the Red Cross has already registered them and you’re going to kill them?’ Then they took us back to Agban.117 VIII. IMPUNITY FOR ABUSE President Gbagbo identified his predecessor General Guei as the instigator of the first violence in October which, according to FPI officials, had claimed the lives of sixty of its supporters.118 In an address broadcast on October 25, 2000, on state radio and television, he said: “I bow respectfully to the memory of the dead, those who lost their lives as a result of General Guei’s barbarous order to shoot.”119 Despite this and other similar statements, there has been no official investigation into the actions of then President Guei, Red Brigade leader Sergeant Boka Yapi, or any other members of the security forces who, under Guei’s command, perpetrated serious violations against unarmed civilians. Instead, on November 13, 2000, President Gbagbo held a surprise meeting with General Guei in the capital Yamoussoukro, in which Guei called on soldiers to put themselves at the service of the state and Gbagbo indirectly granted him immunity, saying “What is important is that the country starts a process of reconciliation.… I am not a policeman, nor a judge. I am happy with his [Guei’s] declaration.”120 However, there was strong criticism of this meeting, and on November 21, 2000, Defense Minister Moise Lida Kouassi asserted that Guei did not have immunity from prosecution. He said the earlier meeting had been held to “solve a number of internal security problems…. The meeting does not mean impunity for General Guei. The government will let judicial procedures run their course.”121 After the bodies of fifty-seven young men were discovered in the Charnier de Yopougon, the government pledged to find and punish the killers. At the scene, newly appointed Interior Minister Emile Boga Dougou said, “Our reaction is one of indignation. I had never thought that barbarity could reach such levels…. Those guilty will be punished, wherever they come from.”122 Meanwhile the RDR asked for an international inquiry. RDR leader Ouattara said the dead men were Muslim northerners and accused members of the paramilitary gendarmes of being responsible.123 President Gbagbo pledged to conduct three official judicial investigations into the October violence: the first into the Charnier de Yopougon, the second into the killing of eighteen men whose bodies were found floating in the Ébrié Lagoon, and the third into the killing of at least six men found slaughtered within Blokosso neighborhood. Both domestically and abroad, a trial in the case of the Charnier de Yopougon was seen as a test for both Gbagbo’s ability to stand up to the military, and his commitment to restore the rule of law. A guilty verdict was also interpreted as a requirement for the restoration of badly needed financial aid.124 On April 13, 2001, six gendarmes were charged with murder in connection with the massacre of the Charnier de Yopougon.125 One of the six was the commander of the Gendarme Camp of Abobo, Major Be Kpan who, while a captain at the time of the October events, was subsequently promoted. Two more gendarmes were later charged and on July 24, 2001 the trial before a military tribunal of the eight gendarmes began inside the Agban Gendarme Camp. However, the prosecution’s case was seriously weakened by the failure to conduct ballistics tests on bullets found in the bodies, 117 Human Rights Watch interview, Abidjan, February 3, 2001. “Ivory Coast People Sweep Gbagbo to Power, 60 Dead,” Reuters, October 25, 2000. 119 “Gbagbo Addresses Ivorian Nation,” www.bbc.co.uk, October 25, 2000. 120 “Guei Comes Out of Hiding,” www.bbc.co.uk, November 13, 2000. 121 “Guei May Face Charges,” www.bbc.co.uk, November 21, 2000. 122 “Ivory Coast to Probe Massacre, Ethnic Tension High,” Reuters, October 28, 2000. 123 “Ivory Coast to Probe Massacre, Punish the Guilty,” Reuters, October 28, 2000. 124 “High Stakes for Gbagbo in Ivorian Massacre Trial,” Reuters, August 1, 2001. 125 The other seven gendarmes charged are Staff Sergeant Irié Bi Ba Célestin, Sergeant N’Guessan Blé Nicaise, Sergeant Seri Doukadji, Sergeant Wodié Hervé Joel, Sergeant Naza Yao Jacques, Tra Bi Tohola Rufin, and Yoro Dasiehond Alexis Le Sauveur. 118 Human Rights Watch 60 August 2001, Vol. 13, No. 6(A)