\n A sea of orange hats flooded a blustery Dutch promenade outside a war crimes court Thursday as supporters of fallen Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo loudly denounced a French plot to \"kidnap\" their hero.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hundreds from the widespread Ivory Coast diaspora bused in from Paris and Brussels, and even from as far away as Switzerland, in a determined bid to get their message across that the wrong man is on trial for the bloodshed that scarred the nation from 2010 to 2011.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"This trial is a disgrace because our president was elected democratically before being expelled from power by arms, by the rebels of Ouattara,\" said one supporter, 58-year-old Colacicco.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was referring to President Alassane Ouattara who was declared the winner of the November 2010 elections, despite Gbagbo's refusal to acknowledge his defeat and step down.\n<\/p>\n
\n Decked out in the colours of the Ivorian flag, orange, green and white, hundreds of supporters enjoyed a rare sunny day outside the International Criminal Court nestled in the dunes by the sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.\n<\/p>\n
\n Inside the fortress-like building, a relaxed-looking Gbagbo, 70, and his ally, former militia leader Charles Ble Goude, 44, pleaded not guilty to four charges of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and persecution.\n<\/p>\n
\n Police estimated there were some 300 protesters, but organisers put the figure at closer to 1,000.\n<\/p>\n
\n The supporters contend that Gbagbo's arrest in April 2011 and subsequent transfer to the ICC was a plot by the French to get their hands on Ivory Coast's riches.\n<\/p>\n
\n The west African nation had been seen at the time as a bastion of democracy. But when Gbagbo refused to concede defeat, its economic capital Abidjan descended into chaos.\n<\/p>\n
\n It was the French government that \"concocted the fall of president Gbagbo,\" said one protester from Paris who identified himself only as Eric.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Truth will trump the lies,\" said one of the organisers, Abel Naki, maintaining Gbagbo was \"kidnapped and deported.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n \"This reminds us of the years of slavery and colonisation,\" he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Large screens were erected on a stage outside in a bid to allow the protestors to watch the proceedings amid singing, chanting and drum playing.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Heros and lions -\n<\/p>\n
\n Inside the public gallery were 50 supporters who were allowed access. They followed the proceedings intently, tutting and even occasionally booing as yet another allegation was levelled against their champion.\n<\/p>\n
\n When presiding judge Cuno Tarfusser closed for the day they remained glued to the glass windows separating the public gallery from the courtroom as Gbagbo was escorted away.\n<\/p>\n
\n They cheered and applauded their fallen leader, who waved back after earlier in the day having blown kisses -- clearly enjoying the attention after five years behind bars far from his African homeland.\n<\/p>\n
\n Gbagbo's supporters are bitterly angry that Ouattara's camp has not been investigated for an alleged string of abuses during the unrest.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"My brother was killed by Ouattara's rebels,\" says Edwige, 20, from Paris.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ouattara \"is the real criminal. He's the one who should be on trial.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n But chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in her opening statement there was \"a vast body of evidence\" against the accused, earning hisses and catcalls from the public gallery.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bensouda's statements \"are dangerous,\" Naki told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It's full of lies and based on nothing else than elements provided by Ouattara.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Protester Eric from Paris used an old tale to explain how in his view the victor always gets to write history.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"When the story is told by the hunters, the lions are always in the wrong,\" he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A sea of orange hats flooded a blustery Dutch promenade outside a war crimes court Thursday as supporters of fallen Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo loudly denounced a French plot to \"kidnap\" their hero. Hundreds from the widespread Ivory Coast diaspora bused in from Paris and Brussels, and even from as far away as Switzerland, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-25702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n