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Article 137 of Côte d'Ivoire's Code Pénal Americas | Europe | Africa | Asia-Pacific Global News Monitor

News Monitor for Côte d'Ivoire- 2001 Use Find (Ctrl+F) to search this webpage

Côte d'Ivoire became a party to the Genocide Convention (Français) by accession on December 18, 1995.
Côte d'Ivoire became a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 by succession on December 28, 1961 and ratified the Additional Geneva Protocols of 1977 on September 20, 1989.
Côte d'Ivoire signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Français) on November 30, 1998, but has not ratified the Statute.

BBC (2 Mar 2001) A controversial treason trial in Ivory Coast has seen a new twist with one of the military judges, General Oumar Ndaw who hails from the north, refusing to hear the case. The two jailed officers are alleged to be close to ethnic northern politicians opposed to the current civilian government of President Laurent Gbagbo who hails from the south.

Reuters 13 April 2001 Six paramilitary gendarmes in Ivory Coast have been charged with murder in connection with the massacre of 57 young men during violence after last year's elections, the ruling party's newspaper said on Friday. The bullet-riddled bodies were found in a forest reserve on the outskirts of the main city Abidjan days after a controversial presidential election last October triggered political and ethnic clashes in the West African country. The dead were thought to be mostly from the Muslim north, the heartland of support for former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, whose exclusion from the poll was at the root of clashes between his militants and FPI activists. The charges against the gendarmes come at a time when the Ivorian government is trying to prove it has put more than a year of political and ethnic strife firmly behind it. Foreign donors, who froze aid after Ivory Coast's first coup in December 1999, have indicated that its resumption could depend on the punishment of those responsible for last year's violence and the release of political prisoners. In December the United Nations ordered a separate inquiry into the killing, the results of which are not yet known.

AP 23 July 2001 U.N. Probes Ivory Coast Massacre  A U.N. inquiry has found Ivory Coast's paramilitary police responsible for the massacre of some 60 young men during turmoil in October that broke out as the president took office. Eight officers are scheduled to go on trial in Abidjan on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the killings. The bodies of about 60 young men were found in a field on the outskirts of Abidjan days after President Laurent Gbagbo was swept to power in a popular uprising after chaotic elections. Most had been shot in the head. Followers of opposition leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara say the victims were members of his Rally of the Republicans party and that the killings were politically motivated. In February, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan established a commission of inquiry to look into the events surrounding the elections. In a 65-page report released Friday, the three-member commission wrote that the gendarmes bear responsibility for the massacre and that the military bears the same responsibility in the deaths of civilians during demonstrations in the days following the election. The commission, led by U.N. Ambassador Colin Granderson of Trinidad, concluded that members of the security forces, in particular the gendarmes, used excessive force and committed human rights violations during the demonstrations. The commission, which spent two months in Ivory Coast, called on the government to increase efforts to prosecute authorities involved in wrongdoing and improve human rights training for security forces. International rights groups have sharply criticized Ivorian authorities for the slowness of their investigation into the killings. The EU and other donors that have cut off aid to Ivory Coast, have said a full resumption of aid will depend on improvement in the country's political and human rights.

