United States Embassy (Abidjan)
9 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.
Ivorian newspapers today reported that a French court has summoned the wife of President Laurent Gbagbo over the disappearance of a French-Canadian journalist in Abidjan in 2004. The recent increases in fuel prices and the Ivorian peace process were also subjects of front-page stories in the dailies.
1. La Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party): With pictures of the Ivorian First Lady, Simone Gbagbo, and Paul Antoine Bohoun Bouabre, former Economy Minister, on its front page, the paper told readers that "the two big fishes are summoned in France." According to the paper, Simone Gbagbo and Paul Antoine Bohoun Bouabre have been summoned to testify in Paris on June 10 before a French judge tasked with the case of Guy-Andre Kieffer, a French-Canadian journalist, who went missing in Abidjan in 2004 while researching a story on corruption in the Ivorian cocoa sector.
2. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): Reporting on the same issue, this paper quoted the lawyer of the First Lady as saying: "Mrs. Gbagbo has not received any summons. She has nothing to do with this affair. She cannot respond to any summons." The paper further reported that officials at the Ministry of Justice said they were not aware of any summons for Mrs. Gbagbo to be questioned over the missing journalist and that they learned yesterday about this affair on Radio France International (RFI) - a French international broadcasting network. Fraternite Matin insinuated that people are trying "to politicize" the case of Guy-Andre Kieffer. The paper also believed that in the face of blatant "lack of evidence," French investigators are suspecting Ivorian officials "close to the Head of State" on the grounds that the journalist was abducted in the parking lot of an Abidjan supermarket in April 2004 where he was due to meet Michel Legre, the First Lady's brother-in-law.
3. L'intelligent d'Abidjan (a privately-owned daily): In a prominent story, the paper quoted the lawyer of the First Lady who threatened "to take RFI to court." "The report on RFI on this matter [the disappearance of a French-Canadian journalist] is unhealthy and not serious. We are working on it to see whether we should sue RFI for defamation." Reacting to the same story about a reported summons to the Ivorian First Lady, Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) claimed that "French justice again gets involved in Cote d'Ivoire." The paper described the French judge's summons as "contemptuous," adding this decision was "a provocation."
4. Fraternite Matin: Reporting on a meeting July 8 between President Laurent Gbagbo and a delegation of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the paper quoted the Chairman of the electoral commission as saying that "The date of November 30 set for the upcoming presidential election will be respected." Robert Beugre Mambe reportedly said: "The Head of State is personally concerned about the question of funding for the election; and has committed his collaborators to work so that this issue should not hinder the progress of the electoral process."
5. On a different issue, Fraternite Matin reported that all the leaders of militia groups operating in Western Cote d'Ivoire met with the Center of Integrated Command (CCI) July 8 in Yamoussoukro on the disarmament program. According to the paper, the awareness campaign for the disarmament and disbandment of the militia groups is due to begin on July 22 in the Western regions.
6. Another report in Fraternite Matin said that the new commander of Licorne - the French troops in Cote d'Ivoire - was presented July 8 to President Gbagbo. Commenting on the political and social situation in Cote d'Ivoire, General Philippe Houbron expressed "optimism," but added that we need to be "vigilant, because there are still some obstacles ahead us." In another development, Fraternite Matin published an article culled from a French newspaper indicating that investigations into a raid conducted by government forces in Cote d'Ivoire killing 9 French soldiers in 2004 has been delayed due to "reasons of State."
7. Finally, a story in Le Patriote said that the Federation of Active Consumer Associations of Cote d'Ivoire is calling for a two-day nationwide ghost city movement, starting from July 10, to protest against the recent increases in fuel prices.
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