May 31, 2007

1. Reports in today’s Ivoirian papers say the main opposition party led by Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the RDR, is experiencing defections. Front page items say two leading members of the party are back home from exile, with plans to form a new party.

2. A front-page story in Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI party says, "The opposition group is in turmoil, as RDR dissidents have stepped up pressure on their leader." "It’s certain that the political landscape in Cote d’Ivoire will undergo a change, as Jean-Jacques Bechio and Aly Keita – two leading RDR members -- arrived home yesterday after many years in exile. "We’ve decided to come back to Cote d’Ivoire to take part in the peace process," the paper quotes Bechio as saying.

3. Regarding the organization of the upcoming elections, the paper reports that the Ivorian Independent Electoral Commission has trained 31 election commissioners.

4. "Attempt to destabilize the RDR: Gbagbo’s men are here," says a banner headline running across Le Patriote, a daily close to the RDR. According to the paper, "Jean-Jacques Bechio and Aly Keita were welcomed by protocol officials upon arrival yesterday at the Abidjan international airport."

5. "Bechio and Aly Keita were welcomed like princes," writes Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces. In a separate development, the paper reports that, "Traditional chiefs in the western region of Cote d’Ivoire are committed to the peace process." According to the paper, they took the decision at a forum organized by the UN Mission in Cote d’Ivoire.

6. In the wake of the arrival of the two leading members of the of the RDR party, Fraternite Matin, the state-owned daily, writes: "Political parties are gripped by a wave of excitement, as some are on the brink to collapse."

7. "In a bid to keep power after the upcoming elections, Gbagbo has crafted a ‘Plan B’," writes 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. "Aware that he has no chance of winning the coming elections if they turn out to be free and transparent, he is planning to neutralize his main opponents, including Ivoirian ex-President, Henri Konan Bedie and RDR opposition leader, Alassane Dramane Ouattara," indicates the paper. "Plans to disqualify his opponents," discloses the paper, could include, "accusing them of committing economic crimes," or "being medically unfit to run for presidency."

8. In another development, the paper notes that while public attention is focused on implementing the Ouagadougou Agreement, "a war is under preparation."

May 29, 2007

1. Today’s news reports say the implementation of the recent peace agreement -- signed between Ivoirian President Laurent Gbagbo and New Forces’ leader, Soro Guillaume – has been given a boost after a meeting between the Burkinabe mediator in the peace process and Soro over the weekend in Ouagadougou.

2. A banner headline tunning across Le Courrier d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo, says, "Implementation of the Ouagadougou Agreement will enter its practical stage next month." According to the paper, "June is going be a crucial time, as protagonists will try to speed up the identification card program and others, which are recommended by the deal."

3. "Ouagadougou Agreement: The identification process and disarmament program will start in June," says the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin. This was announced over the weekend by the Ivoirian Prime Minister, after a meeting with President Blaise Compaore, who is facilitating the peace process. Compaore, discloses the paper, is also expected soon in Cote d’Ivoire, "to evaluate the implementation of the peace deal."

4. "The problem re: the military ranks given by the Prime Minister to New Forces’ officers has been solved," says a front-page story in L’inter, a privately-owned daily. The paper quotes a reliable source as saying, "A solution to the problem was found during the Prime Minister’s meeting with the mediator over the weekend." The paper runs a two-page in-depth story entitled, "How the Ouagadougou Agreement has radically changed the political landscape in Cote d’Ivoire."

5. With the reconciliation process underway, Nord-Sud Quotidien, a daily close to the opposition, reports, "the youth wing of the New Forces and the Young Patriots – a pro-Gbagbo group – held a rally over the weekend….the New Forces youth used the occasion to call for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Young Patriots’ leader Charles Ble Goude."

6. Regarding the controversy surrounding a "peace caravan" planned for Bouake [New Forces’ stronghold] as part of the reconciliation process, Le Matin d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo, quotes a leading ex-combatant of the New Forces as saying, "I shall escort Charles Ble Goude to Bouake." He also advises him "to be tough with the enemies of peace," reports the paper.

