I saw this great article by Guy Kouame Gustave on the crisis in Ivory Coast. Such Truth!

“Carthago Delenda Est!” Carthage Must be Destroyed!

This terrible statement was made by Caton the Elder, a Roman citizen who, in his last days in 153 B.C., led a diplomatic mission to Carthage.  Impressed by the economic revival of Carthage, he adopted a systematic anti-Carthaginian attitude that led him to end all his speeches at the Senate by the phrase “Carthago delenda est!”, “Carthage must be destroyed!”. Caton the Elder advocated that Carthage, the competitive city to Rome during the Punic Wars had to be destroyed. Reading the biography of this multi-facet and hatred-filled individual, I couldn’t help but think of Cote d’Ivoire, our country. In fact, revisiting our history since Mr. Alassane Dramane Ouattara’s irruption in the Ivorian political life, one can paraphrase Caton the Elder saying: “Cote d’Ivoire delenda est!”.

The reason is that the successive events that the country has gone through since the election of President Laurent Gbagbo as Head-of-State in October 2000, demonstrate that there is a ferocious relentlessness to destroy the person chosen by the people to lead the country. But more tragically, the country itself, its choices, its soul, and all the institutions and laws on which the nation stands. There is an animalistic conspiracy to make Côte d’Ivoire a failed country.

“Cote d’Ivoire delenda est!”

Declarations such as “I will make this country ungovernable, we are going to gnagami it all!” by ADO, the media, military, political, social, cultural, diplomatic, financial and economic relentlessness (boy! To say the least!), multiple coups and other mistreatments the country is subjected to are all part of the sinister project of the destruction Côte d’Ivoire. Despite multiple sacrifices made by President Gbagbo and the people of Cote d’Ivoire for the sake of peace and democracy, the country continues on suffering since 2002. And the so-called post electoral crisis has just brought to light the sinister plot of destruction and submission against our country.  

For recall: December 1999, first coup d’Etat consecutive to the war for power between the heirs of Houphouët Boigny, the first President of Côte d’Ivoire. The coup went well: Bédié is exiled, but Ouattara did not succeed seizing power. General Guéi who led the military transition escaped two assassination attempts. He lost the October 2000 presidential elections and took refuge in his native village. Laurent Gbagbo, the people’s beloved, won the elections and came into office. From that day on a terrible and obnoxious lynching campaign against the country, its founding pillars, and its officials started. The nightmare of the Ivorian people was thus into motion.

“Cote d’Ivoire delenda est!”, “Cote d’Ivoire must be destroyed ! »

The personality, the choices, and the relation and interactions that President Gbagbo has with his people for decades make many uncomfortable. His aspirations to diversify the economic partners of the country and to depart from the ongoing classic infantilizing paternalism from the former colonial power disturb and particularly worry.

ADO, the man of the outside world, has not given up his plans to seize power by all means necessary. He and his allies then decided to make Gbagbo undergo the same fate as Bédié. They set up, prepared, organized, financed, and implemented a coup d’Etat from and with the complicity of some countries of the sub-region and mainly with the help of a part of the international community. In the night of September 19^th, 2002, assailants attacked the State. They failed to take over, fled from the economic capital Abidjan, and made up a cyst in Bouaké where they organized a rebellion.

“Cote d’Ivoire delenda est!”, “Cote d’Ivoire must be destroyed ! » … Click here to read more …