ABIDJAN, Oct 9 (AFP) - New Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo Thursday appealed for reconciliation at a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of bloodshed following a controversial presidential poll, while mourners chanted his name and booed out opposition politician Alassane Ouattara. "I call for the nation to be reconciled with itself," Gbagbo told an estimated 10,000 people at the ceremony in Abidjan's Houphouet-Boigny stadium, called to remember scores of "martyrs for democracy" killed late last month. "We must make a solemn pledge not to give in to bitterness or spite... let us honour those who fought without hatred, those who died in fighting," he said. "The history of a nation is made up of trials and crises like the one that Ivory Coast has just been through," Gbagbo said, after placing a wreath on the single coffin covered with the national flag and placed at the centre of the arena. But the mourning ceremony took on the flavour of a political meeting as thousands of the new president's young supporters chanted his name, having earlier booed out Ouattara, a former prime minister. Violence between Gbagbo's supporters and those of Ouattara, who was barred fron standing in the poll, which was organised by a military junta which seized power in a coup last December, killed at least 100 people last month.They died after a mass uprising which forced junta leader General Robert Guei to admit defeat at Gbagbo's hands at the polls and stand down. At least 50 people are believed to have been killed in those clashes. Some 171 people are officially reported as having been killed in clashes following the October 22 election. Much of the ethnic violence, which saw mosques and churches burned, pitted people from the mainly Christian south -- Gbagbo's home territory -- against those from the largely Muslim north of the west African country, which has a large immigrant population and is where Ouattara comes from. On his entry into the arena Ouattara was greeted with members of the crowd chanting: "Mossi, get out!" He left the stadium through a side door at the end of the ceremony, saying only he hoped there would be a "real reconciliation". Gbagbo called for honour to be done to those "who fought without hatred, honour to those who died while fighting. Glory to the martyrs of democracy," he added. "Death has no party, it has no religion and it comes from no particular region," he said. He spoke out against the "thirst for power" which he said had led to the violence. "A death is a death and the madness that drove young people out into the streets following the swearing-in is the same madness that led (people) to shoot on young people," he said. Ouattara's supporters had wanted the elections to be rerun, but his party has now reluctantly recognised him as head of state, while refusing to take part in the government ahead of a general election due on December 10. Gbagbo said there would not be new elections. "There are rumours which are as useless as they cause trouble, but I want to say that here in Ivory Coast we will not rewrite the constitution and we will not rerun the presidential election. Let that be clear," he said. He warned against "plotters" who could get involved in "stupid things." Ouattara, leader of the Rally of Republicans (RDR), was barred from running in the poll by a controversial Supreme Court ruling on the grounds that he was partly Burkinabe or had used Burkinabe nationality to further his career. Media backing Ouattara have accused the new, predominantly FPI government, of seeking to "recuperate" the victims of the violence for political ends. Gbagbo renewed promises to let judicial inquiries into last month's violence pursue their work. Gbagbo also said he hoped there would be a reconciliation between the army and the people, following the last 10 months under military rule. Many of the security forces were reported to have fought alongside Gbagbo supporters against Ouattara supporters. The new president told the crowds that the designation of a new military hierarchy would be "a signal to show you that the army and the gendarmerie can protect you, must protect you... and they must be impartial." so-fp/kc/sas _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------