Laurent Gbagbo, former president of Ivory Coast appears at the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity next year

Laurent Gbagbo, former president of Ivory Coast, would face tough times next year when the International Criminal Court, ICC, is expected to begin his epic trial over charges bordering on crimes against humanity. Already, June 18,  2012, has been set aside to take a critical look into the prima facie evidence brought by the prosecution against Gbagbo before the trial begins.

The embattled former Ivorian leader had appeared before the ICC, Monday,  December 5, based on the investigation initiated by the ICC into the four months old conflict in the country when he refused to hand over power to Alassane Ouattara, his long-time rival who was declared winner of the election. He is expected to face a four- count charge.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the court’s prosecutor, accused Gbagbo of being responsible for the violence in the cocoa - rich country in which an estimated 3,000 people were killed and unaccounted number raped and abused. Gbagbo was also accused of using security forces as well as militia and mercenary fighters that he armed and paid to hold on to power.

While awaiting trial, Gbagbo has been remanded in the Scheveningen detention centre, a suburb of The Hague. The detention facility is being used to keep detainees on or awaiting trial. Mladic, also known as the Bosnian butcher man, was moved into the detention facility earlier this year and he is awaiting trial for genocidal crimes committed by him. Taylor, who is being charged with murder, rape and sexual slavery is also being remanded in the same facility along with Thomas Lubanga, the Congo warlord, charged with recruiting child soldiers in the Congo. All former powerful men would become neigbours in the facility until the determination of their various cases.

According to Reuters, a news  agency, Gbagbo was looking rested and in good health when he appeared in the court. He was asked to confirm his identity, which he did, and the date of his birth.  He told the ICC that the detention centre where he has been held in The Hague is fine. He contrasted it to the condition in  which he was being held in Ivory Coast. He said that while under house arrest in Ivory Coast, he was provided with two meals a day and was not allowed to see the sun. He only knew what the weather was like from the sound of raindrops on the roof.

At the prehearing, Gbagbo also complained about his physical ailments. “I am no longer a young person. I am 66 years old. My shoulder hurts, my wrists hurt”, he said, while explaining how the condition he was being held in Ivory Coast caused injuries to his health.   More annoying thing, he said was that he was deceived about his transfer to The Hague. He said he was told he was going to meet a judge in the north-eastern town of Korhogo in Ivory Coast, only to be shown an arrest warrant of the ICC on reaching there.

 Habiba Toure, his lawyer, said the transfer was illegal under Ivorian law and that current President Alassane Ouattara should also face justice in The Hague for killings and other crimes he committed against humanity.  She said the whole plot that led to the arrest of Gbagbo was being masterminded by France. According to her, France plotted his downfall from the onset and only used the charade of the election to press for a regime change. She said  Gbagbo was brought down because he resisted the selfish desire of France to control the economy of Ivory Coast.  The primary motive for the regime change is Ivory Coast’s cocoa.

Gbagbo, a former history lecturer, with a doctorate from a Paris University, was initially crucial in Ivory Coast’s democracy. He was a renowned advocate for equal redistribution of wealth in the country.  As a result he was jailed during the administration of former President Felix Houphouet-Boigny between 1971 and 1973. Harassed by Houphouet-Boigny’s security forces, Gbagbo went into exile in France. He later returned in 1988, to step up the pressure for democratic reforms. While the health conditions of Houphouet-Boigny deteriorated, Alassane Quattara, the prime minister, then took over the leadership of the country and later sent Gbagbo to jail again for the second time for his continued agitation for political change in 1992. Houphouet-Boigny died in 1993. And with his death, Gbagbo’s ideology gained popularity and attracted supporters.

In 1999, Robert Guei captured the presidency through a coup and quickly pushed through a national law requiring both parents of presidential candidates to be born within Ivory Coast. This excluded major political opponents from contesting the presidential elections in 2000, including Quattara, whose father was born in Burkina Faso. Gbagbo became the only viable opposition to Guei. The election was conducted and Gbagbo was recognised as the winner but Guei tried to use military force to cling onto power. But the people resisted through street protests.

But after the expiration of Gbagbo’s tenure in 2005, he refused to neither leave nor conduct an election, a situation that led to lingering rebellion in the country’s north, spearheaded by Quattara.  Ivorians again went to the polls in November 2010, in a keenly contested election between Gbagbo and Quattara. The election which was supervised by the United Nations because of the mutual suspicion of both parties in the contest, later declared  Ouattara, a former International Monetary Fund’s boss as the winner. But the Supreme Court in Ivory Coast said the actual winner was Gbagbo, a situation that resulted to a serious political stalemate in the country. 

