Post or POST may refer to:

Mail

Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries

Hotel post, a service offered by remote Swiss hotels for the carriage of mail to the nearest official post office

Local post, a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route

Parcel post, a service for sending parcels through the post

Prague pneumatic post, the world's last preserved municipal pneumatic post system

Wine post, also known as New Zealand Wine Post, is a privately owned postal service in New Zealand

Post, an entry in a blog or internet forum – see posting style

Anonymous post, an entry in a blog or internet forum without a screen name or more commonly by using a non-identifiable pseudonym

Sponsored post, a post to any community-driven notification-oriented website which is explicitly sponsored as an advertisement

Newspapers and magazines

''New York Post'', USA

''The Washington Post'', USA

''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', USA

''The Christian Post'', USA

''The Jerusalem Post'', Israel

''The Sunday Post'', Scotland

''National Post'', Canada

''The Sunday Business Post'', Ireland

''Australasian Post'', Australia

''Post Magazine'', British magazine first published in 1840

''Post Newspapers'', Australia

''South China Morning Post'', Hong Kong

''The Kathmandu Post'', Nepal

Music

''Post'' (Björk album), the third studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter and musician Björk, released in June 1995

''Post'' (Paul Kelly album), the first solo album by Australian singer-songwriter rock musician, Paul Kelly

Post Records, record label

Organisations and companies

Post Foods, brand name

Post University, a university in Connecticut USA

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, UK

Places

Post, Texas, the county seat of Garza County, US

Post, Oregon, a community at the geographic center of the state of Oregon, US

Post Lake, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community, US

Sports

Posting system, transfer system for baseball players moving from a Japanese baseball team to a Major League Baseball team

Post (route), route run by a receiver in American Football

Technology

Structural post: Column (architecture)

Power-on self-test, start-up routines on electronic devices, typically on computers

POST (HTTP), an HTTP request method

Pillar (car), structural element of a car body

.post the internet top-level domain

Other

Post, a way of riding a horse trot

Military base, an assigned station or a guard post

Post (surname)

Part-of-speech tagging, the process of marking up a word in a text (corpus) as corresponding to a particular part of speech, based on both its definition, as well as its context—i.e. relationship with adjacent and related words in a phrase, sentence, or paragraph

POST Certification (Peace Officer Standards and Training), a program nationwide for Law enforcement officers

See also

Pole (disambiguation)

Posting (laundering process), or postadh, a traditional Scottish method of washing clothes

Hitching post (disambiguation)

ar:بريد (توضيح) br:Post cs:Post da:Post de:Post (Begriffsklärung) es:Post fr:Post fy:Post ko:포스트 it:POST lb:Post nl:Post ja:ポスト no:Post nn:Post pt:Post ro:Post (dezambiguizare) ru:Post sl:Post fi:Post sv:Post (olika betydelser) tr:Post vls:Post zh:POST

Name	Laurent Gbagbo
Office	President of Côte d'Ivoire
Primeminister	Seydou DiarraPascal Affi N'GuessanSeydou DiarraCharles Konan BannyGuillaume SoroGilbert Aké
Term start	26 October 2000
Term end	11 April 2011*
Predecessor	Robert Guéï
Successor	Alassane Ouattara
Birth date	May 31, 1945
Birth place	Gagnoa, French West Africa (now Ivory Coast)
Spouse	Simone Gbagbo, Nadiana Bamba
Party	Ivorian Popular Front
Alma mater	Paris Diderot University
Website	Official website
Footnotes	*The presidency was disputed between Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara from 4 December 2010 to 11 April 2011, at which time Gbagbo was arrested. }}

Laurent Koudou Gbagbo (; born 31 May 1945) served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A history teacher by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist.

Gbagbo was imprisoned in the early 1970s and again in the early 1990s, and he lived in exile in France during much of the 1980s as a result of his union activism. Gbagbo founded the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) in 1982 and ran unsuccessfully for President against Félix Houphouët-Boigny at the start of multi-party politics in 1990. Eventually he won a seat in the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire.

Gbagbo became president after Robert Guéï, head of a military junta, barred other leading politicians from running against Gbagbo in the October 2000 presidential election. Gbagbo claimed victory after the election and his supporters took to the streets toppling Guéï. Gbagbo was then installed as President.

Following the 2010 presidential election, Gbagbo challenged the vote count, alleged fraud, and refused to stand down. He called for the annulment of results from nine of the country's regions. Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner and was recognized as such by election observers, the international community, the African Union (AU), and the Economic Community of West African States. After a short period of civil conflict, Gbagbo was arrested by the Republican Army of Ivory Coast.