AP 27 July 2001 Survivor Details W. Africa Massacre  His body scarred by automatic weapon fire, one of two known survivors of an October massacre blamed on Ivory Coast security forces came forward Friday with an account of a roundup that claimed at least 57 lives, most of young men or boys. Whipped, tortured and sprayed with bullets at a paramilitary camp, the victims were taken to a field on the outskirts of Abidjan, forced to lay out the bodies of those already dead, sit among the corpses — and wait to die, the young man told reporters. ```This is your last day,''' he quoted paramilitary police as telling them before opening fire. Human rights groups brought the 20-year-old survivor — age 19 at the time of the killings — before reporters Friday. He spoke only on condition neither his name nor location be given. His account provided some of the most detailed allegations of the Oct. 26 [2000] massacre, which came amid days of political and ethnic violence following tumultuous presidential elections in Ivory Coast. Once a center of stability and prosperity in West Africa, Ivory Coast saw international aid cut off after its first-ever military coup, in December 1999. The European Union and others have made clear they'll resume full aid only if Ivory Coast's elected government makes reforms — particularly, bringing culprits in the October massacre to justice. Military trials of eight paramilitary police officers charged in the massacre opened this month in a military camp. Witnesses and families of the slain men have told The Associated Press they have received threats from paramilitary police warning them not to testify. The 20-year-old who spoke to reporters Friday said he is too afraid to take the stand. Some paramilitary officers have threatened a new revolt over their colleagues' prosecution — saying the killings were ordered by unspecified higher-ups. Paramilitary police supported the current Ppresident Laurent Gbagbo, who came to power in the tumult after the elections. But there has been no serious suggestion Gbagbo was involved in the massacre of the 57, and he denies responsibility. The massacre — targeting the Muslim ethnic Dioula minority — came the day after the presidential elections, which the then-military junta leader tried and failed to rig in his own favor. Gbagbo declared himself president in the chaos, while supporters of rival opposition leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara took to the streets to demand new elections. Paramilitary police broke up the marches with tear gas, ran down the fleeing marchers, and surrounded them, said the young man, one of those caught. The opposition supporters were taken to a paramilitary camp, stripped, beaten with belts and clubs, then doused with buckets of pepper-laced water that burned their wounds, the young man said. Without warning, two officers ordered all the men to lie on the ground and say their prayers, the survivor said. ``You Dioulas, we will show you that you have taken advantage of our hospitality,'' one officer told the terrified prisoners. He opened fire. The young man, whose left arm was ripped open by bullets, fell down and pretended to be dead. ``One kid was crying. He begged them not to shoot him saying he was still in school,'' the survivor said Friday. ``They didn't listen.'' At dark, survivors were told to gather the dead in three police vehicles. Officers took the prisoners to a deserted, grassy patch of road in Yopougon, a crowded neighborhood on the outskirts of Abidjan. When the firing started again, no one made a sound, the man said. He survived both rounds of firing because the bullets hit only one arm and the back of one leg, and because — both times — the bodies of other prisoners shielded his. Feigning death, he listened to the last breaths of dying men. ``I remember at one point one of the officers said: 'There's one here still alive.' And I thought they meant me,'' he told reporters. Officers considered, and rejected, pouring gasoline over the bodies and burning them. Later, the young man said he heard another man stir, then call out. Hearts racing, the two walked cautiously out of the clearing and in the direction of town, he said. Human rights groups have identified the other survivor as Brahima Toure, who led a group of victims' families in filing a human-rights complaint against Ivory Coast officials last month in Belgium. Human rights groups estimate 175 people died in the violence surrounding the election. In a report last week, a U.N. commission held paramilitary police responsible for the massacre in the field.

BBC 31 July, 2001  In Ivory Coast, the trial has resumed of eight gendarmes in connection with the massacre of fifty-seven people during political violence that followed presidential elections last year. The first hearing was adjourned last week after defence lawyers argued over the legality of the trial by a tribunal. The case arose after a mass grave with bullet-ridden bodies of men thought to be supporters of the opposition leader Alassan Ouattara was discovered in October. Mr Ouattara was barred from contesting the elections on the grounds that he was not fully Ivorian. A United Nations inquiry into the massacres said the role of gendarmes seemed indisputable.

Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) OPINION October 15, 2001 Jak's Trip to Cote d'Ivoir...Gentle Giant Inspired Ivorians Asah-Asante Back From Cote d'Ivoire Accra Tuesday last week saw the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, particularly the vicinity of Hotel Ivoire, very busy. Security was tight, helicopters hovered around. Long queues were seen in front of the said forum grounds (Hotel Ivoire Conference Hall). The atmosphere could not be left out in this regard as it was charged with the spirit of reconciliation. The conference hall was filled to capacity. The hope for peace at the end of day was paramount. Chronicle gathered this from some interactions with the Ivorians during interviews. The belief that the forum would serve as a pivot around which the whole unity talks would revolve and thereby restoring to it its former past. The peculiarity of peace and stability which characterised the country over the years was also firmly routed in the minds of the people. Hear Pierre Kouame, the teacher, "My brother, there have been some troubles but I say this country will have peace now." This belief was also not far-fetched from the corridors of Ivorian political power. Anderson Appia, the government's Advisor on Media Affairs and personal interpreter to President Ggbabo, said this to the Chronicle minutes before the start of the programme: "I think everybody wants to finish with this problem. Since 1990 we have become fed up of this problem. Because of this, we have always been quarrelling we need peace here. We want to do our best to get peace here in Ivory Coast." The Ivorian reconciliation could be traced to the violence and instability, among others, which ensued after the military adventures extended their ugly hands into the country's body politic. Ivory Coast's first military coup, led by General Robert Guei, toppled the ruling Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire on December 24, 1998 and put in place the Committee of National Salvation. To this end, a constitution was drafted to usher the country into fresh elections. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the constitution was the eligibility requirement which made it mandatory for presidential candidates to have both parents to be full blooded Ivorians. All candidates who contested the elections thereafter were adjudged Ivorians, except Dr. Alhassana Quattara, who was identified to have one foreign parent. Based on this, Quattara was disqualified. Violence then ensued. Many lives were lost and the society became polarised along ethnic political and religious lines even though a new leader has been legally elected and installed in the county Though some expressed disappointments after the programme, given the reason that the absence of key players of the game, such as Quatarra, Bedie, etc. were not physically present to grace the occasion, others believe it is too early for such judgement to be passed given the fact that the programme would run for two months and that it is likely such persons could make appearances before the programmes ends. Nevertheless, the inspirational speeches of the President Mr. J. A. Kufuor (JAK) and his counterpart, Alpha Omar Konare of Mali, gingered the occasion with a lot of applause from the gathering. For the President, Mr. J.A. Kufuor (JAK) praised the people for initiating the forum, adding "it is the first step." He said the best way of getting the aggrieved to partake in any business of that nature is to offer them the opportunity to be heard. To this end, President Kufuor urged them to be tolerant towards each other and focus on the target they have set for themselves so as to restore the country's past of peace and stability. This, Mr. Kufuor said, will help entrench democracy as well as constitutional rule in the country. "Whatever formula you find to reconcile your people and parties, the process has to take place within an atmosphere of constitutionality, good governance and rule of law," JAK advised. To this end, he urged the people not to disappoint the rest of ECOWAS member-states saying: "the entire region is watching you and pray for you. Please do not disappoint us. There is as opportunity for all of you to display the leadership that is required at this time." On democratic rule, the President cautioned the people of West Africa, particularly la Cote d' Ivoire, not to re-invent the wheel and establish any other form of governance besides democratic rule since it provides proper accountability and avenue for other parties to for have the opportunity of gaining political power. The Malian leader, Alpha Omar Konare, advised the people of Cote d'Ivoire to eschew ethnic tendencies, hatred, politics of exclusion, arrogance and contempt, adding it is the best way to avoid the genocide of Rwanda and the amputations of Sierra Leone. He made it clear to the people that Mali would not be used as a launching pad for acts of hostility against La Cote d'Ivoire, adding his country is a heterogeneous collection of people from the said country and others in the sub region The Ivorian leader, President Gbagbo, urged the people to tell the truth since reconciliation thrives on truth. Based on the advice of the chairman of the forum, Mr. Seydou Diarr, he maintained that to calm tensions and make the reconciliation exercise a living reality there is a need for a call for the release of the detainees. However, he did not make clear whether he has ordered their release or merely expressed a personal opinion.