow with joy, we are happy. It is over! We won!”
I’m so moved that words disappoint me. We thank God and pray that President Laurent Gbagbo returns quietly to his country.
In Yopougon, supporters of Laurent Gbagbo celebrate the ICC decision
Dressed in a set that bears the image of Laurent Gbagbo, this activist’s voice is half torn by emotions: “Today is a day of madness for me. This is the release we’ve been waiting for for a decade, thank goodness it happened. It is the liberation of the whole of Africa, especially from the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo. We must declare this day a day of joy! ”
There is only one step left for a total victory: the return to the country of the previously accused Gbagbo and Blé Goudé.
“The Return of a Peace Man”
In the political class, Georges Armand Ouégnin, chairman of the Together for Democracy and Sovereignty (EDS) platform, believes that the former head of state’s return to Côte d’Ivoire is necessary for reconciliation and current authorities have no interest in preventing his return.
“Laurent Gbagbo is a free Ivorian citizen, he must and will return home with, I think, the help of the authorities. I do not think he has any interest in preventing this return. It is an Ivorian who is returning and I think the current power should be able to apply this return. It is a former Ivorian president returning home, he must be welcomed with all the honors because of his rank. I dare to hope and I do not think there will be a problem, because the Ivorians need reconciliation and peace. And we will make sure that people understand that it is a peacemaker who returns and that it is as such that he must be welcomed in the Ivory Coast. ”
Disappointment with the victims of the political crisis
But on the side of victims of violence, on the other hand, there is the concern that prevails. This is an “unfair” decision for Issiaka Diaby, chair of the Collective of Crisis Victims in Côte d’Ivoire, who does not hide her disappointment. For him, justice has not been done to the victims.
A victim who has not received justice and compensation is potentially subject to revenge. How do we get rid of this tendency in the hearts of the victims to want revenge or to take legal action on the ground? This is our concern. Initially, the ICC had begun to worry about the perpetrators. Today, in the Ivory Coast, the International Criminal Court no longer intimidates anyone. Both feel that it is a giant with feet of clay, ineffective. ”
A sentiment shared by Karim Koulibaly, one of the victims of the repression attributed to the former Ivorian president. The ICC’s decision has just shattered his last hope of being compensated.
“Our hope was that the ICC, an international body, would at least satisfy the victims of the Ivory Coast. Finally, we, the victims, no longer understand anything.
And when I talk about a mortgaged future, I am a victim of the crisis, I was mutilated and amputated by my left leg, and today I have a family, my mouth to feed and I can no longer get one of the meetings.
There are several of us, others are paraplegic or mutilated, these people are in difficult situations and they do not get help from the government on the spot. That’s why I’m talking about a pledged future. ”
