United States Embassy (Abidjan)
22 October 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 state-run daily Fraternite Matin today published excerpts of a report documented by a UN panel on the political stability and security situation in Cote d'Ivoire. The voter registration exercise again made prominent headlines in today's Ivorian media outlets focusing on efforts to ensure security at the registration centers. Other reports said that people who have been on trial in connection with toxic waste dumping have received 20 years to life sentences. A campaign for girls' education and a German-funded poverty alleviation project, were the other issues in today's newspapers.
1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A story in this paper said that a report published October 20 by a UN panel on Cote d'Ivoire underlined Cote d'Ivoire's fragile political stability and security situation, as the country struggles to make progress in reaching benchmarks agreed to in a peace pact signed last year. The paper quoted portions of the report as saying: "The political situation is obviously stable, but there is a fear that the results of the November 30, 2008 presidential elections could have serious repercussions on the future progress of the peace process and a long-term stability." According to the report, "the panel warns the Security Council that security threats persist in the West African country because programs to disarm combatants and dismantle militia remain largely incomplete."
2. Another prominent story in Fraternite Matin said that the ongoing voter registration exercise is scarred by frauds, prompting warnings from President Laurent Gbagbo, who was quoted as saying: "those who will be caught up organizing frauds will be jailed." The Ivorian president, who was speaking during a political rally in the Western city of Duekoue, assured the gathering that "There won't be frauds, because we've put in place measures to uncover them... There are some little bandits who are trying to play with the enrolment. They come with false papers to have genuine identity documents... Those who are playing this game will be arrested." In a related development, Fraternite Matin said a leader of the opposition RDR party Tuesday accused the ruling FPI party for organizing "massive fraud." Speaking at a press briefing in Abidjan, RDR's Election Affairs Officer Sanogo Mamadou alleged that President Gbagbo's ruling FPI is planning "to ask the Young Patriots [a youth movement supportive of President Gbagbo] to swoop the voter registration centers in order to disrupt the operation on the grounds that foreigners were being registered." The paper also reported that security measures have been partially put in place in registration centers in Abidjan.
3. A report in Soir Info (an independent daily) said that the voter registration exercise was marred yesterday with violence in Yopougon, a suburb of Abidjan. According to the paper, the violence broke out when a group of youths tried to prevent some petitioners believed to be foreigners from getting registered.
4. A report in Fraternite Matin said the UN Secretary Special Representative in Cote d'Ivoire, J.Y. Choi called on the youth in Cote d'Ivoire to exercise calm, as the voter registration program is underway. Mr. Choi, who was speaking after a meeting with Ivorian former President Henri Konan Bedie, reportedly said that "there is a four-fold mechanism crafted to protect the identification process against any act of frauds."
5. Regarding government measures aimed pre-empting fraud; Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) published the full text of a document containing measures that have been taken by Cote d'Ivoire Prime Minister Guillaume Soro to that effect. The document outlines the registration procedure and documents that potential voters have to produce for their enrolment.
6. On other issues, many Ivorian dailies today reported that a court in Cote d'Ivoire has sentenced people who have gone on trial in connection with toxic waste dumping from 20 years to life imprisonment. According to the L'inter (an independent daily), the head of a local company, Tommy, that signed the deal to treat the waste with the Dutch multinational, Trafigura, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The court's verdict is still pending, reported the paper. [NOTE: Twelve people, who were accused of dumping toxic waste that killed 17 with some 100,000 needing medical treatment, have gone on trial in Cote d'Ivoire. Over 500 tons of chemical waste from the oil industry was dumped two years ago in the Ivorian economic capital, Abidjan.]
7. On another issue, Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) reported that President Gbagbo is trying to release top imprisoned officials, who were arrested in connection with a massive scandal in the Ivorian cocoa and coffee industry. A few months ago, President Gbagbo ordered investigation following allegations of mismanagement, embezzlement, fraud and forgery of banking documents related to the industry.
8. A report in Fraternite Matin said that the government of Cote d'Ivoire is to launch a campaign to encourage girls' education in rural areas. The program will, among other things, encourage mothers to send their daughters to school. The program will target areas where the number of girls in school is very low. The report said that more than 60 per cent of women in Cote d'Ivoire are illiterate. It is also expected that when implemented, the program will help Cote d'Ivoire to emulate the Republic of Benin, where the rate of girls attending school has grown from 35 per cent to 84 per cent within a period of 12 years. On poverty alleviation, Fraternite Matin said that a German government is funding 51 micro-projects to assist some 1,600 women.
Media Coverage of Embassy Activities
A brief but positive story in yesterday's edition Fraternite Matin said that the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy, Cynthia Akuetteh recently presented equipment to a national social center to support its program for orphans and children who become vulnerable due to the HIV/AIDS. Estimated at $ 93,000 US dollars, this donation is part of the USG's support for the fight against HIV/AIDS through the PEPFAR.
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