http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-but-now-his-hard-work-begins/article1981018/
<header id="leadheader" class=" smallimg"> Ouattara wins the fight, but now his hard work begins
MARCO CHOWN OVED
ABIDJAN— From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published <time pubdate="" datetime="2011-04-11 20:24 -0400">Monday, Apr. 11, 2011 8:24PM EDT</time> Last updated <time datetime="2011-04-11 20:32 -0400">Monday, Apr. 11, 2011 8:32PM EDT</time>
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He looked like anyone might after being pulled out of a bunker after 12 days: a little haggard, bags beneath his eyes, like he hadn’t taken a shower in a while. But the capture of Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo was anything but routine, and whether this country will be able to bounce back from the depths of violence, propaganda and hate that he dragged it into is anything but certain.
<aside class="articleseealso entry-content-asset"> <header>More related to this story
</header>
Video
Who is Laurent Gbagbo?
Video
Ivory Coast strife continues
</aside>Hours after finally taking control of the country, President Alassane Ouattara said a Truth and Reconciliation Commission would investigate accusations of atrocities against civilians by both sides. He called for calm and urged militias to disarm. “Our country has turned a painful page in its history,” he said in an evening address broadcast on both television and radio.
Mr. Ouattara cut short speculation of an international criminal prosecution against his rival and announced that an investigation would be opened on Mr. Gbagbo, his wife and their entourage. He assured them that they would receive a fair trial.
A message from Mr. Gbagbo in custody had been broadcast earlier, calling for an end to fighting.
Since winning the presidential election last November, Mr. Ouattara has had the support of the international community behind him, but no amount of diplomatic or financial pressure could convince Mr. Gbagbo to cede power.
In order for Mr. Ouattara to assume office, he would need two rounds of aerial bombardments by United Nations and French helicopters, as well as the assistance of a French armoured column, which secured the area around Mr. Gbagbo’s residence Monday morning before Mr. Ouattara’s men came to arrest him.
Mr. Gbagbo’s advisers say French special forces entered the compound and orchestrated the arrest, something that French military and government officials vehemently deny.
What’s certain is that French military support was essential to finishing this 19-week standoff for the president’s office, and Mr. Ouattara will have a very difficult time convincing the 46 per cent that voted for his opponent that he isn’t a Western stooge.
“[Mr. Ouattara] didn’t want to come to power this way, through the barrel of a gun,” said Richard Downie, an Africa expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “He was elected fairly and freely. But this is the situation he was dealt. It’s going to be incredibly difficult for him to bring the country together.”
Even after images of Mr. Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, in custody were broadcast on television, the people of Abidjan didn’t descend into the streets in celebration.
“There’s been too much fighting, there are too many armed men still in the streets,” said Idrissa Ouedraogo, a resident of the pro-Ouattara Adjame neighbourhood. “We need to wait to make sure these men have been captured before any party can begin.”
Last month, on the four-month anniversary of his election, Mr. Ouattara gave up on diplomacy. His forces swept down from the northern half of the country and quickly advanced hundreds of kilometres and conquered dozens of cities meeting very little resistance. But their attack ground to a halt on the edge of Abidjan, where Mr. Gbagbo’s most hard core and loyal fighters were stationed with the tanks, machine guns and mortars they had been using to terrorize the civilian population.
Two weeks of fighting in the country’s biggest and most strategically important city has left its scars.
The twisted wreckages of burned cars and the deformed security grills of looted storefronts run on for kilometres.
Corpses littered the sides of the main boulevards, some of them charred by makeshift cremation. A pair of legs protruded from a dumpster in the downtown business core, an image that would be almost comical if it weren’t so gruesome.
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Hundreds of destitute civilians carrying buckets formed lines at gas stations and any other place where they could find water. Gunmen still guarded the two bridges that link the northern and southern halves of the city. They stopped passing vehicles looking for Frenchmen.
More than 1 million people have fled the fighting and at least 500 people had been killed before the Mr. Ouattara’s advance even began. Those who have died since might never be counted.
Rights groups say the majority of those killed were supporters of Mr. Ouattara targeted by Mr. Gbagbo’s heavily armed security forces in the lower-class neighbourhoods of Abidjan. In one incident, eight unarmed women were shot down at a demonstration with a 50-calibre machine gun. The bullet casings are as big as empty toilet paper rolls.
Shortly afterwards, at least 25 people were killed when a busy marketplace was shelled with 81-mm mortars.
“Laurent Gbagbo has been credibly implicated in crimes against humanity and other atrocities for which he should be held to account,” said Daniel Bekele, the Africa director of Human Rights watch. “He should not be granted a golden exile in a country that would shield him from national or international prosecution.”
