ChemistryEquipment: Ouattara vows Ivory Coast justice

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The new president said Laurent Gbagbo should be treated with respect

Ivory Coast's former President Laurent Gbagbo is being held in a "secure location" in the country, his successor Alassane Ouattara has said.

Mr Gbagbo was captured on Monday by Mr Ouattara's forces after he refused to accept he lost elections in November.

Mr Ouattara confirmed his rival had been moved from the hotel in Abidjan where he was taken after his capture and was now in a "secure villa".

He said the ex-head of state would face trial like others behind any violence.

During the four-month stand-off between Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ouattara about 1,500 people were killed and a million forced from their homes.

"Mr Laurent Gbagbo is a former head of state, he must be treated with consideration," President Ouattara told journalists on Wednesday.

He said he had phoned South Africa's President Jacob Zuma for advice about setting up a credible and independent truth and reconciliation committee.

It would be asked to consider atrocities from the 1990s to the present day.

"Reconciliation has to happen with justice," he said.

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