Former Ivory Coast rebel leader Guillaume Soro has reportedly dismissed all the accusations against him and said he would continue his presidential election campaign from overseas, reported Reuters.
Last week, Ivory Coast’s public prosecutor had issued an arrest warrant for Soro as part of an investigation into an alleged coup plot, for breaches of state security, receiving stolen public resources and money laundering. The warrant forced Soro to call off a planned homecoming for the first time since May. He has been based in France for the past six months. He diverted his flight after security forces stormed his party headquarters in Abidjan.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Soro said the warrant against him is completely politically motivated. He said he would work on a form of political resistance from overseas.
“This warrant is not based on the law, but has simply been issued to stop a candidate from trying to win office,” the rebel leader said. “I am and remain a presidential candidate… I will organize the resistance just as de Gaulle did from London.”
The warrant against Soro has raised tensions in the West African nation ahead of a presidential election next year.
During a joint news conference with Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on Saturday, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Soro will be treated as any other civilian and would face justice for any attempt to destabilize the country. He said no one, not even Soro, will be allowed to create a ruckus in the country.
“The law will be applied to everyone, candidate or not,” the president said. “Nobody is above the law, former presidents of the republic, presidents of institutions, the president of the republic and everyone else.”
The president’s statement came after a group of opposition parties on Friday accused the government authorities of trying to intimidate them before the upcoming presidential election, and denounced the warrant against Soro.