Early life and political career

Gbagbo was born in the village of Mama, near Gagnoa. He became a history professor and an opponent of the regime of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He was imprisoned from 31 March 1971 to January 1973. In 1979, he obtained his doctorate at Paris Diderot University (French: ''Université Paris Diderot'', also known as ''Université Paris 7 – Denis Diderot''). In 1980, he became Director of the Institute of History, Art, and African Archeology at the University of Abidjan. He participated in a 1982 teachers' strike as a member of the National Trade Union of Research and Higher Education, and at this time he formed what would become the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). Gbagbo went into exile in France in the same year. He returned to Côte d'Ivoire on 13 September 1988 and at the FPI's constitutive congress, held on 19–20 November 1988, he was elected as the party's Secretary-General.

Gbagbo said in July 2008 that he had received crucial support from Blaise Compaoré, currently the President of Burkina Faso, while he was part of the underground opposition to Houphouët-Boigny.

Following the introduction of multiparty politics in 1990, Gbagbo was the only candidate to stand against Houphouët-Boigny in the October 1990 presidential election, receiving 18.3% of the vote against Houphouët-Boigny. In the November 1990 parliamentary election, Gbagbo won a seat in the National Assembly, along with eight other members of the FPI; Gbagbo was elected to a seat from Ouragahio District in Gagnoa Department and was President of the FPI Parliamentary Group from 1990 to 1995. In 1992 he was sentenced to two years in prison and charged with inciting violence, but was released later in the year. The FPI boycotted the 1995 presidential election. In 1996 Gbagbo was re-elected to his seat in the National Assembly from Ouragahio, following a delay in the holding of the election there, and in the same year he was elected as President of the FPI.

At the FPI's 3rd Ordinary Congress on 9–11 July 1999, Gbagbo was chosen as the FPI's candidate for the October 2000 presidential election. That election took place after a December 1999 coup in which Robert Guéï took power. Guéï refused to allow Alassane Ouattara or Henri Konan Bédié to run, leaving Gbagbo as the only significant opposition candidate. Guéï claimed victory in the election, held on 22 October 2000, but Gbagbo toppled Guéï, who fled the capital. Gbagbo installed himself as President on 26 October.

Civil war

On 19 September 2002 a revolt by northerners against Gbagbo's government partly failed. The rebels, calling themselves the "Forces Nouvelles," attempted to seize the cities of Abidjan, Bouaké, and Korhogo. They failed to take Abidjan, but were successful in the other two, respectively in the center and north of the country. Their grievances were that their candidate, Alassane Ouattara, had been disallowed from running in the 2000 presidential election, having been accused by Gbagbo and his supporters of not being a "real Ivoirian" in what would be the beginning of Gbagbo's trend toward inciting ethnic divisions to maintain power, following on from the concept of "Ivoirieté" introduced by former president Henri Konan Bédié.

Aftermath

Early in November 2004, after the peace agreement had effectively collapsed following Gbagbo's refusal to agree to hold democratic elections that would include all candidates and the rebels' subsequent refusal to disarm, Gbagbo ordered airstrikes against the rebels. During one of these airstrikes in Bouaké on 6 November 2004, French soldiers were hit and nine of them were killed; the Ivorian government has said it was a mistake, but the French have claimed it was deliberate. They responded by destroying most Ivoirian military aircraft, and Gbagbo supporters violently attacked French-origin Ivoirians and French nationals.

Gbagbo's original mandate as president expired on 30 October 2005, but he garnered support from other African dictators in the African Union to support his bid to refuse to hold elections, and, despite his rhetoric against the international community, sought support to avoid holding elections as promised. With the late October deadline approaching in 2006, it was regarded as very unlikely that the election would in fact be held by that point, and the opposition and the rebels rejected the possibility of another term extension for Gbagbo. The UN Security Council endorsed another one-year extension of Gbagbo's term on 1 November 2006; however, the resolution provided for the strengthening of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny's powers. Gbagbo said the next day that elements of the resolution deemed to be constitutional violations would not be applied.

A peace deal between the government and the rebels, or New Forces, was signed on 4 March 2007, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and subsequently Guillaume Soro, leader of the New Forces, became Prime Minister. Those events were seen by some observers as substantially strengthening Gbagbo's position.

Gbagbo visited the north for the first time since the outbreak of the war for a disarmament ceremony, the "peace flame", on 30 July 2007. This ceremony involved burning weapons to symbolize the end of the conflict. At the ceremony, Gbagbo declared the war over and said that the country should move quickly to elections, which were then planned for early 2008.

On 30 August 2008, Gbagbo was designated the FPI's candidate for the November 2008 presidential election at a party congress; he was the only candidate for the FPI nomination. The presidential election was again postponed to 2010.

2010 presidential election and succession crisis

In 2010, Ivory Coast had a presidential election that saw Gbagbo face off with Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo, whose mandate had expired in 2005, had delayed the election several times.

