During a gathering in Bouaké (centre) on Sunday, a few months before regional and local elections and two years before the presidential election, the former First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, Simone Gbagbo, requested “forgiveness” from the victims of several violent political crises.
She made the statement in Bouaké, a stronghold of the armed rebellion that attempted to topple the government of former president Laurent Gbagbo, her ex-husband, in 2002. “I once again want to ask for forgiveness from the whole nation and from all those who suffered terrible suffering, who lost parents, jobs, and were forced into exile,” she said.
For several years, the militia-based insurrection had ruled the northern part of the nation. She said, “I grant my forgiveness to all who have harmed the Ivorian people and my person, to my family, and to his political family.
In front of tens of thousands of activists, she added, “I urge all the political leaders of Côte d’Ivoire to follow me in this exercise.”
Representatives of the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA), and the ruling Rassemblement des Houphoutistes pour la democratie et la paix (RHDP) were also present at the speech.
Additionally, Guillaume Soro, the leader of the uprising in 2002, was demanded to return by Simone Gbagbo. Soro is currently in exile and was given a life sentence by Côte d’Ivoire in June 2021 for his role in the attempted uprising in 2019.
She went on to say that she “did not approve” of Mr. Soro’s “role” during the 2002 crisis but that she “forgave” him and that it was in the “interest” of Côte d’Ivoire “that he returns to the country and that he has the opportunity to participate in the process of national reconciliation”. This initiative was started by the current head of state Alassane Ouattara.
Simone Gbagbo, who was given a 20-year jail sentence in Côte d’Ivoire in 2015 for “undermining state security” for actions related to the post-election turmoil in 2010–2011, profited from the process of national reconciliation in 2018 thanks to an amnesty bill.
After Laurent Gbagbo lost the 2010 presidential election to Alassane Ouattara, there was a five-month crisis that claimed 3,000 lives.
Ms. Gbagbo also requested a postponement of the regional and municipal elections set for September 2023, the first in which her party, founded in 2022, will participate, lamenting a lack of “transparency” and “equity”
