United States Embassy (Abidjan)
28 November 2007
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. Reports on President Laurent Gbagbo and his Prime Minister Guillaume Soro meeting with Blaise Compaoré the Peace Process facilitator in Ouagadougou; the upcoming elections; and the visit of the Head of State in Northern Cote d'Ivoire are the main topics in today's Ivoirian press.
2. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): According to the paper, President Gbagbo and his Prime Minister Soro signed yesterday an agreement setting the presidential elections date to June 2008; other members of the delegation involved in negotiating the supplementary agreements will sign them this morning. The paper says that with the signing of these agreements, tension over the dates of the elections will be lowered.
Regarding President Gbagbo's trip to the north, the paper reports that 4,500 troops which include Governement security forces, New Forces, Licorne and U.N. operations in Cote d'Ivoire have been deployed to the north to secure the region.
3. In somewhat different report from that of Fraternité Matin, 24 Heures (a daily close to the opposition) reports that President Gbagbo and his Prime Minister left Ouagadougou without signing the supplementary agreements because they did not resolve difficulties during their talks. However, the paper said, dates of disarmament and elections have been set.
4. In L'Intelligent d'Abidjan (a privately-owned daily) a front-page story in the paper says - "Manoeuver for a six year transition without dates: Presidents Compaoré and Gbagbo break Soro's dream." The paper reports that the supplementary agreements of Ouagadougou have ended Soro's dream to stay for ever in the office of Prime Minister. The paper also reports that Gbagbo and Soro have agreed to keep SAGEM as the technical operator charged with the establishment of new Ivoirian identity cards and voting cards. Thus, neither the presidential camp nor the New Forces will have control of the system.
5. In Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition), Fofié Kouakou Martin the war lord in charge of Korhogo zone is quoted as saying, "The visit of President Gbagbo to the North is the symbol of the reunification of Cote d'Ivoire. The population is waiting for Gbagbo to come to officially announce them that the war has really ended."
The paper also reports that at the Ouagadougou meeting yesterday, President Gbagbo and his Prime Minister agreed to hold elections in June 2008. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina stated that the exact elections dates will be fixed by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) once it receives the timetables of the technical operator in charge of the electoral census.
6. In Nord-Sud Quotien (a daily close to the opposition RDR) a front-page headline says: "Blocage of the peace process, Gbagbo and Soro Guillaume defused the bomb". The paper reports that after the collapse of last week's meeting in Ouagadougou, President Gbagbo has decided to take into his hands the talks on the supplementary agreements. The paper further reports that at the end of the talks, and in the absence of a final statement, Djibril Bassolé, the Burkinabe Foreign Minister explained to journalists that the discussions were on the practical aspects that will permit to accelerate the peace process and enter into the phase of the preparation of elections.
7. In Le Rebond (a daily close to PDCI-RDA party), a front-page story talks about the real reasons of the travel of Gbagbo and Soro to Ouagadoudou. In the report the paper says "The ex-belligerents in Ouagadougou are in dissent - Gbagbo and Soro have gone to their rescue to reconcile different views on the identification process." The paper also said that the other reason for Gbagbo's travel is to discuss the case of Antoine Bohoun Bouabré as the future governor of the West Africa States Central Bank (BCEAO) in replacement of Charles Konan Banny.
On Gbagbo's visit to the North, the paper also reports that the choice of President Gbagbo to visit four towns in the north (Korhogo, Ferkéssédougou, Boundiali and Tengrela) is not fortuitous. According to the paper, these towns are "the native towns of his henchmen who will help him re-conquer the sympathy of the population."
8. In Le Matin d'Abidjan (a daily close to ruling FPI party) a front-page story says "Gbagbo and Soro lift the blockages in Ouagadougou; the President at the re-conquest of the 322,462 km2". According to the paper, Gbagbo and Soro did not sign the final document because of the delay in the dispelling of divergences marked by the clash provoked by the Minister of Interior, chief of the presidential camp delegation at a meeting last week.
As for Gbagbo's visit to the North, the paper said the population claims that this visit is proof that Ivorians want peace; and for President Gbagbo, his visit in the North is the result of a process which aims at recovering all the dimension of his power.
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