On 28 November 2010, the second round of the presidential election was held. Four days later the Ivory Coast Election Commission (CEI) declared Alassane Ouattara the winner with 54.1% of the vote. Gbagbo's party complained of fraud and ordered that votes from nine regions be annulled, but the claims were disputed by the Ivoirian Electoral Commission and international election observers. The Constitutional Council, headed by a staunch supporter of Gbagbo, nullified the CEI's declaration based on alleged voting fraud, and excluded votes from nine northern areas. The Constitutional Council concluded that without these votes Gbagbo won with 51% of the remaining vote. The constitutional restriction on Presidents serving more than ten years was not addressed. With a significant portion of the country's vote nullified, especially in areas where Ouattara polled well, tensions mounted in the country. Gbagbo ordered the army to close the borders and foreign news organizations were banned from broadcasting from within the country. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the government to "act responsibly and peacefully."

Gbagbo declared that "I will continue to work with all the countries of the world, but I will never give up our sovereignty." Gbagbo is accused of committing many atrocities against regime opponents. Outtara's forces have also been accused of mass killings. Sporadic violence and gunfire were reported in various parts of the country, including Abidjan. Gbagbo is mainly supported by the largely Christian south; his opponents are mostly concentrated in the Muslim north.

Ouattara also took a parallel oath of office, based on an earlier pronouncement by the CEI that he won the election. The international community, including the African Union, recognized Ouattara as the duly elected president and called for Gbagbo to respect the will of the people. ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, also recognized Ouattara and demanded Gbagbo cede power. Gbagbo responded by launching ethnic attacks on northerners living in Abidjan with his army made up partly of Liberian mercenaries, and rumours (unconfirmed because of restrictions on the movement of peacekeeping forces) of pro-Gbagbo death squads and mass graves have been reported to representatives of the UN. When Nigeria demanded Gbagbo step down and the EU began imposing sanctions and freezing assets, Gbagbo demanded foreign troops (by which he meant UN and French troops) leave the country. Leaders of the Forces Nouvelles (former rebels) asserted that Gbagbo was not the Head of State and could not make such a request and also asserted that the demand was a part of a plan to commit genocide on ethnicities from the north of the country, as stated by Gbagbo's Minister of Youth and Employment.

On 6 April 2011, forces loyal to Ouattara moved to seize Gbagbo at his residence in Abidjan after failed negotiations to end the presidential succession crisis. According to Ouattara, his forces established a security perimeter at the residence, where Gbagbo has sought refuge in a subterranean level, and are waiting for him to run out of food and water. The UN has insisted that he be arrested, judged and tried for crimes against humanity during his term and since the election of Ouattara.

On 10 April 2011, UN and French helicopters fired on heavy weapons located in Gbabgo's residency in order to prevent attacks on civilians or UN personnel.

Arrest

It was reported that Gbagbo was arrested on the afternoon of 11 April 2011. Gbagbo is held in the Golf Hotel by Ouattara's forces, but the UN police had accepted his request for their protection. Initial reports indicated that French special forces had made the arrest, based on declarations by a Gbagbo aide, but it was denied by the French ambassador in Ivory Coast. A French military spokesman later asserted that French forces did not enter Gbagbo's residence. After briefing the United Nations Security Council on the situation, Alain Le Roy, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, confirmed to reporters that Ouattara forces made the arrest. But there have been persistant reports from Alain Toussaint, Gbagbo's Special Advisor in France, that French forces did indeed made the arrest namely by blasting open the corridor that linked the presidencial residence to the French embassy in Abidjan. Gbagbo had had the tunnel blocked with concrete as soon as he came to power in 2000, marking his political independence to France, the former colonial master.

Later speaking from inside the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Gbagbo told his supporters to stop fighting. U.S. President Barack Obama has cheered news of the latest developments in the Ivory Coast and CNN quoted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying Gbagbo's capture "sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants.... They may not disregard the voice of their own people".

See also

Politics of Côte d'Ivoire

First Ivorian Civil War

Second Ivorian Civil War

References

External links

Laurent Gbagbo's official website

Category:1945 births Category:Ivorian democracy activists Category:Ivorian Popular Front politicians Category:Ivorian prisoners and detainees Category:Living people Category:Members of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire Category:Presidents of Côte d'Ivoire Category:Prisoners and detainees of Côte d'Ivoire

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Name	Josky Kiambukuta
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Joseph Kiambukuta Londa
Aliases	Josky, Djo Sex
Birth date	February 14, 1949
Origin	Congolese
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Rumba
Occupation	Singer, songwriter,
Years active	1965 - 2009
Associated acts	Bana OK, OK Jazz, L'Orchestre Continental, L'African Fiesta Sukisa
Past members	}}

Josky Kiambukuta is a performing artist, singer and songwriter and composer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire. As a member of TPOK Jazz he played alongside Franco during their most popular period in the mid 1960s until the late 1980s. One of TPOK Jazz's best known songs, ''Proprietaire'', was written by Kiambukuta.

