United States Embassy (Abidjan)
24 November 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-owned newspaper Fraternite Matin today critically evaluated the electoral process and detailed the stumbling blocks on the way to the long-delayed presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire. The voter registration exercise; the obstacles that hold back women political emancipation; the spate of malnutrition among children in Cote d'Ivoire and the death of about 16 persons as a result of food poisoning were the other major stories in today's Cote d'Ivoire's press.
1. In a two-page analysis, Fraternite Matin commented that while the electoral process is underway, "thorny military issues" are yet to be resolved. "The question over the grades and the number of former rebels to be integrated in Cote d'Ivoire's future army continued to be a thorn in the flesh of CPC -- the committee to oversee the Ouagadougou peace agreement," commented the paper. The paper suggested that during its November 10's meeting in Ouagadougou, the committee had tried "to avoid" the question regarding military issues. The paper also noted that though the disarmament of the former combatants and the militia groups effectively started, "no significant progress" has been made so far. "Today there is still some concerns over the disarmament and the dismantlement of the militia groups," it said. The paper went on to call upon Ivorians to think about what it called "the tragedy that is unfolding in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As the voter enrolment for the coming presidential elections is underway, the paper suggested that the voter registration turned to be "an octopus animal" due to the "many incidents that scarred it."
2. A story in L'inter (an independent daily) said that Charles Ble Goude leader of the Alliance of the Young Patriots (a movement close to President Laurent Gbagbo) called on the Independent Electoral Commission to extend the deadline for the voter registration exercise that was fixed on November 30 in Abidjan. According to the paper, Mr. Ble Goude, who was speaking over the weekend after his registration, claimed that the extension would allow "a massive registration of Ivorians." In a separate story, the paper told readers that members of FESCI - Cote d'Ivoire Students Association - "threatened the electoral" for its decision to end the voter registration on November 30. The paper quoted a member of FESCI saying that "this measure that penalizes students is unacceptable."
3. In a bid to encourage potentials voters to meet the November 30 deadline, the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), the party of Alassane Dramane Ouattara has launched "Operation Ratissage", said a banner in Le Jour (a daily close to the opposition). The paper then quoted a leading member of the party explaining that the exercise is to organize "door-to-door campaign to counter the ruling party's fraud projects." The paper published a public statement issued by the Independent Electoral Commission detailing the major stages of the voter registration operation throughout the country.
4. In another development, Fraternite Matin reported that the U.S. Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, Wanda L. Nesbitt, and other Ivorian women spoke on Saturday on cultural handicaps - including discrimination -- that are holding back the emancipation of young girls and women in Africa. These obstacles, the paper quoted the panelists as saying; prevent many women to play a leadership role in their society. The report said that Ambassador Nesbitt who spoke about the situation of women in the United States and on her own experience as a diplomat underscored the gender equality in her country.
5. Another story in Fraternite Matin said that about 20 per cent of children whose ages range from zero to eight years are facing malnutrition in Cote d'Ivoire. The paper quoted statistics published by UNICEF saying that 7 per cent of these children are subject to serious famine.
6. A prominent story in Fraternite Matin said that 16 persons died last in the eastern town of Bongouanou as a result of what local health authorities said could be linked to food poisoning.
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