But Mr. Gbagbo’s troops aren’t the only ones who should be investigated, he said, citing evidence of a mass grave containing more than 100 bodies in the west of the country. Human Rights Watch reported that Mr. Ouattara’s forces were behind it and other atrocities in the west of the country.
“To end over a decade of abuse and impunity, Mr. Ouattara’s new government needs to ensure that all those responsible for the crimes that have characterized this painful period of Côte d’Ivoire’s history face fair justice, regardless of their rank or political allegiance,” Mr. Bekele said.
The European Union lifted its sanctions preventing ships from docking at Ivory Coast’s ports and doing business with some of it's major companies, setting the stage for an economic recovery.
More than 100,000 tonnes of cocoa beans are waiting to be exported after a two-month ban, which could bring a much-needed injection of cash into the economy.
But as the French armoured column returned to base Monday night, their mission accomplished, gunfire still rung out through the city.
Ivory Coast may have had help in toppling its strongman, but Mr. Ouattara will almost surely have to go it alone rebuilding the trust, the rule of law and the economy that this country needs.
Special to The Globe and Mail
KEY MOMENTS IN THE IVORY COAST SAGA
It all began four months ago …
Five turning points in the four-month aftermath of Ivory Coast’s presidential election
1. Ivory Coast’s election commission announces on Dec. 2, 2010, that former premier Alassane Ouattara won the Nov. 28 runoff presidential election with 54.1 per cent of the vote comparied with 45.9 per cent for incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
2. The Constitutional Council, run by an ally of Mr. Gbagbo, rejects the results as rigged and declares Mr. Gbagbo as the winner on Dec. 3. The UN, however, endorses Mr. Ouattara’s win.
3. Mr. Gbagbo refuses to cede power or leave the presidential palace, but Mr. Ouattara has himself sworn in as president and begins appointing ministers and ambassadors from his headquarters of Abidjan’s seaside Golf Hotel as forces loyal to each begin to wage gun battles.
4. Mr. Gbagbo begins negotiating his surrender after pro-Outtara forces overtake much of the country and French forces under UN authority carry out strikes against his troops on April 4. But this proves to be a delaying tactic, allowing him to barricade himself in a bunker on the grounds of the presidential palace as his forces to regroup.
5. With help again from French forces, troops loyal to Mr. Ouattara storm the bunker April 11, and arrest Mr. Gbagbo and his wife.
Associated Press
<header id="leadheader" class=" smallimg"> Ouattara wins the fight, but now his hard work begins
MARCO CHOWN OVED
ABIDJAN— From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published <time pubdate="" datetime="2011-04-11 20:24 -0400">Monday, Apr. 11, 2011 8:24PM EDT</time> Last updated <time datetime="2011-04-11 20:32 -0400">Monday, Apr. 11, 2011 8:32PM EDT</time>
<aside class="articleseealso articleseealsoheader"> </aside> 0 comments
He looked like anyone might after being pulled out of a bunker after 12 days: a little haggard, bags beneath his eyes, like he hadn’t taken a shower in a while. But the capture of Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo was anything but routine, and whether this country will be able to bounce back from the depths of violence, propaganda and hate that he dragged it into is anything but certain.
<aside class="articleseealso entry-content-asset"> <header>More related to this story
</header>
- Ivory Coast strongman Gbagbo surrenders after weeks of bloody fighting
- Gbagbo vs. Ouattara: Tale of the tape
- French troops on move near Ivory Coast capital
VideoWho is Laurent Gbagbo?
VideoIvory Coast strife continues
</aside>Hours after finally taking control of the country, President Alassane Ouattara said a Truth and Reconciliation Commission would investigate accusations of atrocities against civilians by both sides. He called for calm and urged militias to disarm. “Our country has turned a painful page in its history,” he said in an evening address broadcast on both television and radio.
Mr. Ouattara cut short speculation of an international criminal prosecution against his rival and announced that an investigation would be opened on Mr. Gbagbo, his wife and their entourage. He assured them that they would receive a fair trial.
A message from Mr. Gbagbo in custody had been broadcast earlier, calling for an end to fighting.
Since winning the presidential election last November, Mr. Ouattara has had the support of the international community behind him, but no amount of diplomatic or financial pressure could convince Mr. Gbagbo to cede power.
In order for Mr. Ouattara to assume office, he would need two rounds of aerial bombardments by United Nations and French helicopters, as well as the assistance of a French armoured column, which secured the area around Mr. Gbagbo’s residence Monday morning before Mr. Ouattara’s men came to arrest him.
Mr. Gbagbo’s advisers say French special forces entered the compound and orchestrated the arrest, something that French military and government officials vehemently deny.
What’s certain is that French military support was essential to finishing this 19-week standoff for the president’s office, and Mr. Ouattara will have a very difficult time convincing the 46 per cent that voted for his opponent that he isn’t a Western stooge.