7. "Gbagbo violates the Ouagadougou Agreement, while Soro keeps quiet," says a front-page story in 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. The paper comments, "Three months after the deal was signed, the identification process, disarmament of the ex-combatants, disbandment of the militia groups, and the redeployment of the administration officials throughout the country have yet to commence."

8. A front-page story in Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces, says, "Ivoirian ex-president Henri Konan Bedie and Alassane Dramane Ouattara, leader of the opposition RDR party, are to hammer out new strategies to enable them to play a leading role in the ongoing peace process."

9. A report in Le Jour Plus, a daily close to the opposition, says, "The Ivoirian customs service impounded 2500 bundles of cloth worth 1.5 billion CFA."

10. Finally, a report in Le Temps, a daily close to Gbagbo, says, "The sale of medicine by street vendors costs the government of Cote d’Ivoire and official drug dispensers about 30 billion CFA a year." According to the paper, "The Association of Private Pharmacies of Cote d’Ivoire is to take on these roadside drug dispensers, whose activities are killing the national economy."

May 25, 2007

1. Ivoirian papers report today the Young Patriots – a group supporting President Laurent Gbagbo – are not united re: the reconciliation process. Efforts by the new government to speed up the peace process, and controversy over allowances militia groups in the west are to receive for disarming, are also front-page stories.

2. A front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin, says, "The government has hammered out details for implementing the Ouagadougou Agreement." An eight-point plan was adopted yesterday at a Council of Ministers meeting presided over by Gbagbo, reports the paper.

3. The plan covers, among other things, "The identification and electoral processes, fusion of the two Ivorian armed forces, the redeployment of the administration officials throughout the country, national reconciliation, and mechanisms that must be put in place to oversee the Accord’s implementation," reports the paper, citing a communique issued at the end of yesterday’s Ministerial meeting.

4. Meanwhile, the paper comments that, "The Young Patriots are divided over who should take part in a "peace caravan" planned for Bouake [New Forces’ stronghold] as part of the reconciliation process." The peace caravan’s program in Bouake on June 9, "hangs in the balance," writes the paper. It quotes a leading member of the New Forces calling the situation "confusing."

5. A banner headline running across Le Matin d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo, says, "In-fighting among the Young Patriots constitutes a serious stumbling block to implementing the Ouagadougou Agreement." In a bid to save the situation, the paper calls on Gbagbo "to restore order."

6. In connection with the plan to implement the Ouagadougou Agreement, "Prime Minister Guillaume is expected in Ouagadougou today to meet the Burkinabe President, facilitator in the Ivoirian peace process," says a front-page story in Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces.

7. The privately-owned daily L’inter discloses that, "Young Patriots’ leader Charles Ble Goude has threatened to quit the group."

8. In another development, the paper quotes the Ivoirian Minister of Planning and Development as saying, "The census of the population due to take place next year will cost 9.6 billion CFA."

9. Presidential Defense and Security Special Advisor, Bertin Kadet, explains in an interview with Nord-Sud Quotidien, a daily close to the opposition, "How 280 million CFA was distributed to militia groups in the west." Regarding the controversy over the military ranks the Prime Minister is giving officers of the New Forces, Kadet calls it "a minor problem." The paper also publishes the list of the world’s most corrupt countries saying, "Cote d’Ivoire ranks 153 out of 163."

10. "Gbagbo has betrayed us. We received 10 million CFA instead of 20 million. The President is trying to cause dissent among us combatants," Le Jour Plus quotes the leader of a militia group as saying.

May 23, 2007

1. Most Ivoirian papers today describe the mood in the western region of Cote d’Ivoire, five days after President Gbagbo officially began disbanding local militia groups. The major news, however, is the ongoing standoff between FESCI – the main Ivoirian student union – and university teachers who are on strike, demanding salary increases.

2. A front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says, "Universities in Cote d’Ivoire are gripped by a malaise, as FESCI closes down private schools." According to the paper, "The action launched on Monday by the student union was in reprisal for the strike by university teachers, who also lecture in private schools."

3. Reacting to the looting of the offices of two Human Rights NGOs, the paper quotes the Secretary General of the FESCI, Serge Koffi, as saying, "In looting its office, students wanted to express their unhappiness with the Ivoirian League for Human Rights." Koffi is also reported as saying, "These acts of vandalism are likely to occur again… To prevent this from happening, they must stop irritating the students." "The FESCI Secretary General refuses to accept ‘the partisan attitude’ of the Ivoirian League for Human Rights, in connection with the crisis," reports the paper.