Career with TPOK Jazz

According to Simaro Lutumba, Kiambukuta joined TPOK Jazz sometime in the 1960s, after Simaro was already a member. Kiambukuta is known for his range of voice, from very high notes to deep bass, as the need arises. He is credited with composing many songs for the band, including the following:

''Monzo'' - In 1974

''Fariya'' - In 1977

''Propriétaire'' - In 1980

''Bimansha'' - In 1981

''Missile'' - In 1983

''KSK'' - In 1983

''Chandra'' - In 1989

Career after TPOK Jazz

After the death of Franco in 1989, TPOK Jazz continued to play for four (4) years. However, in 1994, conflicts forced the band to split up. Kiambukuta, together with Simaro Lutumba, Ndombe Opetum and other band members went on to form a new band: Bana OK. Kiambukuta is reported to have migrated to France and is now a resident of Paris.

Solo discography

1999: ''Dernier Avertissement'' with Bana OK

2001: ''Oui Ca Va''

2005: ''Double Vie''

External links

Lengthy Interview With Simaro Lutumba In 2002 About TPOK Jazz & Bana OK

See also

Franco Luambo Makiadi

Sam Mangwana

Simaro Lutumba

TPOK Jazz

List of African musicians

References

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo singers Category:African musicians Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Category:Soukous musicians

ln:Josky Kiambukuta Londa

name	Alpha Blondy
background	solo_singer
birth name	Seydou Koné
born	January 01, 1953Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire
band	The Solar System
genre	Reggae
occupation	Singer/Songwriter
years active	1981–present
website	AlphaBlondy.info
notable instruments	}}

Alpha Blondy (born January 1, 1953) is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew. His lyrics convey serious political attitudes and a sense of humor.

Early years

Childhood

First son of a family of 9 children, Seydou Kone was raised by his grandmother, growing up in what he described as "among elders", which later was to have a big impact on his career. In 1962, Alpha Blondy went to join his father in Odienné, where he spent ten years, attending the Sainte Elisabeth high school, and getting involved in the Ivory Coast students movement. Here he formed a band. But, this hobby affected his schooling and Alpha Blondy was expelled due to poor attendance. His parents then sent him to study English in Monrovia in the neighboring country of Liberia in 1973. He spent thirteen months there and then moved to the United States of America to improve his English.

First stay in the USA

In 1973 Seydou moved to New York (also briefly Texas), where he studied English at Hunter College in New York, and later in the Columbia University American Language Program. He majored in English because he wanted to become an English teacher. He had to work part-time, and sometimes at night, and became ill. In New York he met Rastafarians for the first time, and was also able to see concerts by Jamaican artists such as Burning Spear. At this time he was recording Christian music but never stopped writing his own songs. Eventually he got into various scrapes in New York and returned to the Ivory Coast, where he got into even more trouble until he met up with one of his childhood friends, Fulgence Kassi, who had become a noted television producer. This was the beginning of his real career as a singer, and he began to use the name 'Alpha Blondy'.

Musical career

After various TV shows for Kassi, Blondy recorded his first solo album in 1982, entitled 'Jah Glory'. This album was to have enormous success and would become later a symbol of resistance because of the song 'Brigadier Sabari', where Alpha criticized the harassment by the police. Some of this was based on personal experience, as Alpha himself had seen police violence. Alpha Blondy became a big star in Abidjan with his own African twist of Reggae music, becoming in the eyes of his fans 'the Bob Marley of Africa'. Alpha Blondy is spiritual, political and positive just like Marley himself, and even recorded a cover of Bob Marley's song 'War'. And he doesn't stop progressing; in order to reach more people with his message, he chose to sing in many languages: English, French, Baoule, and his own native language – Dioula. Later he also brought new instrumentation to his brand of reggae such as the violin and cello.

Soon the fame of Alpha Blondy spread to Europe. Following the success of an EP entitled “Rasta Poué” he went to Paris in 1984 to make his second album, 'Cocody Rock' with the label Pathe Marconi. The Bob Marley of Africa' traveled to the Island of Jamaica and recorded the title track of this album with Marley’s backing group: The Wailers.

Back home in 1985, Alpha went into the studio to record 'Apartheid is Nazism'. This album was more politically committed than ever. It is a call for the end of Apartheid and the freedom for all. In 1986 Blondy recorded “Jerusalem” at the legendary Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica, again with The Wailers featuring Bob Marley's legendary Bass Aston "Family Man" Barrett. Blondy tried to promote unity between the religion of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. He drew his arguments and inspiration from his own diverse knowledge of the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. That same year, Blondy sang in Hebrew during a concert in Morocco. At this point he was touring continuously. His new album 'Revolution' had a lighter, gentler sound; this was the album with cellos in the instrumentation, and the line-up included veteran Ivory Coast singer Aicha Kone. The album also included "Jah Houphouët parle", a long speech by the Ivory Coast president with only the most minimal beat behind it.

Blondy spent the years 1987–1989 giving concerts and recording 'SOS Guerre Tribale' in Abidjan. This was promoted by Blondy himself as he was distancing himself from Pathe Marconi at this stage. This was not to be a real success but this wasn't going to stop Blondy and in 1991 he returned to Europe for a concert tour and to record his famous album: 'Masada' with the help of musical legends such as Bocana Maiga and UK reggae producer Denis Bovell. The album, with its hit single 'Rendez Vous' was a huge success, and later, Blondy was to receive his first Gold Disc in Paris.

