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United States Embassy (Abidjan)

Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review

22 August 2007

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This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

1. The major issues in Wednesday's Ivorian papers include the Ivorian Army Chief of Staff's visit to the military barracks in an attempt to assuage the crisis between the military and the government, and the identification scheme.

2. A banner headline across Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces, says, "Mayors are threatening to boycott the identification program." According to the paper, "The mayors from the central, northern, and western regions, who were displaced as a result of the war, are demanding more money as one of the preconditions to return to their cities."

3. During a meeting between the mayors and the Ivorian security minister recently in Bouake, Le Front reported that "the government promised to pay 5 billion francs CFA (10.3 million dollars) to mayors and general councils representing the grants they are entitled to during the period running from 2002 through 2007."

4. The paper points out that the mayors play "an important role" in the identification process. It therefore calls upon the government to find a "swift solution to their demand," in order to save the identification scheme from "collapsing."

5. While Major General Philippe Mangou, the Ivorian Chief of Defense is touring the military barracks "to bring down tension between the government and soldiers," Le Temps, a daily close to Gbagbo, says the army has launched "a big media campaign designed to fight the wave of rumors, fabrication, and disinformation in the military barracks."

6. According to the paper, the Defense Minister, Michel Amani N'Guessan, advised journalists "to stop taking political problems to the army." N'Guessan was speaking yesterday in Abidjan when he met members of an association of army reporters.

7. The defense minister, who is also quoted by Le Courrier d'Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo, calls upon everyone involved in the military's discontent "to exercise restrain," as "one does not manage an army by talking."

8. Almost a week after the meeting between President Laurent Gbagbo and the soldiers over ranks and war allowances issues, Soir Info, a privately-owned daily, is critical of those involved with ending the crisis. The paper comments, "During his meeting with the defense and security forces, the firmness shown by Gbagbo was seen as a negligence vis-à-vis his soldiers."

9. "Gbagbo betrayed us," said a leader of FS-LIMA, a militia group in western Cote d'Ivoire, in Le Patriote. According to the paper, which is close to the opposition RDR party, "relations between Gbagbo and the militia groups, who supported him, have strained, as they believe they have been abandoned."

10. In a separate development, Le Jour Plus devotes its front page to health issues explaining how the tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are affecting the lives of people in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, "45 per cent of people -- mainly women and young girls - are suffering from the tuberculosis are HIV positive," citing researches carried out by the ministry in charge of combating HIV/AIDS.

11. The state-owned daily, Fraternite Matin, tells readers how the Ivorian authorities are fighting in a bid to reduce piracy that is damaging the work of Ivorian artists. The paper carries a full page in-depth story, saying, "The FESCI - an Ivorian students union - has launched a campaign against the scourge."

12. According to the paper, "Security forces have seized 5,000 illegal audio and video cassettes, while 15 pirates have been arrested in connection with piracy activities in this country."

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