In the spotlight: smiles and hugs in Ivory Coast
Audio 04:06
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo, at the presidential palace in Abidjan, July 27, 2021, during their first meeting since the post-election crisis of 2010-11 © REUTERS - Luc Gnago
By: Sébastien Duhamel Follow
9 mins
Publicity
That's it ! "
The long-awaited meeting of Ivorians has just taken place,
" says
L'Infodrome
. "
After 10 years of enmity […] a historic meeting
", "
Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo hand in hand at the presidential palace in Abidjan
", we read on the website. And we also see, because the photos of the two men are obviously everywhere.
“
A great moment
”, for
L'Intelligent d'Abidjan. "
Ouattara and Gbagbo all smiles, as often before the 3,000 deaths of the post-election crisis of 2010-2011,
" recalls
L'Intelligent
. "
Like good old friends",
headlines
L'Avenir.
Yes, it was a "
warm reunion"
confirms
Soir Info.
In short, a "
beautiful reunion"
, summarizes
L'Inter.
For
L'Intelligent d'Abidjan,
they mark more broadly
“relief”
and
“hope for lasting appeasement”.
But this, all the same notes the diary,
“Against a background of questions and prudence”.
It is true, it is
"a big step taken, but the hardest part begins",
also estimates
Le Nouveau Réveil
.
The importance of first words
During these meetings, the first words are always important.
The Intelligent
does just a few indiscretions, delivering what “
Ouattara and Gbagbo said to each other at the time of the accolades
”.
Well, when he
got out
of his car, "
Laurent Gbagbo wanted to remove his protective mask to greet the President of the Republic, we learn, but the latter gave him gently, with a broad smile" No, no! Guard the mask, so that we can set an example "
".
Quite a symbol.
After that, "
they immediately threw themselves into each other's arms
", writes
L'Intelligent
and "
while they were still entwined
", President Ouattara said how happy he was to find Laurent Gbagbo.
The former president returned politeness to him and apologized for being 20 minutes late.
The importance of the following words
And the following words are also very important.
Basically, during their interview, “
the ex-president
”
Laurent Gbagbo invited his
“
ex-rival
”
to
“
release the political prisoners
”, reports
L'Infodrome
.
Yes,
L'Infodrome
now writes “
ex-rival
”, that's another symbol.
With this meeting at the top,
L'Inter
also notes, "
Ouattara and Ggagbo restore confidence
".
Gone are therefore the days when the two politicians "
looked at each other like a faience dog
", "
war is an old memory.
“, Estimates the independent newspaper.
The memory of victims and relatives
However, the memories of the victims and their loved ones are still there.
Some give voice to recall it.
Issiaky Diaby, in particular, "
rushed into the stretchers,
" said
L'Inter
.
He is the President of the collective of victims in Côte d'Ivoire, and he preferred to hold a ceremony of meditation at the municipal cemetery of Williamsville, in the town of Adjamé.
He sees this meeting at the top as an "
epiphenomenon
", he told
L'Inter.
"
Reconciliation cannot be reduced to the meeting of two citizens
", he affirms.
Issiaka Diaby wants the issue of victim compensation "to
be in place
".
The fate of the victims of this crisis also calls out to Senegal. There,
Walf
believes that if "the
two old caimans of Ivorian politics have shown that they have smoked the peace pipe, the death of three thousand Ivorians due to their political duel is then a loss and profit. Laurent Gbagbo was acquitted by the Cpi, after having languished in prison for 10 years, as was his former minister, Charles Blé-Goudé. In the power camp, no legal proceedings have been brought against a close friend of President Alassane Ouattara. So, at the end of the day, there is no named culprit for this 2010-2011 crisis. As if everything were normal in the eyes of Ouattara and Gbagbo, deplores the Senegalese newspaper, while families of victims are still crying, very abused
.
"
Walf's
conclusion
: So obviously this is also"
the price of reconciliation
", namely"
the sacrifice
"!
Togolese opponents targeted by Pegasus
To read in the French press. This is
Le Monde
, a member of the international media consortium behind the revelations about the Israeli software, which tells us this morning. The newspaper devotes its front page to the Tunisian situation and to the “
risky coup de force of Kais Saied
”, but it also reveals that in Togo, “
the opponents are watched like criminals
”. Just like a professor of medicine met by Le Monde and who has nothing, says the daily, "
of the dangerous Sahelian terrorist or of the international Mafioso
". In total, “
more than 300 Togolese numbers appear in the list of potential spyware targets
”. Among these numbers, also “
those of journalists and human rights activists,
”says
Le Monde,
which also underlines the proximity between Lomé and the Israeli state.
Togo is not the only country concerned and if
Le Monde
points to the Lomé regime, it also points in its editorial to
"
Israel's laissez-faire guilty
".
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Ivory Coast Politics
Alassane Ouattara
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