Ivory Coast’s government yesterday met with the party of former President Laurent Gbagbo to hold talks over what his supporters have announced as his impending return.
In a clear sign of discord, Communications Minister Amadou Coulibaly revealed that the date of June 17, announced by the party on Monday, had not been previously agreed by the government.
‘The date was to be discussed consensually” between the government and Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), he said, adding: ‘It was not.’
Africa Today News, New York recalls that Gbagbo is a highly controversial figure in Ivory Coast, where he was forced out a decade ago after a civil war that claimed several thousand lives.
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He was then hauled off to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity arising from that conflict.
He was acquitted in 2019, and an appeal against that ruling failed in March, opening the way for his return.
Speculation over when that will be has been building for months, and his supporters say they want to welcome him in triumph.
But the government is in favour of a lower profile, wary of potential unrest if tens of thousands of his supporters turn out.
Coulibaly, who also doubles as the government’s spokesperson, opined that in order to set a date ‘consensually… arrangements must be implemented,’ notably for Gbagbo’s ‘safety’.
Wednesday’s talks will bring together the minister of national reconciliation, Kouadio Konan Bertin, and the leaders of the FPI, officials said.
Gbagbo’s refusal to concede defeat in presidential elections in 2010 triggered a showdown with victor Alassane Ouattara and dug a deep rift in the country along north-south lines.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK