United States Embassy (Abidjan)
22 December 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.
Reports in today's Ivorian press said that the presidential and New Forces delegations meeting in Ouagadougou are to sign a complementary agreement today in Ouagadougou. The date of the long-delayed presidential elections was also a subject of front-page item in dailies. The role of the civic groups in Cote d'Ivoire's peace process; the identification and voter registration exercise and the disarmament program were the other major issues in today's newspapers.
1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A front-page story in this paper said that the presidential and New Forces delegations are to meet today in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou in a bid to sign a deal dubbed "Ouagadougou IV" designed to push forward the peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, the discussions focused on the ranks/grades and the number of ex-rebels to be integrated into the Ivorian army. The paper further quoted sources close to the negotiations as saying that "The two factions have agreed on the question of grades of the former rebels."
2. Regarding the date of the coming presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire, Fraternite Matin quoted a Vice-president of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) as saying that "it is the responsibility of the body in charge to organize the polls to propose a date." According to the report, the deputy electoral commissioner was reacting to statement made last week by the RHDP - an opposition alliance -- in which the group proposed April 2009 as deadline date for the first round of the long-delayed presidential polls in Cote d'Ivoire.
3. L'intelligent d'Abidjan (an independent daily): The leader of the Young Patriots (a movement supportive of President Laurent Gbagbo) made headline in this daily. The paper quoted Charles Ble Goude as saying that "without the disarmament, there could be no serious elections in Cote d'Ivoire." The youth leader, the report said, believed that the leader of the New Forces-turned Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, would "gain a lot if the disarmament was completed before the elections," because "his [Soro] security depends on the disarmament" of the former combatants.
4. Meanwhile, with a picture of Soro in a pensive mood on its front page, L'inter (a privately-owned daily) hinted that the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire is under threat. The paper reported on a war of words between two rival groups, believed to be close to the Prime Minister and to the Young Patriots respectively. "We'll demand the resignation of Soro," the paper quoted a leading member of the Young Patriots as saying. In a different story, the paper quoted a supporter of the Prime Minister as suggesting that the best way out of the current political stalemate is "to allow the Prime Minister to continue his work." The Prime Minister's supporter further warned that "He who will try to remove Gbagbo and Soro from office will face the consequences." A prominent story in Soir Info (a privately-owned daily) also had it that a violent attack is under preparation in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, arms cache has been discovered in Cote d'Ivoire's capital Abidjan.
MEDIA REACTION TO U. S. EMBASSY ABIDJAN AND OTHER WORLD ISSUES
Notre Voie provided an intensive and positive coverage of a conference organized by the US Embassy on December 18 on the US President elect, Barack Obama. The report was on the presentation made by a local speaker who highlighted Mr. Obama's achievement.
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