At the beginning of 1993, worn out from a world tour, Blondy succumbed to depression and was taken into an institution for psychiatric help. But as his health recovered he recorded the album 'Dieu' ('God'), where he appears more spiritual and religious, on tracks such as 'Heal Me', about his illness and recovery.

Blondy's psychiatric treatment continued but, on December 10, 1994, Blondy was back with the festival in memory of the late President Houphouet, and later he made his European comeback at a storming concert at Le Zenith in Paris. In 1996, Blondy released a hits compilation and went back into the studio to record the album 'Grand Bassam Zion', singing in six languages; Malinke, Arabic, French, English, Ashanti and Wolof.

After two more years in Paris, Blondy returned to his homeland in 1998, with a new album 'The Prophet'. Convinced his label was too much focused on the international market, he decided to create his own label. Since then Alpha has recorded albums and singles, such as: 'Yitzhak Rabin' in memory of the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995 (this was accompanied by yet another grueling tour of Europe), the single 'Journaliste en Danger' from his album 'Elohim' in 2000.

Alpha Blondy celebrated 20 years as a recording artist, with the release of his CD "MERCI", in 2002 featuring Ophelie Winter and Saian Supa Crew, which earned him a 2003 Grammy Awards Nomination for "BEST REGGAE ALBUM". However due to the political situation in his home country of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), he was unable to personally attend the prestigious award ceremony in New York City. In an unprecedented move, the Grammy Awards permitted him to send his representative in his place of honor. In 2005 'Akwaba' was released. His latest CD is entitled "Jah Victory" and was released July 2007. It features Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare as well as Tyrone Downie formerly of Bob Marley and the Wailers. "Victory" is in honor of the peace agreement that was reached and implemented in his country in March 2007.

One of his most popular and successful songs was Sébé Allah Y'é.

Recently, July 19, 2009, Alpha Blondy performed at New York's Central Park before a crowd of many native Africans, Jamaicans, and Americans

June 13, 2010, a large crowd was allowed into a Blondy concert in the Ivory Coast to celebrate the peace and unity of the country, and at least 20 people were injured of which two died.

June 27, 2010, Alpha Blondy was closing act at Parkpop, The Hague, The Netherlands. He replaced Snoop Dogg and Beenie Man.

Blondy has also been an important influence on other African reggae artists such as Ismaël Isaac.

Faith

Alpha Blondy was born to a Muslim mother and a Christian father, and was brought up by a grandmother who taught him to love everyone. Alpha Blondy's respect for all religions and the spirituality he derives from them can be heard on the tracks “God is One” or “Jerusalem” where he sang for unity between all religions in 1986.

Humanitarian

Alpha Blondy (Seydou Kone) was named United Nations Ambassador of Peace for Côte d'Ivoire in 2005. He made great efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to his country's political and physical division which was a result of an attempted Coup in 2001. As of March 2007 a peace agreement was signed and implemented, due to the hard work of many people including Alpha Blondy. Alpha now reaches out further with the newly created Not-for-Profit, Non Government, Non Political, Charitable Foundation, Alpha Blondy Jah Glory Foundation, which purposely and deliberately work towards ending social injustice and generational poverty by giving people the tools that they need to help themselves. He strongly believes in helping the poor (Jah Glory), and also that it should not hurt to a child. The Foundation strives to create and implement grassroots programs at the village level such as the Women’s Self-Sufficiency Micro Loan Program, to teach women who are caring for multiple orphans how to start and manage their own business, to better provide for their families, as well as other sustainable projects, such as the Tafari-Genesis Retreat Camp for Children (Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso). It especially hopes to bring joy and hope to children who have been affected by civil wars, Former Child Soldiers, and those who suffer from chronic life threatening illnesses, such as sickle cell anemia, malaria, asthma, etc.

Talking about Alpha Blondy, people think usually of music and indeed since 1980 he has written at least 17 albums and 194 titles. This itself indicates the great value he represents for his fans. Alpha is no longer an Ivorian star but an International Mega Star because of his fight for peace and unity all around the world. One example was his single “Who Are You” with Ophelie Winter against antipersonnel mines. He has also participated at many humanitarian and charity concerts, such as the concert in Senegal in March 2006 for the eradication of Malaria in Africa (where he appeared along with many other celebrities). He has done much, much more of this type of work in the Ivory Coast itself, especially at his annual free concert at Bassam beach called “festa”.

Best known songs

His first success was ''Brigadier Sabari''. Some representative songs are :

''Sebe Allah Y'e''

''Jah Glory'' – in which he sings against poverty

''Apartheid is Nazism''

''Brigadier Sabari'' – satirical lyrics about police brutality.

''Cocody Rock'' – has become an Alpha Blondy anthem, which everyone knows and sings

''Guerre Civile'' – about civil war

''Jerusalem'' – a call for peace in Israel. The lyrics begins with a Hebrew prayer in Hebrew

''Journalistes en danger'' – about the assassination of Norbert Zongo

''Politiqui'' – about civilian / military government alternance

''Yitzhak Rabin'' – written in 1995, following the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and dedicated to him.

