allAfrica.com: Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review (Page 1 of 1)

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

In today's edition, the state-owned daily reported that the Ivorian authorities sought the support of the United States to finance a civic education program in Cote d'Ivoire. The former New Forces military commander, Kone Zacharia, who was sacked by the leadership for indiscipline, was again in the spotlight. The peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire and a report by a US-based Human Rights Watch on the spate of violence in Cote d'Ivoire are the other major news stories in today's newspapers.

1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A report filed by the paper's correspondent in Washington said that the Ivorian President's Deputy Chief of Staff, Sarata Ottro Zirignon-Toure, who was on an official visit to the United States, pleaded with American policy makers - Senators Russel Feingold of Wisconsin and Edward Royce, the former Chairman of African Committee in the US Congress - to help implement a civic education program. According to the paper, the program, which was crafted by the Ivorian government as part of the ongoing peace process, is due to begin today. The paper further explained that the program is intended "to provide training for about 20,000 demobilized ex-fighters from the New Forces, self-defense militia groups, and also other youths, who were familiarized with guns." Speaking after a meeting with American Congressmen, Mrs Zirignon-Toure reportedly said: "The civic education program was designed to reintegrate former combatants from both armed forces [government and New Forces] into the society, where they can choose to do the job they want." According to the paper, "President Gbagbo's emissary used the occasion to urge the Americans authorities to provide financial support to this vital program, which is recommended as part of the resolution of the crisis." In the report, Fraternite Matin's Washington reporter quoted a senior staffer Senator Russel Feingold as saying: "The resolution of the Ivorian crisis constitutes a model in terms of solutions to the current crisis on the African continent."

2. Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition): As the former New Forces military commander, Kone Zacharia, who was sacked by the leadership for indiscipline a few days ago continues to hit the headlines, a prominent front-page story in this paper said that the spokesperson of the New Forces, Sidiki Konate was trying "to calm things down." The paper said in reacting to previous news reports that suspected "a connection between IB (Ibrahim Coulibaly, ex-member of the New Forces) and Kone Zacharia," Konate said: "Zacharia is not with IB." According to Konate, the New Forces leader-turned Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro "spoke with Zacharia, who will come back soon."

3. Le Temps (a daily close to the ruling FPI party): A banner headline that ran across this paper said that "a commando is tracking down the former New Forces military commander who is still running." The paper allegedly reported that "Kone Zacharia, who was in Mali, left this country following pressure from the Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure. After taking refuge in Burkina Faso, he [Kone Zacharia] is now negotiating with Soro to come back home." Le Matin d'Abidjan (another daily close to the ruling FPI) told readers that "Kone Zacharia was arrested in Burkina Faso." Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Ivorian ruling party, Pascal Affi N'Guessan, who was commenting on the dismissal of the New Forces military commander, was quoted by L'intelligent d'Abidjan (a privately-owned daily) as saying, "This is an internal matter to the New Forces."

4. The issue of internal disputes within both the New Forces and the ruling party with regard to the implementation of the peace process is a subject of a front-page item in Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition). With a story entitled: "Gbagbo and Soro are fighting their devils," the paper noted that more than a year after the signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, "The Ivoirian President and his Prime Minister have made a giant stride." The paper further said "Their achievements get no support within their own camps, as internal disagreements are emerging from both sides."

5. Commenting on the identification program designed to provide identity documents to Ivorians ahead of the upcoming elections, Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) carried a prominent story in which it accused SAGEM, the French group that has been appointed to conduct the identification program, for "preparing fraud." "Under the pretext that the time is running out and that there is a need to speed up the process, SAGEM has decided to print voters' cards to be used in the coming election in France." The paper attributed the remarks to unnamed well-informed sources. The same sources, the paper went on, hinted that "SAGEM conspicuously wanted to print the voters' cards outside in a bid to sideline the National Statistics Institute (INS)." The paper reminded readers that the French group was appointed by the Ivorian authorities and had been tasked to conduct, "in collaboration with the INS, programs including the identification of the population, voters' registration, and the establishment of the national identity and voters' cards." In a commentary, the paper underscored the necessity for "a transparent election" in Cote d'Ivoire, as "the only way to definitely resolve the lingering political crisis in this country."

6. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party): A story in this paper said that Human Rights Watch demanded the government of Cote d'Ivoire to take immediate steps to end "impunity for members of FESCI (a pro-government student group)." According to the paper, the NGO, Human Rights Watch said: "Since 2002, when a failed coup attempt plunged the country into a political and military crisis, the Student Federation of Cote d'Ivoire (Federation Estudiantine et Scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire, FESCI) has been responsible for politically and criminally motivated violence, including murder, assault, extortion, and rape. Attacks have often targeted perceived opponents of the ruling party, the Popular Ivorian Front (Front Populaire Ivoirien, FPI)."

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine


Use our pull-down menus to find more stories

Today's Most Active Stories