ABIDJAN, 8 March 2011 (IRIN) - As reports by Human Rights Watch and
formal documentation from the UN Human Rights Commission decry the
worsening human rights situation in Côte d'Ivoire, many Ivoirians IRIN
spoke with in Abidjan are appalled by recent acts of gruesome
violence.
[ http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/23/c-te-d-ivoire-au-should-press-gbagbo-halt-abuses
] [ http://www2.ohchr.org/SPdocs/Countries/CI/HCReportCoteIvoire.doc ]
"We are seeing any and all forms of killing," said an Ivoirian human
rights activist who requested anonymity. "It's sheer horror we're
living here. People are being burned alive and hacked to bits with
machetes," he said, adding that the violence seemed to be spiralling
out of control.
Lassina*, 29, a cybercafé manager in Avocatier-Abobo neighbourhood
(part of Abidjan's Abobo District), said he has twice seen people
burned alive. The latest incident he saw was on 5 March. "I heard
cries from outside. When I went to see what was going on, youths were
brandishing the burned bodies of two gendarmes like trophies.
"Not only is the country far from exiting its crisis, we have to deal
with horrifying scenes like this," he said.
The "betrayal" of Ivoirians' hope that the 28 November second-round
presidential election could be a first step on the road to peace and
stability is contributing to the level of violence, said Rinaldo
Depagne, senior West Africa analyst with International Crisis Group.
[ http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/west-africa/cote-divoire/171-cote-divoire-is-war-the-only-option.aspx
]
"That door was slammed shut; hope has vanished and now there is an
absolutely dreadful state of desperation," he told IRIN. "This degree
of violence is quite unusual for Côte d'Ivoire; we didn't even see
this during armed conflict in 2002 and 2003 [the height of fighting
following an armed rebellion]."
With such open displays of violence, Fatoumata Diaby, a 32-year-old
housewife in Avocatier-Abobo, said she worries about what children are
seeing. "I am shocked at how young girls and boys are witness to these
horrific scenes... Human dignity crumbled in this country some time
ago now. I wonder whether human life even has any meaning for
Ivoirians any more. People are so thirsty for vengeance that they will
slit someone's throat without giving a damn."
Fabrice Danon, 35, a mason in Anonkoua-Abobo neighbourhood, is among
hundreds of Ivoirians who have set up community self-defence groups in
the past two months. He said one night armed men came and attacked his
post. "They shot in the air, then attacked us. The head of our group
was shot; as he was dying the armed men slit his throat with a
machete. His body thrashed about like an animal's. I was beside
myself. Things have completely crossed the line."
In Abobo-Dokui neighbourhood, 33-year-old bus driver Maurine Koné
said he could not believe he was in Côte d'Ivoire when he saw his
nephew's brutal murder. "Youths pulled him out of a bus and slit his
throat. When I saw his body my legs gave out on me. This human
slaughter is inexplicable."
He added: "But the moment of revenge is near. One must be patient."
Point of no return?
Asked whether the violence is at a point of no return, the human
rights activist said it is still possible to avoid the worst - but
only with a commitment to a peaceful settlement on the part of
Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo. He said for now few people apart
from some religious leaders are actively calling for calm, out of fear
from both sides.
The problem, he said, is there is no neutral mediator. "Given that
the UN and the international community have declared unbending support
for Ouattara, they cannot move things towards peace because they are
partisan."
He said on the one hand the Ouattara camp does not think it has to
back down, because they have the categorical backing of the
international community; on the other, Gbagbo will not yield either,
as he holds the reins of power. "And keep in mind, the electorate is
split just about 50-50."
Meanwhile, the sharply partisan media [
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91690 ] carry diverging
accounts of the violence, depending on who is attacking whom.
"Moral collapse" screamed the headline of a pro-Ouattara newspaper on
7 March, for an article about women reportedly shot dead by security
forces during a march calling for incumbent Gbagbo to step down. A
pro-Gbagbo paper on the same day carried the headline: "Alleged murder
of women in Abobo - a grotesque fabrication".
(*not his real name)
np/aa/cb[END]
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