Guillaume Soro says Gbagbo's return to Côte d'Ivoire should turn the page of division
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The return of former President Laurent Gbagbo to Côte d'Ivoire should be an opportunity to turn the page of two decades of division, said former parliamentary Speaker Guillaume Soro, who has been in exile for two years
"The return of this son of Côte d'Ivoire must be an opportunity to definitively turn the page of two decades of divisions and conflict and to irrevocably embark on the path of a rebirth of our homeland through a true and sincere reconciliation among all its inhabitants," Soro wrote in a statement.
Mr. Gbagbo, definitively acquitted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the charges against him and in full possession of all his rights, has decided to return to his country.
"I welcome this important decision and express my solidarity with President Laurent Gbagbo as he returns to his native land on 17 June 2021 after a decade of absence," Soro said.
For him, this return marks an important step in the process of national reconciliation between the daughters and sons of Côte d'Ivoire.
"I call for the consolidation of this political process through the release of all political and military prisoners still in detention and the return to their country of all Ivorians forced into exile."
In exile for two years, the former leader of the rebellion of the 2000s, Guillaume Soro, 49, was on trial in absentia since 19 May.
On Wednesday 16 June 2021, the prosecutor of the Court of Assizes of Abidjan requested life imprisonment against Mr. Soro, also former Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, accused of conspiracy against authority.
Mr. Soro and 19 of his supporters are accused of "plotting, attempting to undermine the authority of the state, disseminating and publishing false news discrediting the institutions and their functioning, having led to an attack on the morale of the population," according to the order of referral to the criminal court in Abidjan.
-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/MTA/AR 17June2021