4. In a separate story, Fraternite Matin tells readers that "Out of 400 private security companies operating in Cote d’Ivoire, 310 are illegal." This is according to the president of the National Union of Private Companies, who spoke at a ceremony in Abidjan yesterday.

5. Regarding the reconciliation process, the Cabinet Director of the New Forces, Cisse Sindou, told the paper that, "Gbagbo is welcome in the north of the country."

6. "FESCI’s crisis: Serge Koffi is accused by his comrades of deviation," writes Le Temps, a daily close to Gbagbo. According to the paper, four leading members of the student union denounced what they call "FESCI’s current dysfunctionality," at a press conference on Monday.

7. Le Patriote, a daily close to the opposition RDR, calls FESCI "Gbagbo’s student militia group." Digging into the history of the movement, the paper writes, "FESCI is linked with terrorism." The paper goes on, "FESCI has become untouchable. Its crimes include theft, rape, racketing, street fighting, destruction and looting of public and private property. Nothing can stop them!"

8. A few days after the launching of the disarmament program for militia groups in the western region of Cote d’Ivoire, a banner headline in Le Patriote says, "Yesterday, militia groups brought activities in the western city of Duekoue to a standstill." "They were demonstrating to claim their allowances," reports the paper.

9. With Ivorian universities shut down, the Minister of High Education and the teacher union’s spokesman engage in a war of words on the front page of Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA.

10. Reacting to the teachers’ strike, the minister is quoted as saying, "We don’t understand the motive behind this movement." In reply, the union spokesman is quoted as calling the education minister "a joker," saying "We want to talk directly with the President or Prime Minister."

11. A recent meeting between Gbagbo and African diplomats in Abidjan is a front-page story in the Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI. The paper publishes the full text of Gbagbo’s remarks and quotes him as telling the diplomats: "We have only one president here…"

May 22, 2007

1. Ivoirian press today says the leader of the Young Patriots – a movement that supports President Laurent Gbagbo -- will travel to Bouake. The press also reports that members of the FESCI – the main Ivoirian students’ union – ransacked the offices of two Human Rights advocacy groups yesterday because of their alleged support for university teachers who are on strike and demanding salary increases.

2. A banner story on the front page of the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says, "The offices of the Ivoirian League for Human Rights and the Action for the Protection of the Human Rights were raided yesterday, as members of the FESCI went berserk." Describing the scene at the office of the Ivoirian League for Human Rights, the paper says, "The gate was smashed in, louvers were broken, chairs and tables were demolished, after students attacked the place."

3. In the course of the events, the paper goes on, "Angry students took away items including computers, a video projector and digital camera, fans, a UPS unit, printers and fax machines." "All the files of the Ivoirian League for Human Rights have disappeared," the paper quotes Patrick N’Goan, the president of the civic group, saying. According to Fraternite Matin, police officers who were tasked to protect the office "could not stop the hundred students," who were protesting against what they call, "The civic group’s support for striking university teachers."

4. The president of the civic group did not mince his words when speaking with the privately-owned daily, L’intelligent d’Abidjan, "FESCI is a terrorist organization." N’Goan also denounced, "The complaisance of the Ivoirian authorities toward FESCI."

5. In the face of growing tensions on the campuses of Abidjan, Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party, suggests that, "The current academic year could be cancelled, as lecturers at the Cocody University have been pressing for salary increases, and have not changed their position." Student union leader, Serges Koffi, reportedly accused the Ivoirian League for Human Rights of "supporting the university teachers’ strike."

6. A front-page story in the privately-owned daily, Soir Info, says, "FESCI stopped a leading member of the New Forces from organizing a rally in Plateau, the commercial center of Abidjan." The paper quotes a member of the union expressing the students’ "indignation at being sidelined in the peace process underway in the country."

7. Still on the aborted rally, Nord-Sud Quotidien, a daily close to the opposition, quotes a leading figure of the Young Patriots as saying, "I say ‘no!’ to selective reconciliation."

