United States Embassy (Abidjan)
4 June 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.
Le Temps, a daily close to the ruling FPI party, today ran a commentary focusing on the likely candidacy of Barack Obama. Le Jour Plus, a daily close to the opposition, carried a prominent story saying that the United Nations has rejected an amnesty law passed by the Ivorian authorities. Other stories included the African Development Bank's financial support to post-crisis projects in Cote d'Ivoire; the presence of Ivorian Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, at the United Nations food summit in Rome, Italy; and a move to set up a West African joint military force.
1. Le Temps (a daily close to the ruling FPI party): Commenting on the results of yesterday's primaries in the United States, the paper said that it is now clear that Barack Obama will represent the Democratic party in the upcoming American presidential elections. The commentary noted that Obama is poised to fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. Le Jour Plus (a privately-owned daily close to the opposition) carried a prominent story reporting on the United Nations' criticism of an amnesty law passed by Ivorian authorities. According to the paper, the law, promulgated on April 12, 2007, covered war crimes committed in Cote d'Ivoire. The paper told readers that the call to "revise the amnesty law to ensure that it conforms to international standards" came from Deputy United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Kyung-Wha Kang, who met with the country's authorities a couple of weeks ago. "In accordance with the universally-recognized principles of international law and practices of the United Nations, no amnesty is possible for war crimes and crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights," the paper quoted the United Nations as saying.
3. Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition): A front-page story in this paper said that disagreement between the National Statistics Institute (INS) and the French Group SAGEM over the identification of the Ivorian population and the establishment of a voter registry is not yet over. The paper alleged that the INS, which is supported by the ruling FPI party, has "changed the rules" that govern the conduct of the program. It went on to say that this dispute is motivated by political, electoral and financial concerns.
4. In a front-page story, Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling party) speculated about "a cabinet shakeup" in Cote d'Ivoire. Citing a reliable source, the paper said that the New Forces' leadership is yet to give up its idea of setting up a cabinet that would be composed only of members from the two sides (the presidential camp and the ex-rebel movement) that signed the March 2007 Ouagadougou Political Agreement. According to the paper, President Blaise Compaore, who is the facilitator in the Ivorian peace process, strongly opposed this plan.
5. Speaking from Rome, where he is attending the ongoing United Nations food summit, the Ivorian Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, was quoted by Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily) as saying that "The situation in Cote d'Ivoire may deteriorate if no adequate actions are taken to address the food problem facing this country." Soro reportedly called upon the international community to support his country, which is trying to organize presidential elections to resolve the political crisis, reported the paper.
6. In a separate story, Fraternite Matin reported that the African Development Bank donated about 35 million US dollars to Cote d'Ivoire to support the country's post-crisis programs. The announcement was made yesterday, said the paper, which indicated that the funds will be utilized to finance projects aimed at restoring state authority and redeploying the public administration in the former New Forces-controlled zones.
7. Finally, Fraternite Matin reported that military officers from West African countries have been meeting since June 3 in Abidjan in order to lay down the groundwork for the creation of FAC - an ECOWAS joint military force. The setting up of this force was recommended by the African Union, which supports asking African regional groups to put in place regional brigades that will be tasked with restoring and maintaining peace in member states that face a crisis.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 United States Embassy. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
