Johannesburg – Critics are questioning the impartiality of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the former president of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo faced the Hague in the Netherlands on Thursday, accused of crimes against humanity.
The Voice of America (VOA) reported that “Gbagbo and his former ally Charles Blé Goudé are charged with four counts of crimes against humanity for violence that occurred in the months after the 2010 presidential elections.”
Gbagbo supporters clashed with backers of challenger Alassane Ouattara after Gbagbo refused to concede defeat, leaving approximately 3 000 people dead.
Ouattara was subsequently installed as president and re-elected in 2015.
The Voice of America (VOA) reported that ICC prosecutors intend to present several thousand documents aimed at proving Gbagbo and his allies organised a plan to remain in power by all means necessary, including violence against civilians.
“However, the trial appears to be rather one-sided as only Gbagbo supporters are on trial, none of Oattara’s supporters are being tried and the current government obviously has a vested interest in the outcome of the trial,” said Dr Nelson Alusala, senior consultant at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria.
“It is hard to see how this trial will help the process of reconciliation to move forward with such a one sided approach,” Alusala told ANA.
“There will be approximately 1,500 protesters from the Ivory Coast outside the Hague voicing their anger. Citizens of the Ivory Coast are going to follow the trial closely as Gbagbo still has a lot of followers back home. It’s difficult to predict how the trial will proceed but should he be found guilty many Ivorians will make their strong emotions clear and this could lead to protests and clashes in the Ivory Coast.”
In Abidjan, posters of Gbagbo are plastered on every wall of his party’s new office, reported VOA.
Party official Aboubacar Koné told VOA that Gbagbo’s detention at the ICC “is a hostage-taking situation that does not say its name”.
Koné is acting spokesperson of a faction of Gbagbo’s former party, the Ivorian Popular Front, or FPI.
The party broke into two factions in 2015 before the presidential elections.
This is the first time that a former head of state is being put on trial by the ICC and further criticism revolves around the international court allegedly focusing inordinately on African criminals while ignoring crimes committed elsewhere in the world.
“It’s relevant that a former African head of state is being put on trial,” Alusala told ANA.
“The AU [African Union] is contesting the ICC’s approach to trials and sees them as being anti-African. It is possible the AU may reconsider its relationship with the ICC.”
Koné added that the ICC is perceived by a lot of Africans as a tool for neo-colonial domination.
“It is not about justice, it is about politics,” Koné told VOA.
Three judges will hear the trial of Gbagbo and his co-accused Charles Ble Goude, which is likely to last three to four years.
“The presiding judge is Italian, Cuno Tarfusser, who will be backed by Olga Herrera Carbuccia, from the Dominican Republic, and Geoffrey Henderson from Trinidad,” reports ‘News 24’.
“Gbagbo’s defence team is led by French lawyer Emmanuel Altit, while Dutch advocate Geert-Jan Knoops heads up Ble Goude’s defence.”
Fatou Bensouda will lead the prosecution, and most likely be represented by Canadian Eric MacDonald.
If the two men are found guilty, a sentencing hearing will be convened.
“Judges can pass jail terms going up to 30 years or more for ‘very serious’ offences,” reported ‘News 24’.
African News Agency
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