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United States Embassy (Abidjan)

Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review

24 November 2008

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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's 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 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 has started, "no significant progress" has been made so far. The paper went on to call upon Ivorians to think about what it called "the tragedy that is unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)."

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 in Abidjan. According to the paper, Mr. Ble Goude, who was speaking over the weekend after registering to vote, 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 known for political violence in the past - "threatened" the electoral commission for its decision to end voter registration on November 30. The paper quoted a member of FESCI as saying that "this measure that penalizes students is unacceptable."

3. In a bid to encourage potential 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 a "door-to-door campaign to counter any attempt by the ruling party to engage in fraud during the coming elections."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 from playing a leadership role in their society. The report said that Ambassador Nesbitt spoke about the situation of women in the United States and aspects of her own experience as a diplomat that underscored gender equality.

5. Another story in Fraternite Matin said that about 20 percent 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 percent of these children are subject to serious famine.

6. A prominent story in Fraternite Matin said that 16 persons died in the central town of Bongouanou as a result of what local health authorities said could be food poisoning.

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