United States Embassy (Abidjan)
18 April 2008
This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Ivorian newspapers today reported on the following - the signing of the agreement between the government of Cote d'Ivoire and SAGEM (French group to conduct the identification of the Ivorian population) on Thursday; pressure by the coalition of political parties and movements supporting President Laurent Gbagbo for the completion of the disarmament program before the elections; and the arms embargo imposed on Cote d'Ivoire by the UN Security Council in 2004.
1. With a picture of the Ivorian Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro and Jean-Paul Jainsky, Managing Director of SAGEM on its front page, L'intelligent d'Abidjan (a privately-owned daily) announced that the French group has now received the government's "green light" to commence the identification program aimed at providing "new national identity cards" to Ivorians.
2. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): Reporting on the agreement between SAGEM and the Ivorian government, the paper quoted the head of the French group as saying, "We won't deceive the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister." This agreement, estimated at 161 million dollars, will enable SAGEM "to provide technical assistance and to conduct the identification scheme in collaboration with national institutions that are involved in the establishment of the electoral rolls." The paper further quoted the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), Robert Beugre Mambe, as saying that "The identification program will involve not only SAGEM, but also the National Statistics Institute and any other Ivorian partners in charge of the population identification process and the census of the voters." To ensure the "transparency" of the process, Mambe reportedly said that "provisional electoral rolls will be displayed in public and also be published on the Internet before the polls."
3. According to the paper, after the signing ceremony, the UN Secretary Special Representative in Cote d'Ivoire Y.J. Choi said "The ball is now in the court of the international community to provide economic and financial assistance, for the completion of the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire." The paper also reported on Prime Minister Soro's reaction to the agreement - he said "The government has demonstrated its commitment to organize the elections in 2008."
4. A prominent headline on the front page of Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) said that the CNRD - a coalition of political parties and movements supporting Gbagbo - posed "new conditions" for the organization of the upcoming elections whose date has been set for November 30, this year. According to the paper, the coalition expressed "concerns about the implication of this decision in a country which is still partitioned." One excerpt from the statement said, "In the actual state of the country, no election can be conducted." Other excerpts said, "Such decision suggests that before November 30, 2008, the public administration will be fully deployed throughout the country and the disarmament will be completed. In other words, the long-awaited unification of Cote d'Ivoire will become a reality."
5. L'inter (a privately-owned daily): Reporting on the CNRD's position, the paper carried a prominent story saying that "The Presidential camp is demanding a calendar for the disarmament." The paper also quoted a leading member of the ruling party coalition, who is preoccupied by the identification process. According to the paper, the Spokesperson of the CNRD said "The CNRD thinks that the National Statistics Institute can perfectly do the job [the identification scheme] that has been given to SAGEM."
6. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA): A front-page story in the paper said that a few days after the announcement of the date of the coming presidential elections, the New Forces have decided "to withdraw, regroup and demobilize 1,000 of their former combatants stationed in Bouake."
7. L'inter: The paper carried a prominent item saying that "The Defense and Security Forces in Cote d'Ivoire have rejected an UN accusation that they have violated an arms embargo imposed on Cote d'Ivoire by the UN Security Council in 2004." "We are engaged in the peace process which is under way. Permitting our men to receive military training would be like preparing for war, something which would be absolutely wrong," the paper quoted a senior military official as saying on condition of anonymity.
Media Coverage of Embassy's Activities
L'inter: The paper reported that as part of the PEPFAR (the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire, the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan trained radios producers. The objective of this training, said the positive report, was to launch "Radio Diaries", a program that consists of using the radio to tell the story about the daily life of people living with the HIV virus.
The paper reported that as part of the PEPFAR (the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire, the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan trained radios producers. The objective of this training, said the positive report, was to launch "Radio Diaries", a program that consists of using the radio to tell the story about the daily life of people living with the HIV virus.
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