Ivorians exiled in Ghana, have thrown a challenge to the African Union (AU) to open a full scale international enquiry into crimes committed by President Alassane Ouattara’s regime, as revealed in a United Nations (UN) experts’ report that “the Ivorian government had sent officers into Ghana to kidnap or assassinate refugees, supporters of Gbagbo’s regime”.
In a statement sent to The Herald by the Coordinator and Spokesperson, Dr. Assoa Adou, the Ivorian exiles noted that the information in the UN report is not a surprise to them, because “numerous irrefutable evidences are available, since the arrival of the Ivorian exiles in Ghana” that crimes are being committed against them.
The statement mentioned a suspicious death of one, Diagou Gomont, attempts of abduction and suspicious kidnapping of Charles Ble Goude, Jean Yves Dibopieu, Jean Noel Abéhi and Koné Katinan.
It also cited suspicious clashes in refugee camps in Ghana, followed by recorded deaths, every time the presence of envoys from the Ouattara Government was announced.
It described the UN report as a “novelty” coming from an institution that has shown so much partility towards the Ouattara regime, but praised the Ghanaian Government for the show of concern for their plight.
“One still remembers the assassination of former repented rebel, Adama Champion, known as “Deep Throat” found burned to death in his tent at the Ampin refugee camp, in Ghana, after he made revelations about the disappearance of a journalist, Guy-André Kieffer, after an interview with the newspaper, “Le Nouveau Courrier” in which he pointed accusing finger at a baron of the RDR,” the statement said.
The statement continued that “the only novelty is that the information is given by the UN, which no one doubt the obvious partiality in favour of Mr. Alassane Ouattara in the Ivorian crisis.
The question that the exiles are entitled to ask is, why the UN now decides to lift a corner of the veil on the horrors of their special envoys by “certification” at the Head of the Ivorian state? ”
Repeatedly, the Ghanaian Government, is more concerned about their safety in Ghana, than the Ivorian Government, whose Constitutional mandate is the safety of its citizens, but rather, Ghana has continuously alerted them and also made available assistance for all the refugees.
According to the Ivorian exiles, “All the documents seized from these serial killers and is available, are evidences providing grounds that a systematic attack was organized by Ouattara’s regime, against the pro-Gbagbo faction in exile in Ghana for political reasons and in a multi-faceted plan”
First is “the official policy of “ethnic catching up” which consists of excluding Ivorian not members of Mr Ouattara’s ethnic or political group from public employment or public markets”.
Secondly, “the freezing of assets, which deprives many Ivorians of minimum subsistence means and some patients of necessary means to treat their illness, just because they are pro-Gbagbo”.
Thildly, “arrest warrants for reasons overtly political (see decision of the Ghanaian justice in the case Kone Katinan / Ivorian Government) followed by a double unsuccessful attempt of abduction in Accra”.
Fourth, is the “infiltration of serial killers or recruitment of mercenaries (the famous TCHICATA case in which the Ivorian Government signed a contract to organize fictional plots allocated to pro- Gbagbo. He is now in prison after being tried and convicted by Ghanaian justice) “.
Fifth is the “Liberian mercenaries paid by Ouattara’s government (cf. report of UN experts on Liberia) to provide false testimonies against pro- Gbagbo etc”.
It said, “when these facts related to the massacres of civilians of Wê ethnic group in the west of Côte d’Ivoire suspected to be pro-Gbagbo, at Duékoué, Carrefour neighborhood at the beginning of the crisis ( more than 800 killed, according to Human Rights NGOs ) and the massacre at Nahibly refugee camp in the same city, Duékoué, deadly attacks in prisons in Côte d’Ivoire where more than 700 pro-Gbagbo political prisoners are held using infiltrated mercenaries ( Gahé Mahan , Secretary General of workers union died after his release as a result of torture suffered in prison), murders of journalists ( OUE Desire , editor of the magazine ” Tomorrow magazine ” murdered at his home by security forces of Mr. Ouattara ), there is reason to assume that all of these acts provide a reasonable basis to believe that a plan is put in place to commit genocide and crimes against humanity for political reasons “.
Dr. Assoa Adou, accused the UN of trying to withdraw its responsibility and that of the Government of Ghana regarding the forthcoming crimes against humanity, by pulling the alarm bell to warn supporters of the Unconstitutional and genocidal regime of Côte d’Ivoire.
UNOCI, he said, “announced in its report of December 6, 2013, the execution of 228 civilians by traditional hunters, Dozo, who deal with security issues on the Ivorian territory, instead of police and gendarmes completely disarmed and excluded from the activity of securing goods and people. Human Rights NGOs’ reports (Amnesty International, FIDH, HRW) denounced the massive violations of human rights in October and November 2013?.
The exiles said, “the denial of the Ivorian Government does not surprise us. We know that it has the habit of disappearing in mass graves, the bodies of people killed by its militia who became the national army (cf. UN report on the massacres of Nahibly camp) and maintaining torture camps in undisclosed locations around the country”.
Dr. Assoa Adou, drew “the attention of the international community once again on the humanitarian emergency in which all the Ivorians are and particularly the exiles whose only crime is their policy choices”, and urged “the UN to draw all the consequences of the its experts’ report to save the ivorian exiles in Ghana from unnecessary losses of human lives”.
It, therefore, asked the AU to open a full international enquiry for the crimes committed by the Ivorian Government and revealed by the report of the UN experts, adding a “refusal of the Ouattara’s government to such an investigation will be for us, exiles, an admission of guilt”.
“We, exiled from Ouattara’s regime, believe that the lasting solution to the Ivorian crisis is the South African model that has made dialogue, the cornerstone of reconciliation. This solution should serve as a model for achieving a lasting peace in Côte d’Ivoire. This is why the release of Laurent Gbagbo from prison as it happened with Nelson Mandela, the direct dialogue and the General states of the Republic proposed by the Ivorian Popular Front, are the only way out for the crisis”, adding “Ivorians want peace through reconciliation now”.