Return of Laurent Gbagbo to Ivory Coast: the final negotiations?
Supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and the FPI demonstrate in Abidjan.
(Drawing).
AFP - SIA KAMBOU
Text by: Bineta Diagne
5 mins
A month ago, the appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court confirmed the acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo, who has lived in Belgium for two years.
Since this decision, negotiations to prepare for his return to Côte d'Ivoire have been launched and accelerated at the end of last week.
Six relatives of the former head of state returned to the country, including his younger sister and his spokesperson, who had been in exile for ten years in Ghana.
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The announcement was made at the end of a cabinet meeting that brought together the new government formed by the Ivorian authorities. It was the president himself, Alassane Ouattara, who affirmed that Laurent Gbagbo could soon return to Côte d'Ivoire, with the assurance of benefiting from the status of former head of state. “
As for Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé, they are free to return to Côte d'Ivoire when they wish,
declared Alassane Ouattara, on Wednesday April 7, 2021.
Mr. Laurent Gbagbo's travel expenses as well as those of the members of his family will be supported by the State of Côte d'Ivoire,
”he continued.
Arrangements will also be made for Mr. Laurent Gbagbo to benefit, in accordance with the texts in force, from the benefits and indemnities due to the former presidents of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.
"
In December 2020, an administrative obstacle had already been lifted, since Laurent Gbagbo was able to obtain two passports (one diplomatic and one ordinary) which allow him to travel.
But there are still some administrative details to work out.
First, the ICC registry had to send the Ivorian authorities the documents attesting to his status as an acquitted man.
Then there is a whole discussion between the officials of his party mandated to organize his return and the authorities.
Discussions had until then been led by former Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, but he died on March 10.
It was therefore necessary to find another interlocutor.
It is now his successor to the prime minister's office, Patrick Achi, who takes over.
Two
meetings have taken place
in recent days.
They relate in particular to
the security framework
for the arrival of the former Ivorian president.
Reconciling Ivorians and reuniting the party: the challenges of Laurent Gbagbo after his return
"
The objective is to succeed in organizing the return of President Laurent Gbagbo, in terms of security, of course, with the Ivorian authorities who are in charge of it,"
explains Franck Anderson Kouassi, spokesperson for the Ivorian Popular Front, branch "Gbagbo or nothing". And then, he continues, there is the mobilization in Côte d'Ivoire: “
it's about channeling people. President Laurent Gbagbo is expected by all Ivorians for the role he intends to play in national reconciliation and the gathering of Ivorians. And so in relation to that, a certain number of measures must be taken to contain this world, both at the level of Abidjan, and those who will come from within the country.
"
Two challenges then await the former Ivorian president.
Laurent Gbagbo wants to promote national reconciliation.
His return will undoubtedly mark a new phase of alliance games within the Ivorian political class.
But before that, he will first have to reunify his party which was divided in his absence.
"We
will have to reconcile the two positions, but I think things should go very quickly, since Pascal Affi N'Guessan has always said that if Laurent Gbagbo came back, and that he wanted to take over the head of the Ivorian Popular Front, he would not would not oppose it,
”observes political scientist Geoffroy Justin Kouao.
Mr. Affi N'Guessan has no room for maneuver, he adds: “
he is in a weak position.
He does not manage to cast a wide net, and the last legislative elections show it clearly: the FPI led by Pascal Affi N'Guessan only obtained two seats.
Conversely, EDS, Together for Democracy and Sovereignty, won nearly twenty seats.
And therefore politically, there is an imbalance, to the detriment of Mr. Affi N'Guessan, who must therefore take it into account,
”concludes the director of the
think tank
Institut des Libertés.
In the meantime, discussions to refine the practical arrangements and the date of Laurent Gbagbo's return are continuing.
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Ivory Coast
Laurent Gbagbo