United States Embassy (Abidjan)
19 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.
The Ivorian press today reported on Cote d'Ivoire's electoral process. The dailies also talked about the increasing rate of malnutrition in northern Cote d'Ivoire; government-supported anti-AIDS campaign for the youth; a campaign against violence; African elites calling for the suppression of French-backed CFA Franc. Reporting on international and United States issues; one paper reported on the State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report and another carried a front-page story, which said that the U.S. Senate had apologized for slavery and racial segregation in the United States.
1. Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) reported that the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) has called on the Independent Electoral Commission, the body tasked to organize the coming presidential elections in this country, to come up with a new list of polling stations. The move is "to ensure that the polling stations, which had been created, still exist," the paper quoted UNOCI's spokesperson as saying on Thursday in Abidjan. According to the paper, the spokesperson explained that after the voter registration exercise, it was discovered that some polling stations have disappeared.
2. Still on the electoral process, a report in Le Jour Plus said that government-appointed administrators (prefects) received training in conflict management, prevention and resolution. The training was conducted by UNOCI under a capacity-building program. The report quoted a U.N. official, who said "the training will make prefects become good negotiators" in conflict resolution. [NOTE: A fortnight ago, military leaders of the New Forces, Cote d'Ivoire's former rebel movement, who have controlled the central, western and northern regions of the country since 2002, relinquished power to prefects in a key step towards reunification.]
3. Speaking yesterday during an official visit to the northern region of Denguele, President Laurent Gbagbo called for peaceful co-existence among the people, said a prominent story in Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily). On the coming presidential elections, President Gbagbo reportedly said: "All Ivorians, who have been registered, will get their identity card."
4. On human rights issues, L'intelligent d'Abidjan (an independent daily) reported on an awareness campaign aimed at fighting violence among the youth during the Ivorian electoral process. The program, which is sponsored by the Ivorian Movement of Human Rights (MIDH), is to instil the ideal of non-violence in the youth in a bid to avoid post-electoral violence in Cote d'Ivoire, the report said.
5. Still on human rights issues, L'inter (an independently daily) reported on the United States report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) by the State Department. The report said that seven African countries are on a blacklist of countries trafficking in people. The paper named Chad, Eritrea, Niger, Mauritania, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Malaysia that have joined Sudan as countries on the blacklist.
6. On the living conditions of the population in Cote d'Ivoire's northern regions, Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) reported on a recent statistics, which indicate that 17.5 percent of children are malnourished. The paper said this was announced by the Minister of Health, Remi Allah Kouadio, who was speaking recently in the northern city of Korhogo as part of a week-long malnutrition and anti-malaria program for children. Supported by the United Nations and the International Red Cross, the program is aimed at reducing child mortality in Cote d'Ivoire.
7. A report in Soir Info (an independent daily) said that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has launched a program to scale down HIV/AIDS infection among the youth in Cote d'Ivoire. Funded by the International Development Association, the program is to train peer educators on abstinence and fidelity.
8. A front-page story in Fraternite Matin said that African elites have called for the suspension of the CFA francs, whose stability is ensured by French Treasury. According to the paper, the African elites, who met in the Ivorian economic capital, Abidjan, to find ways "to decolonize Africa," asked Cote d'Ivoire to take the lead in ending the relations between CFA franc zone and France, the former colonial master. The CFA franc zone includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, Chad, Central African Republic, Cameron, Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
9. Finally, with a picture of President Barack Obama on its front-page, Fraternite Matin informed readers that the U.S Senate yesterday adopted a bill to apologize for slavery and racial segregation in the United States. According to the paper, the bill that was presented by Senator Tom Harkin (Democrat) will pave the way for the rehabilitation of the victims of slavery and racial segregation.
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