Thursday 28 January 2016

Laurent Gbagbo: Ivory Coast ex-leader denies war crimes

Mr Gbagbo appeared relaxed as the trial began
Ivory Coast's ex-President Laurent Gbagbo has denied charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as his landmark trial began at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The charges relate to the country's civil conflict that erupted after Mr Gbagbo lost elections in 2010.
He is the first ex-head of state to stand trial at the ICC in The Hague.
Former militia leader Charles Ble Goude, 44, is also on trial and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial could last three or four years.
As it began, Mr Gbagbo, 70, appeared relaxed, smiling and shaking hands with his defence team.
The BBC's Anna Holligan, at the trial, said he steadied himself on his desk as he replied "not guilty" as the charges were read.
One of his advisers, Abdon Bayeto, had earlier told the BBC that Mr Gbagbo's innocence was not in doubt.
He said: "There's been a parody of justice here. Somebody who has been in prison for five years with no proof."
This may prove to be the most important trial in the ICC's history. The international court was established to end impunity and bring the most powerful leaders to justice. The first trial of a former head of state is testament to the prosecutor's reach. And yet, despite casualties on both sides, not one of President Alassane Ouattara's supporters has been charged, leading to accusations of victor's justice.
During the pre-trial press briefing the victims' representative was asked how she could represent the victims when only half of those who had suffered would have their voices heard.
This high-profile trial will test the ability of the ICC to obtain reliable evidence from a country in which the government has a political interest in securing a guilty verdict.
Can the suspects expect a fair trial if much of the evidence comes from their enemy?

A lawyer for Mr Ble Goude, who is accused of organising attacks on opposition supporters, described his client as a "man of peace".
Mr Gbagbo sparked a crisis in Ivory Coast after he refused to step down following his loss to Alassane Ouattara in the 2010 presidential vote.
There were bloody clashes between rival forces over five months in 2010 and 2011.
Some 3,000 people were killed, with Mr Gbagbo basing himself in the presidential palace.
Gbagbo supporters at the ICC to back the former president, 28 JanImage copyright EPA
Image caption Gbagbo supporters arrive at the ICC to back the former president at the start of the trial
Charles Ble Goude at The Hague, 28 JanImage copyright Reuters
Image caption Charles Ble Goude is also on trial facing the same charges
He was arrested in April 2011 by forces loyal to President Ouattara, backed by troops from former colonial power France, and later that year was extradited to The Hague.
It will be the highest-profile trial yet for the ICC, which has only convicted two Congolese warlords since its establishment in 2002.
Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ble Goude are accused of four charges - murder, rape, attempted murder and persecution.
Reading out the charges, prosecutors cited cases including the alleged rape of 38 women at a pro-Ouattara rally and alleged killing of 10 people by shelling at a market.
Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said neither Ivory Coast nor its people were on trial, and that he would not allow the court to be used as a "political instrument".
Dozens of Gbagbo supporters gathered outside the ICC on Thursday to back the ex-president, sparking some scuffles with police.
"Our dream to see our president walk free starts today," said one supporter, Marius Boue. "He is truly a man of the Ivorian people."
Other supporters gathered in the Gbagbo stronghold of Youpugon in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan, to follow the trial.

Gbagbo: From professor to president

Laurent and Simone Gbagbo sit in a hotel room after their arrestImage copyright Reuters
Image caption Mr Gbagbo was arrested with his wife Simone in 2011; she would later be sentenced to 20 years in jail by an Ivory Coast court
  • Born in 1945, Mr Gbagbo's first career was in academia as a history professor
  • He was jailed for two years in 1971 for "subversive" teaching
  • By the 1980s, he was heavily involved in trade union activities
  • After years in exile, he returned to Ivory Coast to attend the founding congress of the Ivorian Popular Front in 1988
  • Mr Gbagbo was one of the first to challenge Ivory Coast's founding President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, after multi-party politics were permitted
  • Became president with the Ivorian Popular Front in 2000
Profile: Laurent Gbagbo

Mr Gbagbo's followers accuse the ICC of overlooking alleged crimes by his opponents, many of whom are now in power.
But this was rejected by ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who said investigations into the pro-Ouattara camp had been "intensified".
Mr Gbagbo is the first ex-head of state to appear at the ICC, although Liberia's former President Charles Taylor also stood trial at The Hague.
Mr Taylor appeared before the Special Court for Sierra Leone and was given a 50-year jail sentence in 2012 on charges of aiding and abetting war crimes during the civil war in Sierra Leone, which neighbours Liberia.
The ICC has been accused by some in Africa of unfairly targeting the continent.
An attempt to prosecute Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta over post-election violence failed amid allegations witnesses had been intimidated.

Protest in Abidjan, 16, December 2010Image copyright AFP

Why did Ivory Coast descend into civil war?

The country had been divided since 2002, with rebels in control of the mainly Muslim north. They mostly supported Alassane Ouattara, a Muslim whose family originate in neighbouring Burkina Faso. So when Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to Mr Ouattara in the 2010 election, fighting soon broke out.

Was the conflict about religion?

Not really - more about identity. Mr Gbagbo and other southern, Christian politicians portrayed themselves as "true Ivorians", in contrast to northern Muslims, many of whom had foreign origins. Under Mr Gbagbo, many northerners were not allowed to vote, while Mr Ouattara was banned from standing for election until 2010. In western Ivory Coast, the conflict also took on ethnic lines.

What happened during the conflict?

In the worst cases, Ivorian security forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo shelled areas of the main city Abidjan, where many northerners lived. The ICC also accuses pro-Gbagbo militias of attacking members of ethnic groups believed to support Mr Ouattara. But pro-Ouattara forces were also accused of similar atrocities and these have not been prosecuted.
SourceBbc.co.uk

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