“[Mr. Ouattara] didn’t want to come to power this way, through the barrel of a gun,” said Richard Downie, an Africa expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “He was elected fairly and freely. But this is the situation he was dealt. It’s going to be incredibly difficult for him to bring the country together.”
Even after images of Mr. Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, in custody were broadcast on television, the people of Abidjan didn’t descend into the streets in celebration.
“There’s been too much fighting, there are too many armed men still in the streets,” said Idrissa Ouedraogo, a resident of the pro-Ouattara Adjame neighbourhood. “We need to wait to make sure these men have been captured before any party can begin.”
Last month, on the four-month anniversary of his election, Mr. Ouattara gave up on diplomacy. His forces swept down from the northern half of the country and quickly advanced hundreds of kilometres and conquered dozens of cities meeting very little resistance. But their attack ground to a halt on the edge of Abidjan, where Mr. Gbagbo’s most hard core and loyal fighters were stationed with the tanks, machine guns and mortars they had been using to terrorize the civilian population.
Two weeks of fighting in the country’s biggest and most strategically important city has left its scars.
The twisted wreckages of burned cars and the deformed security grills of looted storefronts run on for kilometres.
Corpses littered the sides of the main boulevards, some of them charred by makeshift cremation. A pair of legs protruded from a dumpster in the downtown business core, an image that would be almost comical if it weren’t so gruesome.
</header>
Hundreds of destitute civilians carrying buckets formed lines at gas stations and any other place where they could find water. Gunmen still guarded the two bridges that link the northern and southern halves of the city. They stopped passing vehicles looking for Frenchmen.
More than 1 million people have fled the fighting and at least 500 people had been killed before the Mr. Ouattara’s advance even began. Those who have died since might never be counted.
Rights groups say the majority of those killed were supporters of Mr. Ouattara targeted by Mr. Gbagbo’s heavily armed security forces in the lower-class neighbourhoods of Abidjan. In one incident, eight unarmed women were shot down at a demonstration with a 50-calibre machine gun. The bullet casings are as big as empty toilet paper rolls.
Shortly afterwards, at least 25 people were killed when a busy marketplace was shelled with 81-mm mortars.
“Laurent Gbagbo has been credibly implicated in crimes against humanity and other atrocities for which he should be held to account,” said Daniel Bekele, the Africa director of Human Rights watch. “He should not be granted a golden exile in a country that would shield him from national or international prosecution.”
But Mr. Gbagbo’s troops aren’t the only ones who should be investigated, he said, citing evidence of a mass grave containing more than 100 bodies in the west of the country. Human Rights Watch reported that Mr. Ouattara’s forces were behind it and other atrocities in the west of the country.
“To end over a decade of abuse and impunity, Mr. Ouattara’s new government needs to ensure that all those responsible for the crimes that have characterized this painful period of Côte d’Ivoire’s history face fair justice, regardless of their rank or political allegiance,” Mr. Bekele said.
The European Union lifted its sanctions preventing ships from docking at Ivory Coast’s ports and doing business with some of it's major companies, setting the stage for an economic recovery.
More than 100,000 tonnes of cocoa beans are waiting to be exported after a two-month ban, which could bring a much-needed injection of cash into the economy.
But as the French armoured column returned to base Monday night, their mission accomplished, gunfire still rung out through the city.
Ivory Coast may have had help in toppling its strongman, but Mr. Ouattara will almost surely have to go it alone rebuilding the trust, the rule of law and the economy that this country needs.
Special to The Globe and Mail
KEY MOMENTS IN THE IVORY COAST SAGA
It all began four months ago …
Five turning points in the four-month aftermath of Ivory Coast’s presidential election
1. Ivory Coast’s election commission announces on Dec. 2, 2010, that former premier Alassane Ouattara won the Nov. 28 runoff presidential election with 54.1 per cent of the vote comparied with 45.9 per cent for incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
2. The Constitutional Council, run by an ally of Mr. Gbagbo, rejects the results as rigged and declares Mr. Gbagbo as the winner on Dec. 3. The UN, however, endorses Mr. Ouattara’s win.
3. Mr. Gbagbo refuses to cede power or leave the presidential palace, but Mr. Ouattara has himself sworn in as president and begins appointing ministers and ambassadors from his headquarters of Abidjan’s seaside Golf Hotel as forces loyal to each begin to wage gun battles.
4. Mr. Gbagbo begins negotiating his surrender after pro-Outtara forces overtake much of the country and French forces under UN authority carry out strikes against his troops on April 4. But this proves to be a delaying tactic, allowing him to barricade himself in a bunker on the grounds of the presidential palace as his forces to regroup.
5. With help again from French forces, troops loyal to Mr. Ouattara storm the bunker April 11, and arrest Mr. Gbagbo and his wife.
Associated Press
I must congratulate them.
