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. Today's Ivoirian press is dominated by Ivoirian leader Laurent Gbagbo's visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly's meeting, and a report issued by the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) on the Human Rights situation in Cote d'Ivoire. Meanwhile, the Ivoirian former head of State, Henri Konan Bedie, is in the limelight today after his first rally organized over the weekend ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in this West African country.

2. "Extraordinary mobilization," says a banner headline that runs across Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the former ruling party PDCI-RDA. According to the paper, "More than 30,000 Ivoirians attended the rally held in Dabou -- about 50 km from Abidjan - last Saturday by former president Henri Konan Bedie."

3. The paper quotes Bedie as saying, "Those who have proclaimed the death of PDCI-RDA are dreaming." Bedie is also reported as saying, "Under the FPI's regime, the economy of the country has been completely decayed, and the party [FPI] has no project."

4. "Bedie criticizes Gbagbo and FPI," writes 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. According to the paper, the former Ivoirian leader suggested that, "The country needed shock therapy to restore the rule of law which had been eroded by years of crisis."

5. Bedie, speaking in Dabou, called on Ivoirians "to vote out the ruling FPI party," reports Le Jour Plus, a daily close to the opposition.

6. With a picture of Bedie on its front-page, Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces, says "Bedie has launched his campaign in Dabou," in the perspective of the upcoming elections in Cote d'Ivoire. In a commentary, the paper says, "Bedie wants to bring down the ruling FPI party." According to the paper, Bedie is committed "to restoring the rule of law, security, and development of the national economy."

7. In a front-page story, Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling PFI party, accuses the former Ivoirian president of "insulting Ivoirians." Regarding the coming elections, the paper wonders, "How Bedie, who had never accepted foreign observers during elections when he was in power, now demand the UN and the international community to supervise the coming polls in Cote d'Ivoire." "Today, Bedie has become a champion of democracy and of freedom of the press," notes the paper, which concludes, "If this is true, then all Ivoirians should pray that he [Bedie] remains in the opposition for ever."

8. In a related development, the paper announces that the public hearings are scheduled to begin "tomorrow in Ferkessedougou - northern-east Cote d'Ivoire -- and in Ouaragahio - central-western Cote d'Ivoire." The paper publishes a statement issued by the government calling on the population to fully take part in the exercise in order to ensure its success.

9. According to L'inter, a privately-owned newspaper, "Court clerks, who threatened to boycott the identification process, have now agreed to get involved in the program." The paper reports that, "The Ivoirian government has assured the court clerks to examine their grievances in order to find a solution."

10. Still on the identification process, Gbagbo told Ivoirians living in the United States that, "Some people think the public hearings are set to create confusion... We are living in a state of law, where there are rules. So, don't be wary, I gave instructions to the prefects, the deputy prefects, and the magistrates," reports L'inter.

11. Le Courrier d'Abidjan, a daily close to the Ivoirian leader, said: "Gbagbo tried to restore confidence among Ivoirians living in the United States." Gbagbo, speaking on the margins of his meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York, promised "to ensure security throughout the country." He also called on Ivoirians to come back and to invest in their country.

12. Before his address at the 62nd UN General Assembly, "Gbagbo is to hold talks with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon," reports the state-owned daily, Fraternite Matin. According to the paper, "Gbagbo met with Rosa Whitaker and her lobby group yesterday," and he is scheduled to hold "talks with the US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer today."

13. Finally, in its weekend edition, Fraternite Matin says, "The U.N. Operation in Cote d'Ivoire has issued a report accusing the country's former rebel and government forces of committing human-rights violations." It says these include such acts as "arbitrary arrests and imprisonments by rebels in the north and the use of torture and summary executions by President Laurent Gbagbo's army in the south," reports the paper.