About fifty bodies of victims of the violence of the Ivorian post-election crisis of 2010-2011 were handed over on Wednesday March 8 to their families in western Côte d'Ivoire, a step in the "national reconciliation" process
initiated
by President Alassane Ouattara.
"
Today, we have come to definitively heal our wounds, our wounds and turn the page on war
" to follow "
the path of peace and reconciliation
", declared the Minister of National Reconciliation, Kouadio Konan Bertin during of a ceremony in Blolequin (West).
months of violence
In 2010, Alassane Ouattara's presidential victory, contested by the outgoing Laurent Gbagbo, led to several months of violence that left 3,000 dead on both sides.
In Bloléquin, in the Cavally region, 12 bodies exhumed in 2015 for the purposes of justice have been identified and returned to families.
Ten families out of the twelve invited were present.
In all, 47 bodies were handed over to their relatives (who also received compensation from the State of 2,200 euros) in this region particularly devastated by the crisis, 6 in Guiglo and 29 in Toulepleu, where the minister also went rendered.
“
Our justice (…) made it possible to see the whole truth and to locate the responsibilities
”, assured the latter.
Read alsoOuattara-Gbagbo meeting: "The theme of reconciliation is not new" in Côte d'Ivoire
Amnesty singled out
Three human rights NGOs in Côte d'Ivoire welcomed this Wednesday "
an important step forward
": the Ivorian League for Human Rights (LIDHO), the Confederation of Organizations of Victims of Ivorian Crises (COVICI) and the Ivorian Human Rights Movement (MIDH).
These NGOs however deplored "
that none of the victims of Guiglo, Bloléquin or Toulepleu, has obtained justice for the crimes suffered during the crisis
".
They point to the presidential amnesty granted on August 6, 2018, "
which had the effect of canceling all the justice efforts undertaken until then
".
At the time, Alassane Ouattara signed an amnesty order for some 800 people, including former first lady Simone Gbagbo, convicted or prosecuted for offenses related to the post-election crisis.
Read alsoIn Côte d'Ivoire, the impossible reconciliation
“National Reconciliation”
In November 2018, some of these organizations filed an appeal with the Council of State.
The NGOs add that “
many exhumed bodies have not yet been identified
” and “
several hundred
” bodies “
from several mass graves known to all have still not been exhumed
”.
Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi announced in November the return of all bodies and compensation for bereaved families before the end of 2022, to encourage national reconciliation.
The return to Côte d'Ivoire of Laurent Gbagbo in June 2021 and of his former right-hand man Charles Blé Goudé in November 2022, both acquitted of crimes against humanity during the 2010-2011 crisis, by international justice, have also contributed to the easing of the country's political climate.
