The Ivorian authorities on Wednesday June 5 handed over fourteen bodies of victims of the 2010-2011 post-electoral crisis to their families. A very sober ceremony was held in the main morgue of Abidjan to return part of the bodies of people killed during violence in the communes of Abobo and Yopougon.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan, Bineta Diagne
In the middle of a room sit two coffins. The imam of the Marcory mosque prays for the rest of these souls, in the middle of a hundred people gathered. Those of these people who lost their lives during the violence of the post-electoral crisis in Ivory Coast in 2010 and 2011, when the presidential victory of Alassane Ouattara, still in power, contested by the outgoing Laurent Gbagbo, led to several months of violence. Crisis during which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives. This Wednesday, June 5, the Ivorian authorities were able to return body parts of people killed, 14 in total, to their bereaved families.
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For the families, the wait was long. Niogé Ouattara lost her daughter during the women’s march on March 3, 2011, in the commune of Abobo: “ When you lose someone and you don’t even know where you buried them… she was buried in a mass grave. They went to do DNA tests, they found her and returned her today, it’s a good thing I can bury her with dignity », breathes the father of the family.
A long, painful wait, which finally brings a little peace. On behalf of the families, Youssouf Diabaté, brother of one of the fourteen victims and spokesperson for the families present, talks about the difficulty of grieving: “ These victims are today martyrs for our country. But fourteen years of mourning is a lot “.
A wait due to legal procedures
In 2013, the government launched an exhumation campaign in Abidjan. But the bodies identified by the families were withheld due to legal procedures, according to the government. “ These fourteen bodies were preserved after the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, for the need for investigation and identification., explained Myss Belmonde Dogo, the Minister of National Cohesion. VSThis administrative and judicial phase having reached its conclusion, the State of Côte d’Ivoire has decided to proceed with the handover of these bodies to the bereaved families. »
An amount of 1,500,000 CFA francs (approximately 2,200 euros) was given by the government to each family by check at the end of the ceremony. State aid does not “ can’t erase your pain “, said the minister, but “ I ask you to forgive “, For “ make our country a haven of peace », tried to appease the minister.
At this stage, 47 bodies have been returned to Cavally, in the west of the country. According to the Minister of National Cohesion, six other bodies must still be returned to their families in the town of Duékué in the coming weeks. Bodies have been recovered by families outside of the state’s initiative and others have not yet been identified. The minister did not wish to give figures on this subject.