Outrage over desecration of opposition leader’s mother’s tomb

Brushing aside differences, Ivorians across the political spectrum joined in outrage on Tuesday over the desecration of the tomb of the mother of opposition leader and former prime minister Alassane Ouattara. Ouattara, who fled into exile in France at the start of Cote d’Ivoire’s civil war three years ago, returned for his mother’s funeral early this month. But overnight Sunday to Monday the body of the late Hadja Nabintou Cisse was exhumed by gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs. The Justice Ministry, which has opened an inquiry, said the assailants were prevented by local residents from hauling the body out of the Williamsville cemetery in the main city, Abidjan. The perpetrators got away. Waving aside deep-seated differences with Ouattara, President Laurent Gbagbo condemned “these vile and bestial acts and asked the judicial authorities to find and punish those responsible.” The UN mission in Cote d’Ivoire (ONUCI) also condemned the desecration and said it was ready to assist investigations to identify and arrest those responsible with a view to putting them on trial. But a UN report issued just two months ago lashed out against the culture of impunity which has developed in Cote d’Ivoire since September 2002 when rebels seized control of the north and pro-government militias began to run loose in the loyalist south. The human rights report said that when criminals are handed over to the respective rebel or government authorities they are typically released without charge or punishment. “This situation has contributed to maintaining a sense of total impunity among the criminals and a sense of injustice, incomprehension and distrust among the victims and the general population,” the report said. Meanwhile, the newly-appointed transitional Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny went on television on Monday to explain why he had not yet succeeded in naming a cabinet. Banny, who was given the job by the international community on 4 December, said he was doing all he could to appoint a consensus cabinet in line with his mission, which is to steer the divided country to disarmament and to elections. “I had hoped that for any given portfolio the leaders of the political parties would give me several names, leaving me the possibility of choosing those best suited to help me in my job. But this has not been easy to impress upon the political leaders,” he said. “If we cannot get a consensus … we will assume our responsibilities,” he went on. “But I would prefer to select a team that will move ahead to peace in which Ivorians feel represented.” The former governor of the powerful West African central bank, the BCEAO, was asked to step in as interim head of government after the country’s factions missed key deadlines in a peace process and had to cancel elections scheduled for 30 October this year. The vote had been scheduled as Gbagbo’s five-year mandate ran out and the president has been given an extra year under UN Security Council Resolution 1633. He is to hand over most of his powers however to the new prime minister.