''Sweet Fanta Diallo''

''Téré''

''Blesser''

''Rasta Poué''

Discography

1980s

{|class=wikitable |- !Album/Released !!Track List !!Notes |- |''Jah Glory!'' (1983) || # "Jah Glory" # "The End" # "Bêbi Yêrê Yé" # "Bintou Wêrê-wêrê" # "Brigadier Sabari" # "Dou Nougnan" ||featuring The Natty Rebels |- |''Cocody Rock!'' (1984) || # "Cocody Rock" # "Tere" # "Super Powers" # "Interplanetary Revolution" # "Fangan Kameleba" # "Bory Samory" || |- |''Apartheid Is Nazism'' (1985) || # "Afriki" # "Jah Houphouet" # "Apartheid Is Nazism" # "Idjidja" # "Sahel" # "Sebe Allah Y'e" # "Kiti" # "Come Back Jesus" # "Djinamory" || |- |''Jerusalem'' (1986) || # "Jerusalem" # "Politiqui" # "Bloodshed In Africa" # "I Love Paris" # "Kalachnikov Love" # "Travailler C'est Trop Dur" # "Miva" # "Boulevard De La Mort" # "Dji" ||featuring Wailers Band |- |''Revolution'' (1987) || # "Sweet Fanta Diallo" # "Blesser" # "Jah Houphouet Boigny Nous Parle" # "Rock And Roll Remedy" # "Time" # "Election Koutcha" # "Miri" ||featuring The Solar System |- |''Rasta Poué'' (1988) || # "Rasta Poué" # "Bintou Wêrê-wêrê" # "Jah Glory" # "Dou Nougnan" # "Brigadier Sabari" # "The End" # "Bêbi Yêrê Yé" # "Rasta Fou" |- |''The Prophets'' (1989) || # "The Prophet (Allah Léka Netchi)" # "Banana" # "Coup D'etat" # "Kolombaria" # "Face To Face" # "Black Men Tears" # "Corinthiens" # "Jah Music" ||featuring The Solar System |}

1990s

{|class=wikitable |- !Album / Released !!Track List |- |''Masada'' (1992)featuring The Solar System || # "Masada" # "Multipartisme (Mediocratie)" # "Rendez-vous" # "God Is One" # "Yeye" # "Desert Storm" # "Houphouet Yako" # "Peace In Liberia" # "Papa Bakoye" # "Les Chiens" # "Sciences Sans Conscience" # "Fulgence Kassy" # "Ca Me Fait Si Mal" # "Mystic Night Move" |- |''SOS Guerre Tribale'' (1993) || # "Babylone Kêlê" # "Yagba Dimension" # "Cissê Kiri" # "Café Cacao" # "Sida In The City" # "Véto De Dieu" |- |''Live Au Zénith (Paris)'' (1993) || # "Intro: Jah Houphouët Boigny Nous Parle" # "Psaume 23" # "Jerusalem" # "Masada" # "Politiqui" # "Cocody Rock" # "Multipartisme (Médiocratie)" # "God Is One" # "Dji" # "Come Back Jesus" # "Bénédiction" |- |''Dieu'' (1994)featuring The Solar System || # "Abortion Is A Crime" # "Dieu" # "Wild Time" # "Amour Papier Longueur" # "La Guerre (d'après "War" de Bob Marley & The Wailers)" # "Mon Père Avait Raison" # "Rocking Time" # "Heal Me" # "Gorée (Sénégal)" # "Afrique-Antilles" # "Soukeina (Nangnele)" # "Dos Au Mur" |- |''Grand Bassam Zion Rock'' (1996)featuring The Solar System || # "Ragga Gangstar" # "Alpha Kaya" # "Zion Love" # "Course Au Pouvoir" # "Ya Fohi" # "Valérie" # "Grand Bassam" # "Mo" # "Cheik Amadou Bamba" # "Sefon Dance" # "Unité Nationale" # "Silence Houphouët D'or" # "N'kabourou" # "Mystère Naturel" |- |''The Best Of (Alpha Blondy album)'' (1997) || # "Cocody Rock" # "Apartheid Is Nazism" # "Come Back Jesus" # "Jerusalem" # "Politiqui" # "Sweet Fanta Diallo" # "Banana" # "Café Cacao" # "Masada" # "Rendez-vous" # "Yéyé" # "Fulgence Kassy" # "Amour Papier Longueur" # "Rendez-vous (Cool Summer Mix)" |- |''Yitzhak Rabin'' (1998)featuring The Solar System || # "New Dawn" # "Yitzhak Rabin" # "Assinie Mafia" # "Les Imbeciles" # "Armee Francaise" # "Hypocrites" # "Guerre Civile" # "Saraka" # "Les Larmes De Therese" # "Lalogo" # "Bakoroni" # "Maimouna" |- |''Elohim'' (1999) || # "Les Voleurs De La Republique" # "Monin" # "Journalistes En Danger (Democrature)" # "Waikiki Rock" # "When I Need You" # "Take No Prisoner (Cannibalistic)" # "Petini Go Gaou" # "Sabotage" # "Lune De Miel (Honeymoon)" # "Haridjinan" # "La Queu Du Diable" # "Dictature" # "Djeneba" # "Black Samourai" |}

