This is the second stage of Laurent Gbagbo’s visit to the Henri Konan Bédié fortress, in the middle east of the Ivory Coast. Following the reunification, on Saturday 10 July, in Douakro, the two opposition leaders will meet, this Sunday 11 July, in Bédiékro, in the bush, in the heart of the plantations of the former president of the PDCI. At the end of this day, Henri Konan Bédié called for “a new democratic project” and political discussions between the FPI-EDS and the PDCI in order to strengthen the political alliance.
With our special correspondent in Bédiékro, François Hume-Ferkatadji
In a press release read to the press, in the presence of delegations from the PDCI and FPI-EDS, Henri Konan Bédié described his meeting with Laurent Gbagbo as a “historic turning point”, “a brotherhood song”, he said, capable of “Building a Reconciled Ivory Coast “. Because the president of the PDCI called for “the establishment of a real reconciliation project”, without, however, defining its contours.
Henri Konan Bédié remained vague when he demanded the establishment of “a new democratic project without all party interests” but promised to “define this reconciliation project to present it to the whole nation” in the coming weeks. He indicates that this project could not succeed without “a strong will from the head of state, Alassane Ouattara, political actors, (his) countrymen and development actors.”
A rather mysterious speech therefore without clear message at this stage, which leaves room for all interpretations.
To explain this desire for democratic renewal, Henri Konan Bédié painted a gloomy picture of the situation in the country. “For twenty years, Côte d’Ivoire has taken the road to destroy the basics,” laments the former president of the republic, ousted by a 1999 coup.
“I want to bring all my strength, all the strength I have left, to tomorrow’s Ivory Coast,” said the 87-year-old politician along with Laurent Gbagbo, 76.
At noon, the two opposition leaders in the Henri Konan Bédié domain met in Bédiékro. Smiling and relaxed, the two men rushed into a 4X4, Henri Konan Bédié did not take his cigar out of his mouth and Laurent Gbagbo with a hat. For an hour, they visited the rubber plantations of the PDCI president and the fish farms in the area, with the stated goal of showing a new involvement between the former political rivals.
Read also: Ivory Coast: Gbagbo’s visit to Konan Bédié gets a political meeting
.
