Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced on Friday the release of 78 people detained since 2020 for their opposition to his third term, a new sign of political appeasement noticeable for several months in Côte d'Ivoire.

In a speech delivered on the eve of Independence Day, the Head of State announced "the placing under judicial supervision or provisional release (...) of 69 accused detained following the events that occurred on the occasion of the presidential election of October 2020 ".

He added that he had granted "pardon to nine people convicted of offenses committed during these same events".

"The examination of the situation of other people still detained is continuing," he said.

Alassane Ouattara was re-elected in October 2020 for a controversial third term in a presidential election boycotted by the opposition which deemed this term unconstitutional, which sparked a crisis that left around 100 dead and half a thousand injured between August and November 2020.

The tension has since subsided and the legislative elections in March took place in peace, with the participation of the major opposition parties who accepted the results giving the majority to the presidential party.

An exception in a country with a recent history marked by political violence.

"I am therefore delighted that the opposition took part in the legislative elections," noted the Head of State.

"Today we have a plural National Assembly, for the first time in two decades, comprising all the significant political parties in our country."

The release of the prisoners had been demanded by the leaders of the opposition, Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié, both former presidents.

Laurent Gbagbo, returned to Côte d'Ivoire on June 17 after having been definitively acquitted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the end of March and thanks to the green light from the president, addressed the issue during his meeting on July 27 with Alassane Ouattara.

During this first meeting since the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011 which left 3,000 dead, he sent the Head of State a list of 110 detainees qualified as "political".

"Talk to each other, be reconciled"

This list included people arrested after the 2010-2011 crisis, but also people arrested in 2020 on the occasion of the presidential election and on the sidelines of Laurent Gbagbo's return in June.

The 2010-2011 crisis was born from Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to recognize his presidential defeat against Alassane Ouattara.

Henri Konan Bédié, for his part, sent a letter to President Ouattara on the eve of his speech asking him for the release of all the prisoners.

"The evolution of the socio-political situation of our country shows that the time has come to talk to each other and to reconcile. The celebration of Independence Day on August 7, offers the ideal framework to surpass oneself in the sense of forgiveness ", he wrote, adding:" this is why I ask you to take (...) the leadership of the reconciliation process, by the general liberation of the prisoners from the social crises that we have suffered " .

The Head of State reaffirmed his "attachment to constructive dialogue, which makes it possible to further appease our country and to move forward, for its development".

"This dialogue, I continued it myself with my eldest, President Henri Konan Bédié, on November 11, 2020, and more recently, with my younger brother, President Laurent Gbagbo," he said.

"Nothing should hinder the march of Côte d'Ivoire towards its development, and the well-being of everyone," he added, and "that is why I welcome all initiatives aimed at appeasement. I will spare no effort for that, in respect of the law and the Institutions ".

With AFP

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