2000s

{|class=wikitable |- !Album / Released !!Track List |- |''Paris Bercy'' (2001) ||

CD 1

# "Intro" # "New Dawn" # "Hypocrite" # "Jah Glory" # "La Queue Du Diable" # "Black Samourai" # "Samala" # "Sweet Fanta Diallo" # "Assinie Mafia" # "Guerre Civile" # "Las Iarmes De Thérèse" # "Peace In Liberia"

CD 2

# "Les Imbeciles" # "Unité Nationale" # "Medley: Afriki/Bintou/Idjidja/Samory/Rasta Poué" # "Haridjinan" # "Journalistes En Danger" # "Dou Nougnan" # "Tere" # "Brigadier Sabari " |- |''Merci'' (2002) || # "Wari" # "Who Are You" # "Quitte Dans Ça" # "Souroukou Logo" # "God Bless Africa" # "Zoukéfiez-moi Ça" # "Ato Afri Loué" # "Politruc" # "Hey Jack" # "Vanité" # "Si On M'avait Dit" # "Le Feu" |- |''Akwaba: The Very Best Of'' (2005)featuring The Solar System || # "Sweet Sweet (Mix)" # "Good Luck Is Africa" # "Yana De Fohi" # "Apartheid Is Nazism" # "Cocody Rock (Remix)" # "Jerusalem" # "Banana Poyo (Mix)" # "Black Samourai" # "Rasta Poué" # "Travailler C'est Trop Dur" # "Rendez-vous (Cool Summer Mix)" # "Assinie Mafia" # "Masada" # "Wari" # "Young Guns" # "Sweet Fanta Diallo" # "Afriki" # "Desert Storm" # "Bloodshed In Africa" # "Dieu" |- |''Jah Victory'' (2007) || # "I Wish You Were Here" # "Sankara" # "Ranita" # "Ne Tirez Pas Sur L'Ambulance" # "Demain T'Appartient" # "Bahia" # "Mister Grande Gueule" # "Africa Yako" # "Cameroun" # "Jah Light" # "Le Bal Des Combattus" # "Tampiri" # "Les Salauds" # "Sales Racistes" # "Ikafo" # "Jesus" # "Gban-gban" # "La Planete" # "La Route De La Paix" |}

2010s

{|class=wikitable |- !Album / Released !!Track List |- |''Vision'' (2011) || # "Rasta Bourgeois" # "Stewball" # "Trop Bon" # "Pinto (Mon Kôyoga Préféré)" # "C'est Magic" # "Tu Mens" # "Ma Tête" # "Vuvuzela" # "Bôgô" # "Ces Soi-Disant Amis" # "Massaya" # "Le Cha-Cha-Cha Du CFA" # "L'Autre Rive" # "Vuvuzela - Remix By Kore, Featuring Leslie" # "Vuvuzela Video"

References

External links

Official website

Sahel University, (2006). Alpha Blondy’s Actions.

Alpha Blondy Grammy Awards nomination; retrieved June 2007 from

PCCI Center, (2006). Alpha Blondy’s Engagements.

Alpha Blondy Music

Category:1953 births Category:Ivorian reggae musicians Category:Ivorian singers Category:Living people Category:People from Dimbokro

ar:ألفا بلوندي cs:Alpha Blondy de:Alpha Blondy el:Άλφα Μπλόντι es:Alpha Blondy fr:Alpha Blondy it:Alpha Blondy he:אלפא בלונדי sw:Alpha Blondy ht:Alpha Blondy hu:Alpha Blondy nl:Alpha Blondy ja:アルファ・ブロンディ pl:Alpha Blondy pt:Alpha Blondy ru:Альфа Блонди fi:Alpha Blondy sv:Alpha Blondy tr:Alpha Blondy

Name	Jacques Vergès
Birth name	Jacques Vergès
Birth date	March 05, 1925
Birth place	Ubon Ratchathani, Siam (now called Thailand)
Residence	Paris, France
Nationality	French
Known for	Lawyer who has represented well-known war criminals.
Education	University of Paris law degree
Occupation	Lawyer
Spouse	Djamila Bouhired
Parents	Raymond Vergès
Website	}}

Jacques Vergès, born 5 March 1925 in Ubon Ratchathani, Siam (now called Thailand), is a French-Vietnamese lawyer who has earned fame continually since the 1950s, first as an anticolonialist communist figure and then for defending a long string of well-known clients from anticolonialist Algerian militant Djamila Bouhired (his future wife) in 1957-1962 to former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan (2008). His clients have included both leftwing and rightwing terrorists, war criminals, and militants, including Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie (1987), and international terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal (1994). In 2002, he offered to represent former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, although Milošević declined any legal advice from any party. The media have sensationalized him with the sobriquet, "the Devil's advocate", and he himself has contributed to his "notorious" public persona by such acts as titling his autobiography ''The Brilliant Bastard'' and giving provocative replies in interviews. He claims that when asked if he would have defended Hitler, he replied, "...I'd even defend Bush! But only if he agrees to plead guilty."

