United States Embassy (Abidjan)
8 January 2009
This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Most of the Ivorian papers today reported on the funding for the identification and registration processes. The papers also reported on the prisoner escapees from MACA, a prison in Abidjan; and the reopening of the office of RTI (the state-run Broadcasting Corporation) in Bouake. The inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th, as the 44th President of the United States, was also a major news story in the papers.
1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A prominent story on the front page of this paper said that after much sacrifice and repeated strikes, voter registration officers will be paid by tomorrow. According to the paper, the decision was taken by the Ivorian Prime Minister amidst heated debates over the date and funding of the long-delayed presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire. Meanwhile, a separate report in Fraternite Matin said the voter registration exercise was suspended on Tuesday in part of Yamoussoukro (Cote d'Ivoire's political capital) due to technical and financial problems. According to the paper, a registration officer said, "We lack the means to conduct the exercise. There are many problems on the ground. We are making efforts to keep the registration centers functioning." In another report, Fraternite Matin said that the exercise was marred by violence as the youth in the southern city of Bonoua took to the streets yesterday to demand "their documents in order to fully take part in the identification and registration process."
2. Further reporting on the problems facing the registration exercise, Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) said that the destruction of the birth and death registries by the former rebels is jeopardizing the voter registration exercise. Reporting on the situation in western Cote d'Ivoire - formerly under the control of the New Forces --, the paper said potential voters cannot register because they do not have any birth certificates. According to the paper, the registration exercise was suspended in many cities in this region.
3. Le Matin d'Abidjan (a daily close to the ruling FPI party): Commenting on the problems facing the Ivorian government in its efforts to push forward the peace process, the paper suggested that the Prime Minister has been taken hostage by those it called "hardliners" who are pulling him back. The paper went on to name those hardliners as special advisors, ministers and dignitaries of the New Forces-turned businessmen, who oppose any initiative aimed at the reunification of the country. The paper also suggested that some of these "Prime Minister's cronies" are in fact playing the cards in favor of the Ivorian opposition figure Alassane Dramane Ouattara from whom they take instructions.
4. Reporting on the prisoner escape from MACA, a prison in Abidjan, L'inter (a privately-owned daily) said that some of the fugitives were soldiers, who were incarcerated in this jail. According to the paper, these were elements of the defense and security forces, who were charged with committing various offenses and put in this civilian prison, because the military prison in Abidjan is overcrowded. Reporting on the atmosphere of the prison, Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) said that prison officials in charge of security at the prison said they could no longer be effective in continuing their job.
5. On media issues, a report in Le Jour Plus said that the management of RTI (the state-run Broadcasting Corporation) met yesterday with the New Forces leadership to discuss plans to reopen the office of the broadcasting station in Bouake. [Note - Shortly after the military rebellion in September 2002, the rebels seized and began using RTI facilities in Bouake. The rebels broadcasts from Bouake could be heard in the Bouake area and in Yamoussoukro, the political capital.]
6. With a few more days to go before the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, Fraternite Matin, in a full page described the atmosphere in Washington. The paper's special correspondent in DC described the January 20th ceremony as an event that no American wants to miss. Beside the official ceremony, the report said that the African community living in US is planning to organize a sumptuous soiree to welcome President Barack Obama, whose father is an African from Kenya.
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