8. According to Le Courrier d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo, the president told African diplomats in Abidjan yesterday that, "The time for ‘governors’ is over." President Gbagbo explained to his guests why he demanded "the departure of the UN Secretary General’s representatives from Cote d’Ivoire."

9. A banner headline running across the paper says, "Ble Goude is expected in Bouake on June 9." It comments, "The peace process is moving forwards, as foes have decided to smoke the peace pipe."

10. Le Temps, a daily close to Gbagbo, devotes two pages to what it calls, "The in-fighting between opposition parties." According to the paper, "The opposition RDR party is on the brink of collapse, the former ruling PDCI-RDA is falling apart, while Gbagbo and the FPI are moving forward."

11. Finally, Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI party, discloses that, "According to a report prepared for the Senegalese leader, more than half of the shares of the West African States Central Bank belong to Cote d’Ivoire, and the bank cannot survive without this country."

May 21, 2007

1. Reports say militia groups have started to hand over their weapons, as President Laurent Gbagbo officially launched the disbandment program over the weekend in the western region of Cote d’Ivoire.

2. A front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says, "The FRGO – a militia group in western region – handed over 1027 weapons to Gbagbo in a symbolic gesture marking the beginning of the disarmament process in this country." "Guns were also destroyed," reports the paper, and the UN Secretary General’s Representative in Cote d’Ivoire is quoted as saying, "This is an act of courage and patriotism."

3. "Gbagbo and Soro kiss each other before God, as the two leaders attend a mass in Abidjan," says a banner headline carried by the paper. The mass was celebrated by a visiting Catholic official, Renato Raffaele Martino, who told the gathering, "The Ouagadougou Agreement is a big victory for the entire people of Cote d’Ivoire." The paper comments, "There is no doubt, God is taking care of Cote d’Ivoire."

4. "Implementation of the Ouagadougou Agreement: More than thousand combatants have been disarmed," writes Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI party. "I won’t forget you," Gbagbo is quoted as telling "the disbanded militia groups." As former combatants are reportedly disarming, in accordance with the Ouagadougou peace deal, the paper announces that, "Branch offices of the West African States Central Bank, which were closed as result of the crisis, are to reopen soon in Bouake, Man and Korhogo."

5. "Gbagbo has taken back his guns," writes Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces. "As more than a thousand weapons were symbolically handed over, the long tragedy of the populations in Western region has officially come to the end," comments the paper.

6. 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition calls the dismantlement of the militia groups in the west, "more dust thrown into the eyes of the people." The paper notes that "The Ivoirian Prime Minister, Soro Guillaume, was absent from the ceremony."

7. "Masquerade in Guiglo, as 1027 old weapons were deposed," says a front-page story in L’evenement, a daily close to a former Ivoirian Prime Minister. The paper also denounces what it calls "a familial Republic." "Barring the unexpected, the president’s son could be named to serve in the National Committee, tasked to carry out the resumption of government offices and bureaus throughout the country."

8. "An unfinished job." These are the words used by Le Patriote, a daily close to the opposition RDR party, to describe the disarming of militia groups in the west. It comments, "Just like the two previous ones, this third ceremony disbanding a militia group failed to convince national and international observers."

9. In another development, the paper reports that, "The Ivoirian Prime Minister and opposition leader, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, held a four hour discussion last Saturday, as the latter invited Soro to dinner."

10. Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA tells readers that, "The party of the Ivoirian ex-leader Henri Konan Bedie is preparing for its return to power." The paper reports that party’s executives met over the weekend in the central town of Daoukro – hometown of Bedie – "to look at issues pertaining to the PDCI-RDA, to evaluate the social and political crisis facing Cote d’Ivoire…"

11. Regarding the upcoming elections in Cote d’Ivoire, Le Courrier d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo says, "Bedie has announced his intention to contest the upcoming elections, rejecting the opposition coalition’s idea to field a single candidate."

May 16, 2007

1. The rapprochement between the Ivoirian Head of State, Laurent Gbagbo and Soro Kigbafori Guillaume, the leader of the ex-rebel movement, continues to be a front-page subject. News reports also say, almost two months after the conclusion of the Ouagadougou Agreement, that opposition alliances in Cote d’Ivoire are in disarray, while some political parties are experiencing defections.

