Audio By Carbonatix
Ivory Coast's firebrand youth leader Charles Ble Goude has told the BBC that he fears for his life more than a year after he went into hiding.
Mr Ble Goude went on the run after the capture in April 2011 of ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to accept electoral defeat and now faces war crimes charges at The Hague.
Ivory Coast then issued an arrest warrant for the pro-Gbagbo loyalist.
"I'm not running from justice... people are looking to kill me," he said.
The UN oversaw the November 2010 election and said it was won by Alassane Ouattara, who was eventually inaugurated after a four-month stand-off in which some 3,000 people were killed.
Mr Ble Goude was put under UN sanctions in 2006 accused of inciting attacks against UN personnel.
'No militia'
During the interview with the BBC World Today programme, he refused to say where he was speaking from, but confirmed he was outside Ivory Coast.
Known for his vitriolic speeches, Mr Ble Goude is alleged to have mobilised thousands of young men to join the army in the final days of the election dispute.
But he told the BBC that, as head of the Young Patriots group, he had only organised rallies and meetings and never run a militia.
"I am not chief of militia - I've never bought weapons, we went to the streets against those who had weapons, we were bare handed," he said.
He said he was ready to go the International Criminal Court in The Hague to clear his name if that is what it took.
"I think my place is not there [at the ICC], but if my presence there can clear [up] what happened… I'm ready to do that."
Mr Ble Goude, who served as Mr Gbagbo's youth minister, said he would be prepared to go home if certain conditions were met.
"I want all the prisoners to be freed; I want all those people in exile to come back home with their dignity."
He said there would never be peace in Ivory Coast unless the different sides of the political divide learnt to live together.
"We all need to be together in that country as South Africa has done - I think we can do it," he said.
Earlier this month, the Ivorian authorities said they had foiled a plot to overthrow the government organised by pro-Gbagbo supporters which was linked to cross-border raids from Liberia.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Anis Haffar writes: ‘New rules for vice chancellors’; Reduce the academics, focus on skills to develop Ghana’s natural resources
54 seconds -
Kpandai Re-run: Our participation uncertain until legal processes exhausted – Haruna Mohammed
3 minutes -
Oppong Nkrumah criticises gov’t over anti-OSP bill withdrawal
4 minutes -
Tricked, abducted and abused: Inside China’s schools for ‘rebellious’ teens
5 minutes -
Thai PM dissolves parliament to ‘return power to people’
7 minutes -
King Charles to share personal message on cancer in TV broadcast
10 minutes -
High Court injunction throws Daddy Lumba’s funeral plans into uncertainty
14 minutes -
Illegal weapons, narcotics seized in Bimbila operation in Northern Region
15 minutes -
GRA intensifies nationwide enforcement as tax non-compliance surges Â
19 minutes -
MTN Ghana, DOVVSU host debate on digital safety as Yabum JHS beats Jakpa JHS in Damongo
21 minutes -
The Three Shortcuts to Success
30 minutes -
About 200 West African soldiers in Benin for ‘clean-up’ after failed coup
31 minutes -
Thousands under evacuation orders as flooding hits Pacific Northwest
36 minutes -
Gender Minister, Parliamentary Committee conduct joint monitoring of School Feeding Programme
53 minutes -
OSP under coordinated political attack — Senyo Amekplenu
58 minutes