The country was then forced into a civil war. For months, African diplomats and heads of states had to travel severally to Abidjan, the country’s principal city, pleading with Gbagbo to step down. The United Nations, the United States and the European Union  asked him to resign and imposed severe economic sanctions that crippled the economy. Gbagbo declined their request and  instead urged his supporters and loyalist to keep on fighting.  It took devastating airstrikes by the French and United Nations helicopters to help end Gbagbo’s rule. Gbagbo was captured and was placed under house arrest for seven months. On November 29, he was handed over to international custody and flown to the Netherlands, where prosecutors at the ICC are accusing him of crimes against humanity.

Crash of Presidential Ambition

Endurance  Akoro

Barely a month to the start of a series of state-by-state contests known as primaries and caucus elections in the United States, Herman Cain, 66, a business executive and one of the leading and powerful figures of the Republican Party vying for the US presidency, has withdrawn from the race.

Cain made the announcement in a statement to his supporters in his home city of Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, December 2. He said he took the decision for family reasons.”I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family,” he said. His withdrawal from the race came shortly after he held a private meeting with his wife in November.

Trouble started for Cain when the bubble over his private life busted two weeks ago when allegations of his past extramarital affairs came to light, especially after Ginger White, 46, an Atlanta woman, came forward to claim she had a 13-year-affair with the Republican presidential hopeful. Speaking to reporters, she claimed the affair was sexual but they were not in love with each other. She also added that while the affair lasted, Cain was paying her bills. But in reaction to the allegation, Cain acknowledged that he indeed paid White’s monthly bills to help her but that there was no sexual affair involved between them.

Cain did not only reject any suggestion of an affair with White, he said the allegations were false and unproved, with the intention of creating a cloud of doubt over him, his campaign and his family. Despite the allegations, Cain has continued to speak out saying: “I am not going to be silenced and I’m not going away”. He said he would endorse another candidate. A day after his official withdrawal, he endorsed Newt Gingrich, another Republican candidate. This is not surprising because the two men had been friends.

Minutes after Cain’s withdrawal speech, Gingrich, his rival Republican candidate, and former House of Representatives’ member, commended his move saying: “I am proud to know Herman Cain and consider him a friend and I know he will continue to be a powerful voice for years to come.” 

Michele Bachmann, a presidential aspirant of the Republican Party, also commended Cain, saying he provided an important voice.  “His ideas and energy generated tremendous enthusiasm for the conservative movement” While Cain’s ratings slumped, even before he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race, the ratings of his rival Republican candidates have continued to surge.

Eritrea Faces UN Sanctions

Lucy  Bassey

Eritrea is now in the eye of the storm. Following revelations that the east African state has been supporting Al-Shabab, the dreaded Islamic militant group operating in Somalia, the United Nations Security Council has approved series of sanctions against it. The sanctions were approved following complaints from Ethiopia, Eritrea’s neighbour that Eritrea is providing support to Islamist militants, especially Al-Shabab, which had helped in no small way in the destabilisation of Somalia.   Though Eritrea has denied the accusation, the UN, however, found that it has links with Al-Shabab and other armed groups in Somalia. Consequently, it approved the sanctions

 Thirteen council members voted for the resolution while two abstained. The resolution requires foreign companies involved in Eritrea’s mining industry to ensure that funds from the sector are not used to destabilise the region. The early drafts of the resolution included measures like banning foreign investment in Eritrea’s mining sector and blocking a remittance tax imposed on Eritrea’s nationals overseas. But these sanctions were watered down because some European states felt concerned that it would hurt the Eritrean people. Russia and China abstained from the vote.

Eritrea called the resolution outrageous and strongly denied the allegation against it.

But Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian prime minister,  said Eritrea is a prime source of instability for the whole region. He described its action as a problem of attitude of a certain clique in Asmara that has not grown up. “It’s a problem of lawlessness and reckless disregard for international norms.” he said through a video conference before the vote.

Eritrea had requested that its president be allowed to speak to the UN Security Council when the draft was first circulated. Diplomats say because of America’s opposition, it did not get an invitation until when it was late. It angrily rejected it.