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United States Embassy (Abidjan)

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

20 December 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 disarmament program is one of the major stories in today's Ivorian press, as President Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday said the program will start on Saturday, December 22. Reports also say that former rebels in Bouake [New Forces' stronghold] protested on Tuesday to demand payment of bonuses. The celebration of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha is also a subject of front-page stories in the Ivorian papers.

2. Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party): The paper runs a banner headline reading, "Disarmament is set to start on Saturday [December 22]." This announcement, reports the paper, was made by President Gbagbo during a political gathering in Abidjan on Tuesday. The president, indicates Notre Voie, also used the opportunity to inform the population that upcoming presidential elections will be organized in Cote d'Ivoire by late June 2008. "The disarmament will effectively start on December 22. We need to move forward for the interest of Cote d'Ivoire. I guarantee you that by the end of June [2008], we'll organize elections," the paper quotes Gbagbo as saying.

3. While Gbagbo said the disarmament is set to start this coming Saturday, 24 Heures (a daily close to the opposition) says "Soro [the Ivorian Prime Minister] is under pressure, because his soldiers are not prepared to lay down their guns."

4. In a different story, 24 Heures tells readers, what it calls "the true reasons" behind the mutiny that was staged by angry former rebels last Tuesday in New Forces' stronghold of Bouake. For about three hours, writes the paper, disgruntled soldiers fired shots in the air to demand the payment of bonuses worth 5,000 Francs CFA for each soldier. This riot, notes the paper, came a few days before the beginning of the disarmament program, which is officially planned to kick off next Saturday.

5. The paper, however, questions the rationale behind the movement at this stage of the peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire, and wonders whether it was "a serious anger or just a comedy." Regarding the disarmament program, the paper culls an interview from Sidwaya [a Burkinabe newspaper] in which Issiaka Ouattara, a military commander of the New Forces, said: "The disarmament will go on slowly."

6. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A banner headline that runs across the paper says that "business has resumed in Bouake in the wake of gun shootings." On the riot itself, the paper reports that "about hundred New Forces' soldiers, who did not receive their 5,000 Francs CFA food allowance on the eve of the celebration of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, went on a rampage." According to the paper, the disgruntled soldiers came from Angouayaokro military base, which is also a training center for New Forces' commandos.

7. Reacting to the event, the spokesperson of the New Forces, Sidiki Konate called it "a misunderstanding" on the payment of bonuses, reports Fraternite Matin. Sidiki also said: "The incident is over. A few hours after the demonstrations, life returned to normalcy," he is reported as saying. Meanwhile, the Ivorian government, in a communique, expressed "its satisfaction as order has been restored in Bouake," reports the paper. "It reassures workers and the whole national community that the State is ensuring that the security of everyone is assured and that measures will be taken to ensuring that the issue regarding the payment of the payment of the bonuses does not derail the peace process."

8. In the wake of the event in Bouake, L'inter (a privately-owned daily) takes the mood of soldiers in cities formerly under the control of the New Forces -- including Man, Korhogo and Bouna. According to the paper, the atmosphere was relatively calm in these areas during and after the riot. However, comments the paper, the Tuesday's mutiny in Bouake was "a bad signal for Soro and his men." It further comments that it is "a serious setback" for the Ivorian peace process. The paper urges the New Forces' leaders, who are "fully engaged" in this process after the signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, to put in place "all necessary measures to pre-empt such deviations in future."

9. Meanwhile, the President of the Islamic National Council (CNI), Imam Idriss Koudouss Kone, called on Ivorians to "sacrifice" for peace to return in their country, reports Fraternite Matin. The religious leader was speaking in Abidjan yesterday, as Muslins from all walks of life gathered in the Ivorian economic capital to celebrate Eid al-Adha. As part of this celebration, reports the paper, "Muslims and Christians gathered in Abidjan to pray."

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