United States Embassy (Abidjan)
30 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.
News reports in today's Ivorian press said that teachers have called off their strike after President Laurent Gbagbo agreed to their demands. Cote d'Ivoire's electoral process was also a subject of front-page stories in many dailies, as the identification of Ivorians living both at home and abroad ends today. The dailies also talked about human rights issues and a demonstration organized by physically handicapped people to press for job.
1. A front-page story in Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily) announced that the final year exams in Cote d'Ivoire's secondary schools will begin today following the decision by teachers to call off the strike they were planning a couple of days ago. The report said that the teachers' decision to end the strike came after President Gbagbo signed a decree on Monday; the decree is on the review of the salaries of teachers. According to the paper, on Saturday, President Gbagbo held an emergency meeting with the teachers' unions in a bid to find a solution to the problems. Another story in this paper also said that oral Baccalaureate exams, which would have been delayed if the teacher's strike had occurred, will begin today in the entire country.
2. Reporting on the identification of Ivorians in the run-up to the planned presidential elections, Fraternite Matin reported on the "temperature" at the registration centers. According to the paper, during a visit to some centers in Abidjan on Monday, reporters observed huge crowds waiting to register; the registration period ends today. The paper also reported on disturbing developments surrounding the registration exercise. According to the paper, an unnamed eyewitness said: "The registration process is slow and moreover petitioners are being subjected to racketeering. FESCI (Ivorian students' organization) is extorting money from petitioners and preventing those who refuse to pay to have access to the center." The paper also said that another petitioner who confirmed this allegation, said: "Those who refuse to pay Francs CFA 2,000 are denied access to the center." The report further said that the visit to the registration centers was initiated by the Ivorian Civic Group Convention, an independent local observers' group. Speaking after the tour, the head of the Ivorian Civic Group Convention, Patrick N'Gouan, said the tour was to evaluate the performance of observers on the ground.
3. More on the voter registration exercise, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) quoted the spokesperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, who said: "At the end of the process, all political parties will receive a copy of the provisionary voters' roll." The report said the spokesperson, who was speaking on Monday, was reacting to the concerns of some smaller parties that believe they have been excluded by the Commission.
4. On the scheduled date of November 29, 2009 for the presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire, a front-page story in L'intelligent d'Abidjan (an independent daily) said that Ivorian opposition leader, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, warned against any further attempts to delay the polls. The paper reported that Mr. Ouattara, who was speaking Monday on UNOCI FM (a U.N. radio station in Cote d'Ivoire), said that the date of November 29, 2009 is flexible enough to allow the electoral body to organize the elections.
5. Still on the peace process, Fraternite Matin reported that the population of the central city of Bouake - the stronghold of the former Ivorian rebels - participated in a reconciliation campaign on June 26-27, 2009. The campaign was organized by Search for Common Ground (SfCG), an American non-profit organization, to foster social cohesion and to minimize tension between different communities and ethnic groups in the region.
6. On human rights issues, a report in Fraternite Matin said that Cote d'Ivoire's National Commission for Human Rights (CNDHCI) yesterday published its 2008 report. According to the report, the Commission recommends that human rights should be included in the curriculum for primary schools. The paper further quoted the Chairman of the commission, Victorine Wodie, who said: "The human rights' situation in Cote d'Ivoire has markedly worsened as a result of the crisis."
7. Finally, a prominent report in Notre Heure (a daily close to the opposition) said that physically handicapped people staged a demonstration Monday on the premises of the Ministry of Labor in Abidjan to demand jobs.
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