Biography

Born in Siam (now called Thailand) and brought up on the island of Réunion, Jacques Vergès is the son of Raymond Vergès, a French diplomat, and a Vietnamese mother. In 1942, with his father's encouragement, he sailed to Liverpool to become part of the Free French Forces under Charles de Gaulle, and to participate in the anti-Nazi resistance. After the war Jacques went to the University of Paris to study law (his brother Paul Vergès went on to become the leader of the Reunionese Communist Party and Member of the European Parliament). In 1949 Jacques became president of the AEC (Association for Colonial Students), where he met and befriended Pol Pot. In 1950 at the request of his Communist mentors he went to Prague to lead a youth organization for four years.

Algerian independence movement

After returning to France, Vergès became an attorney and quickly gained fame for his willingness to take controversial cases. During the struggle in Algiers he defended many accused of terrorism by the French government. He was a supporter of the Algerian armed independence struggle against France, comparing it to French armed resistance to the Nazi German occupation in the 1940s. Vergès became a nationally-known figure following his defense of suspected anti-French Algerian guerrilla Djamila Bouhired on terrorism charges (she was accused of blowing up a café, a civilian target). This is where he pioneered the rupture strategy in which he accused the prosecution of the same offenses as the defendants. She was condemned to death but pardoned and freed following public pressure brought on by Vergès' efforts. After many years she married Vergès, who had by this time converted to Islam. They had two children, Meriem and Liess Vergès, later followed by a grand-daughter, Fatima Nur Vergès-Habboub, daughter of Meriem and her husband Fouad. In an effort to limit Vergès' success at defending Algerian clients he was sentenced to two months in jail in 1960 and temporarily lost his license to officially practice law for anti-state activities.

Missing years

From 1970-78, Vergès disappeared from public view without explanation. To this day Verges refuses to comment about those years remarking in an interview with Der Spiegel that "It's highly amusing that no one, in our modern police state, can figure out where I was for almost 10 years". Vergès was last seen on 24 February 1970. He left his famous wife, Djamila, and cut off all his ties, leaving friends and family to wonder if he had been killed. His whereabouts during these years have remained a mystery. Many of his close associates of the time assume that he was in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge, a rumor Pol Pot (Brother #1) and Ieng Sary (Brother #2) both denied. There have also been claims that Vergès was spotted in Paris as well as in various Arab countries in the company of Palestine Liberation groups.

Defense

Upon his return to normal life he resumed his legal practice, defending Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, convicted of terrorism, and Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie. The thrust of his defense in the latter case was that Barbie was being singled out for prosecution while the French state conveniently ignored other cases that qualified as crimes against humanity.

In 1999 Vergès sued Amnesty International on behalf of the government of Togo. In 2001, on behalf of Idriss Déby, president of Chad, Omar Bongo, president of Gabon, and Denis Sassou-Nguesso, head of the Republic of the Congo, he sued François-Xavier Verschave for his book ''Noir silence'' denouncing the crimes of the ''Françafrique'' on the charges of "offense toward a foreign state leader". The attorney general observed how this crime recalled the lese majesty crime; the court thus deemed it contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, thus leading to Verschave's acquittal.

After the US-led occupation forces invaded Iraq in March 2003 and deposed president Saddam Hussein, many former leaders in Saddam's regime were arrested. In May 2008 Tariq Aziz assembled a team that included Vergès as well as four Italian and a French-Lebanese lawyers. In late 2003 when the United States arrested Saddam, Vergès also offered to defend Saddam if he was asked to. However, Saddam's family opted not to use Vergès as part of his defense team instead first hiring a team of lawyers based out of Jordan then making Khalil al-Duleimi the sole legal counsel.

In April 2008 former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan made his first appearance at Cambodia's genocide tribunal. Vergès is using the defense that while Samphan has never denied that many people in Cambodia were killed, as head of state, he was never directly responsible.

See also

''L'Avocat de la terreur'' (Terror's Advocate), a 2007 documentary about Vergès

References

Notes

Footnotes

External links

Interview with Verges

Cambodia Tribunal Monitor

Category:1925 births Category:Expatriates in Thailand Category:French communists Category:University of Paris alumni Category:French lawyers Category:Living people Category:French people of Vietnamese descent

de:Jacques Vergès es:Jacques Vergès fr:Jacques Vergès gl:Jacques Vergès it:Jacques Vergès nl:Jacques Vergès pl:Jacques Vergès pt:Jacques Vergès fi:Jacques Vergès tr:Jacques Vergès