Ivory Coast Opposition Leader Says it's Time to Reconcile

Ivory Coast opposition leaders loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo should reconcile with the country's rulers, an opposition leader said Saturday.

"The opposition must accept the outstretched hand of power," said Laurent Dona Fologo, vice-president of the National Congress for the Resistance of Democracy, a coalition loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo.

Gbagbo's refusal to quit after his defeat in a November 2010 election triggered conflict in the West African country which left around 3,000 people dead before President Alassane Ouattara took power.

"I am for a serious, credible, respectable and respected opposition, but one that respects the president, talks with him and does not stop him from working," said Fologo, who was recently granted more powers making him head of the opposition coalition.

Gbagbo was arrested in April 2011 and is now in The Hague awaiting trial by the International Criminal Court, accused of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in the violence.

Fologo said he wanted to prioritize asking Ouattara for help in bringing exiled opposition figures back to Ivory Coast and said he hopes for an amnesty for those in prison.

"It's in the interest of the president that there's a normal democracy," said Fologo, 70, a longtime Ivorian politician.

About 20 figures from Gbagbo's regime are in prison in Ivory Coast and many others are in exile, particularly in neighboring Ghana.