United States Embassy (Abidjan)
1 July 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.
The funding for the upcoming presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire was again a dominant issue in today's Ivorian press. The papers also reported on last weekend's mutiny by disgruntled New Forces former fighters; the ongoing interrogations and arrests of top officials in the cocoa and coffee industry; the rumors of cabinet reshuffle; and the consumer price hikes and possible consumer protests.
1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): In a prominent story on its front page, the paper quoted the French Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, Andre Janier, as saying: "He who organizes the elections should pay." According to the paper, the French diplomat, who was speaking to the paper on a variety of issues, including the current peace process in Cote d'Ivoire, said "France is ready to help organize good elections, but it cannot carry the whole burden." The paper further quoted Ambassador Janier as saying: "In Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations organized the elections from the beginning to the end... We don't understand why the international community, which invested huge sums of money in other countries like Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is reluctant to do the same in Cote d'Ivoire." The paper concluded that in spite of the financial issues raised, Ambassador Janier believes that the Ivorian presidential election scheduled for November 30, 2008 is possible.
2. On the same subject, a front page headline in Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) said, "There is a need to find ways to organize the presidential polls on November 30, 2008." The paper reminded the current government that "the organization of elections should be seen as an act of sovereignty." The paper further said that the government has the right to seek aid, but the best solution for the government is to count on its own resources. The paper asserted that the government is capable of finding the FCFA 36 billion that the Independent Electoral Commission said was needed for the conduct of the polls.
3. On government resources, Fraternite Matin reported that the government of Cote d'Ivoire has collected more than FCFA 57 billion, instead of the FCFA 37 billion expected, from Treasury Bonds activities.
4. Le Jour Plus (a pro-opposition newspaper) reported that donors from Arab countries have been meeting since yesterday in Abidjan to lay down the groundwork for the funding of post-crisis projects in connection with the peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, this meeting is in response to the Prime Minister's April 29 to May 7 visits to countries in the Middle-East.
5. On the mutiny that was staged last weekend in western-central cities of Seguela and Vavoua by disgruntled New Forces' ex-fighters, Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party) quoted a leading member of the former Ivorian rebel movement as warning: "The peace process is in jeopardy, as the Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro does not have the means to implement his program." According to the paper, Alain Lobognon, who is the New Forces' director of communications, said Prime Minister Soro, who was tasked to implement the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, notably the disarmament of the ex-combatants, does not have the financial means to do so.
6. Still on the recent mutiny by ex-combatants in western-central cities of Seguela and Vavoua, Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) carried a prominent story, quoting the New Forces' director of communications, Alain Lobognon. In the story, the paper said that Lobognon accused the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and Licorne - the French troops in Cote d'Ivoire - for doing "nothing to ensure security in perimeters around the demobilization sites where former combatants have been encamped." In another story, the paper reported that a New Forces' top official has announced the "release" of the hostages that were taken by the mutineers in Seguela and Vavoua.
7. In the front page of Le Nouveau Reveil, the paper said that five ministers, including the Finance Minister, Charles Diby Koffi and Agriculture Minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly could be interrogated in connection with the ongoing probe into the cocoa and coffee industry in Cote d'Ivoire. The paper quoted reliable sources close to information on the setting up of a Special High Court that would be tasked to try suspects in the cocoa and coffee scandal. Le Patriote also reported on the arrests of two ministers, but referred to them as officials, who "are close to President Laurent Gbagbo."
8. Meanwhile, Soir Info (a privately-owned daily) announced "an imminent cabinet reshuffle." Citing reliable sources, the paper said that the cabinet change may affect "ministers who are politically marked." According to the paper, the next cabinet may be composed of "technocrats," who have no "political ambitions."
9. Le Patriote informed readers that the government of Cote d'Ivoire would increase the price of the petrol in the next couple of days. In a related development, Soir Info indicated that the Movement for the Defense of the Interests of the Consumers (MODIC) is calling for a demonstration July 2 throughout the country to defend what it called "the right for food for the people."
Media Coverage of Embassy's Activities
In its first edition, Parence (an independent quarterly magazine) that focuses on family and education issue carried a three-page interview with the U.S. Embassy's Student Advisor, Gerard Digbohou Tchetchet. The interview focused on higher education in the U.S., especially the procedure to get admission into American Universities.
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