United States Embassy (Abidjan)
18 June 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.
French-Ivorian relations were today a subject of front-page stories in the Ivorian newspapers. On internal political issues, an independent daily pondered the future of the New Forces, the Ivorian former rebel movement. A series of conferences underway in Abidjan on how to fight money laundering and cross-border crimes in the West African region was also a subject of major stories in today's press. The campaign against the circulation of light weapons and fight against the worst forms of child labor in Cote d'Ivoire were the other major items in the dailies.
1. Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) carried a front-page story saying that French President Nicholas Sarkozy has "doubts" about President Laurent Gbagbo's promise to hold the long-delayed presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire on November 29, 2009. In a story culled from the French newspaper Liberation, the paper said Mr. Sarkozy called President Gbagbo's pledge a "fallacious promise." According to the report, the French president was speaking recently on the margins of the funeral of the late Gabonese President, Omar Bongo Ondimba, in Libreville.
2. A separate story in Le Patriote further suggested that it is now obvious that the Ivorian presidential elections would not be held on November 29, 2009. Referring to a story published by La Lettre du Continent (a Paris-based pan-African newspaper), the paper informed readers that early in this month, President Gbagbo dispatched his Cabinet Director to inform French authorities that the polls, billed for November 29, 2009, could be delayed. The paper went on to quote reliable sources as saying that the French Secretary of State in charge of Cooperation and Francophonie, Alain Joyandet, who was recently in Cote d'Ivoire a few days after Gbagbo signed a decree fixing the date of the polls, expressed "his surprise" as to the possible change of the electoral calendar.
3. "Humiliated in Gabon, Sarkozy attacks Gbagbo," said a prominent headline in Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party). The paper, which reproduced the same story from Liberation, described Mr. Sarkozy's reported statement as "neo-colonial ramblings." "France has never been impartial," when it comes to issues pertaining to the Ivorian crisis, the paper noted.
4. Speaking about French-Ivorian relations in an interview with Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party), former French Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire Andre Janier said: "Normalization depends on the socio-economic situation in Cote d'Ivoire."
5. On matters concerning Cote d'Ivoire's internal politics, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) reported that the country's political stakeholders had violated a Code of Good Conduct they signed as part of the peace process. According to the paper, this was announced Wednesday in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire's political capital, during a seminar organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI). The program was designed to raise awareness of the Code of Good Conduct and how to enforce its recommendations.
6. With six months to go to polls in Cote d'Ivoire, Soir Info (an independent daily) suggested that the time has come for the New Forces' leaders to make a choice as to the future of their movement. According to the paper, the former rebels have no intention of becoming jobless after the November 29 elections. The report further had it that New Forces' ministers and political and military leaders are maneuvering to find a place in the country's political arena. The paper added that some of them are fully engaged in the country's major political parties. On the fate of New Forces' leader-turned Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, the paper quoted political observers as saying that the former rebel leader, along with some youth leaders like Charles Ble Goude, would form the new breed of Cote d'Ivoire's political leaders in the coming 15 years. Some analysts and close associates of the Ivorian Prime Minister predict a promising political career for Soro, the report said. [Note: Ble Goude is under United Nations sanctions for public statements advocating violence and direction of and participation in acts of violence by street militias.]
7. On another development, a report in L'inter (an independent daily) said that MPs from the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries are meeting in Abidjan in a bid to find ways to fight cross-border crimes. Sponsored by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (a German organization), the program was "to promote peace and improve the political and social conditions of African populations in order to contribute to the advancement of democracy," the paper quoted the Country Director of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung as saying.
8. On other regional issues, Fraternite Matin reported that experts in financial crimes and money laundering are meeting in Abidjan on how to curb these phenomena. The program is organized by GIABA - an inter-governmental group engaged in fighting against financial crimes and money laundering in the West African region. Discussions are focused on capacity building for experts in tackling the problems.
9. Another report in Fraternite Matin said that civic groups in Cote d'Ivoire are calling on the government to support the International Arms Trade Treaty. According to the paper, they made the call during a conference organized by RASALAO-CI - Cote d'Ivoire's chapter of a regional campaign against light weapons in Africa. The conference was part of activities organized in conjunction with the world's week-long campaign to fight armed violence.
10. Finally, L'intelligent d'Abidjan (an independent daily) reported that CARITAS is waging a campaign against the worst forms of child labor in Cote d'Ivoire's cocoa plantations. [NOTE: CARITAS is an international organization that provides assistance to the most vulnerable on behalf of Catholics around the world.] According to the report, this program, which started in June 2006, is part of a national program set up by Ivorian authorities to stamp out the phenomenon. The program mainly focuses on a population awareness campaign and on how to encourage people in rural communities to send their children to school.
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