Côte d’Ivoire: New Videos Detail Capture of Former President · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.
After the arrest in the city of Abidjan on April 11, 2011, of Laurent Gbagbo, former  president of Cote d'Ivoire, and his wife Simone, some confusion remains  regarding the process that led to his capture.
Website Abidjan.net [fr] has published a series of videos [fr] entitled, “The film of Laurent Gbagbo's arrest: New elements” (”Le  Film de l'arrestation de Laurent Gbagbo: De nouveaux Éléments”),  divided into four videos of 10-14 minutes each. The videos show the  sequence of events of the Gbagbos’ arrest, from the bombing of their  residence by French Special Forces, to the transfer of the Gbagbo family  to the Hotel du Golf.
New elements
The first video [fr] of the series shows what happened in the room just after the  capture of the Gbagbos. Simone Gbagbo, the former first lady, even says a  few words to the camera; on the armed soldiers and Liberian mercenaries  who were still fighting in Abidjan at the time, she says:
Les tirs ce n'est pas bon.
She is asked to speak louder, but replies:
I cannot, I am out of breath.
The couple seem to be quite well treated, and Simone is even called  “Maman” (Mother), a mark of respect in most African societies. This  confirms that instructions given by Alassane Ouattara, now official  president of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, were respected.
In the last video, one of the Ivorian militaries who took part in the  arrest of the former President explains what happened in the “bunker”:
Désiré Tagro a appelé pour dire qu'il va sortir avec un  drapeau blanc, (…) de ne pas tirer. (…) On a arrêté de tirer, et ils  sont tous sortis en rang comme des rats. Gbagbo en tête dans un gilet  pare-balle français. Nous avons pris Gbagbo seul, on l'a mis dans la  voiture du Gal Wattao, direction le Golf
The same video also shows family members, who were arrested with the presidential couple, gathered in another room of the hotel:
Alleged Gbagbo interview
Following his arrest, Laurent Gbagbo was transferred  [fr] to Korhogo, in the north of the Côte d'Ivoire, where he is now  living under house arrest. He still has some support, especially among  the Ivorian, and African diaspora [fr].
News even spread about an alleged interview [fr] that Laurent Gbagbo secretly gave to a journalist in Geneva.The  journalist in question has explained that he received a text message  from the former president, who used a mobile phone one of his jailers  had forgotten.
Ivorian netizens reacted to news of the alleged interview with irony. Yopougon10, who comments under a blog post [fr] about this interview says:
mdr !!! Gbagbo a certainement autant gagné ces élections qu'il a réalisé cette interview !!
According to @Woizo_SP on social network Twitter:
Lol le sms de gbagbo pour interview: “c'est Laurent  Gbagbo. Appelez-moi si vous pouvez, c'est pas une blague” mdrr ça sent  le faux
The authentification of the interview hasn't been confirmed, and  according to specialists, it is almost sure that the interview never  took place.
A well treated former president
On Monday May 2, 2011, Laurent Gbagbo received a visit from three members of “The Elders” group: Koffi Anan, Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson. He said he wants the country to “return to normal”.
John James, BBC correspondent in Côte d'Ivoire posted a few pictures of the visit on his Facebook profile.
Lauren Gbagbo and Koffi Anan in Korhogo, Côte d'Ivoire. Image by John James, posted on Facebook.
The preliminary hearing of Laurent Gbagbo is scheduled [fr] to happen on May 4, 2011, but according to journalist Théophile Kouamouo on his blog [fr], the date has been postponed to May 6.
This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.