Quattara Grants Amnesty To 800 Convicted Over Post Election Violence

Abidjan, August 07 (AIP) - The amnesty order for 800 people prosecuted for crimes in connection with the post-election crisis, signed the day before the celebration of the national holiday, is greeted by several socio-professional categories in Abidjan.

Cardinal Jean Pierre Kutwa welcomed the measure taken by the head of state on Tuesday, after the military parade marking the 58th anniversary of Côte d'Ivoire. "I wanted to be present at this party because the order that the president made to amnesty all those who committed a crime after the post-election crisis, will allow the children of this country to meet, to join hands and move the country forward, "said the prelate.

He urged Ivorians "to open a savings account of forgiveness, reconciliation" to highlight "forgiving hearts, but not revanchist hearts".

The President of the Higher Council of Imams of Côte d'Ivoire (COSIM), Cheick Boikary Fofana, hailed the same decision of the Head of State. "Let's go to debates of ideas and not debates of people. Let's leave the field of people's debates, because that will not make us move forward. Let's go ahead and forgive each other, let's not be in a position of revenge every time, but in the one where we forgive all the time, it will help us to go forward, "he said. He suggests.

Like his predecessors, the deputy Siki Blon Blaise estimated that the amnesty granted by the head of state to 800 detainees has relaxed all faces this morning. "I am happy, because all this will contribute to peace and mark the will of the Head of State to create a climate of appeasement so that everything happens in peace," he said.

For the mayor of the town of Cocody, N'Gouan Aka Mathias, the gesture of President Ouattara marks a new beginning for Côte d'Ivoire. "I congratulate the President for having released all his compatriots and for allowing us to return to another footing. If we are united, we will have a strong nation. Many Ivorians have understood that we must reach out to reach true reconciliation. The head of state has given us the tone and we will also, in our communities, we will harness him to follow suit, "he promised.

Among the personalities benefiting from this amnesty are Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, the wife of former President Laurent Gbagbo, former Defense Minister Lida Kouassi, and the Minister of Water and Forests, Assoa Adou. But also the chief of protocol of the current president of the National Assembly, Kamarate Souleymane said "Soul to Soul", incarcerated after the discovery at his residence in Bouaké, 60 T of weapons during the mutinies of 2017.

(AIP/GNA)