Gbagbo must be freed for Ivorian reconciliation

The party of Laurent Gbagbo is pressing Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara to release his detained predecessor and entourage to pave the way for "genuine reconciliation". In a statement sent to AFP Monday, the Ivorian People's Front (FPI) said that at a special meeting of its central committee Saturday, it urged the new government "to release president Laurent Gbagbo, his family and his aides to pave the way for a genuine reconciliation". The detention without charge of Gbagbo and members of his regime has drawn questions from rights groups and is undermining a promise by Ouattara, sworn in as president in May, to firmly establish the rule of law and investigate crimes. An estimated 3,000 people died in a more than four-month standoff after Gbagbo refused to cede power following presidential elections in November won by Ouattara. Gbagbo was captured in an underground bunker in Abidjan on April 11 by forces loyal to Ouattara, backed by France and the United Nations. The former strongman is being held in Korhogo in the north and his wife Simone in Odienne in the northwest. The Red Cross said Friday it had visited Gbagbo in detention last week, as part of a series of visits to people held in the north. ICRC spokesman Marcal Izard said the relief agency was unable to give details about the conditions of the detainees, in line with confidentiality rules. Former prime minister Gilbert Ake N'Gbo and ex-governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) Philippe-Henri Dacoury Tabley are among a group recently charged with offences relating to state security and financial crimes. The FPI also said that while it was prepared to "take an active part in the ongoing national reconciliation process" it also denounced "the climate of insecurity, looting and abuses of people perpetrated" by Ouattara's new army. It added that restoring security was an absolute requirement "for organising truly democratic elections." Legislative elections are scheduled for late this year. The FPI also named its secretary general Miaka Ouretto as the party's new interim president, replacing National Assembly speaker Mamadou Koulibaly. Koulibaly bolted from the FPI on July 11 to launch a new party named "Freedom and Democracy for the Republic", accusing the executive of Gbagbo's party of refusing to accept change in the wake of Ouattara's election victory.