February 23, 2010

A political breakthrough that was reached Monday by the Ivorian political stakeholders in the ongoing political stalemate sparked mixed reactions in Tuesday’s Ivorian press. The dailies also reported on the political atmosphere and on a statement issued on February 20, 2010 by the US Embassy on the situation in Cote d’Ivoire. 

1. In the wake of an agreement brokered February 22 by Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, facilitator in the Ivorian peace process, the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin was full of optimism announcing that the new government will be announced “today.” The paper attributed this information to Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who was speaking yesterday at a press conference after negotiations that brought together President Laurent Gbagbo and the other key political players in Cote d’Ivoire. “As the Prime the Minister, I’m also happy to inform you that tomorrow [today], we’ll hold our Council of Ministers meeting,” Soro reportedly said. Regarding the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), which was dissolved by President Gbagbo together with the previous government, Fraternite Matin quoted the facilitator as saying: “…. The parties have also agreed on a re-composition of the CEI this week.” The paper also quoted the President Compaore as saying: “the results are satisfactory.”
2. A prominent story in Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) said that the RHDP – the Ivorian opposition coalition has caused death for nothing. According to the paper, the opposition leaders agreed with the presidential camp on “everything” during the talks.            
3. Meanwhile, a prominent story in Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the opposition PDCI-RDA party) told readers a different story. The report said that former Ivorian President Henri Konan Bedie, who is also the leader of the PDCI-RDA party, told the paper last night that “the opposition is maintaining its movement of civil disobedience.” The paper went on to call Monday’s negotiations a “fiasco” and wondered whether the new government that the premier promised to announce today was not a “hoax.”
4. “The movement of civil disobedience called for by the RHDP and PIT [the opposition groups] is maintained,” said a front-page story in Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR, the party of Alassane Ouattara). According to the paper, the Ivorian political stakeholders meeting yesterday in Abidjan agreed “to re-establish” the CEI by February 25. On the composition of the electoral body, the paper speculated that it won’t “change.” Regarding the new government announced to be formed today, the paper said that “discussions are continuing,” adding that street demonstrations have forced President Gbagbo to reconsider his position.
5. In a related development, many newspapers including Fraternite Matin today reported that many cities including the economic capital Abidjan were yesterday swept by violent demonstrations as negotiations to resolve the political impasse were going on. According to the paper, two people were killed in the central city of Daloa; the house of a leading member of the ruling FPI party was vandalized in the northern city of Katiola. Another report in this paper said that tension was high yesterday in Abobo, a suburb of Abidjan, where anti-riot police stopped opposition demonstrators who were trying to ransack a police station. 
6. With more on the violence, Le Nouveau Reveil, with a picture of the Chief of Defense Staff, General of Division Philippe Mangou, on its front page, accused the Forces of Defense and Security [government forces] for killing three persons in Daloa and one in Abobo yesterday. The paper also quoted a leading member of the opposition coalition RHDP as saying: “Mangou will have to respond to all these deaths.” Reporting on the same events, Notre Voie said that three police were injured yesterday by bullets, as opposition supporters went berserk in Abobo. In the northern city of Korhogo, New Forces military commander Fofie Kouakou dispersed opposition protestors, reported L’inter (an independent daily).
7. A separate story in L’inter said that former leaders of FESCI – Cote d’Ivoire Students Union – and leaders of JFPI (the youth wing of the ruling FPI party) met yesterday in Abidjan on the situation in Cote d’Ivoire. The paper, which called the meeting “a war council”, further revealed that the youth leaders are planning to find a way to fight the opposition groups that they reportedly called “the old system.” “We need to put in place a real strategy to stop the enemies of democracy…,” the paper quoted Charles Ble Goude, the leader of the Young Patriots (a movement close to President Gbagbo), as saying during the meeting. 
8. Meanwhile, Notre Voie published the full text of a statement issued on February 20 by the US Embassy in Abidjan with a headline reading: “The United States demands the leaders of all parties to lead by example.” Fraternite Matin also carried the full text of the statement with a headline: “The United States is troubled by the outbreak of political violence.”
9. Finally, in its February 19 edition, Le Mandat (a daily close to the opposition PDCI-RDA party) reported on the conference on identity and culture organized by the US Embassy on February 17. The conference, the paper said, was organized in connection with the celebration of the Black History Month.