2. "The political compromise between Gbagbo and Soro is a success," says a banner headline running across Le Courrier d’Abidjan, a daily close to the Ivoirian leader. According to the paper, there is an ongoing "clash" between Soro and the leader of the opposition RDR party, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, because the latter tried to "kill" the Ouagadougou Agreement.

3. The paper also reports that "The RDR is on the brink to collapse, with the party going through a deep crisis." It suggests that "dissidents are planning to create their own party." The paper also comments, "The Ouattara ‘myth’ is over."

4. L’inter, a privately-owned daily tells readers what it calls "the untold story behind the rapprochement between Gbagbo and Soro." The paper reveals that, the "deal" signed by Gbagbo and Soro was "strongly pushed by the departing French President, Jacques Chirac, who wanted to close the Ivoirian dossier before leaving office." "Aware that the French-backed UN Resolution 1721 had failed to have the Ivoirian Prime Minister become Head of State, Chirac pressed the leader of the rebellion – his protégé – to quickly negotiate with Gbagbo."

5. As press reports say, "The opposition RDR is tearing itself apart," L’inter wonders "who can best take advantage of the troubles facing the Cote d’Ivoire’s principal opposition party?" Explaining the reason for the party’s woes, the paper quotes some insiders as saying, "the Ouagadougou Agreement has brought forth new political figures, notably from within the New Forces. This accord should be compared to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in Germany -- it ended the traditional clash of two blocs, but it also brought about a new set of conflicts."

6. Commenting about Ouagadougou Agreement yesterday, the state-owned daily quotes Gbagbo as saying, "I trust Soro." Speaking to traditional leaders who called on him at the Presidential Palace, the President is reported to have said: "Now is the time for peace. All the protagonists agree now is the time to move toward peace. Those who don’t understand that message are already late, because the peace process is moving forward, and won’t wait for them…"

7. While Gbagbo expressed his commitment "for peace," his defense advisor was warning that "Those who won’t lay down their arms by May 19 will be seen as bandits," reports the paper. According to the paper, the advisor was in the troubled western region on a trip aimed at informing militia groups in the west about the disarmament scheme.

8. "Let’s disarm the militia groups in the west," Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA, quotes the Ivoirian Defense Minister as saying. Regarding the Ouagadougou Agreement, a leading member of PDCI-RDA, Djedje Mady, is reported as saying, "The party’s position has not changed re: the Accord," and that party leaders will meet on Saturday to discuss it.

9. Le Patriote, a daily close to the opposition RDR party, carries a banner headline saying, "Rumors of a split inside RDR -- Zemogo has not created a party." According to the paper, "The leading member of the RDR has just set up an NGO, and not a political party."

10. Le Jour Plus, another daily close to the opposition, sees behind "these rumors", what it calls "a strategy that has been crafted by the ‘Power’ to bring down the opposition."

May 15, 2007

1. The relationship between Cote d’Ivoire and the World Bank/IMF, changes in the political landscape following reports of in-fighting between the opposition parties and the New Forces’ alliance, and controversy surrounding the grades of the New Forces’ military officers are front-page items in Tuesday’s Ivoirian papers.

2. A front-page story in Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI, says "The government will soon find a solution to the question about the grades of New Forces’ soldiers." The Ivoirian Defense Minister, Michel Amani N’Guessan, spoke with reporters yesterday and said, "The issue will be discussed and a final solution will be found… we’re negotiating." "The minister was unable to confirm if New Forces’ soldiers will keep the grades given them by Soro Guillaume," indicates the paper.

3. In a separate issue, the paper announces that, "A new chapter opened yesterday in the relation between Cote d’Ivoire and the Breton Woods financial institutions, as President Laurent Gbagbo received a delegation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund." The head of the delegation, speaking after the meeting, said: "The International Monetary Fund is ready to help Cote d’Ivoire resolve the crisis," reports the paper.

4. "The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will provide aid to Cote d’Ivoire, with conditions," says a front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin. According to the paper, a joint delegation of the two institutions met with Gbagbo and, "pressed the government to carry out reforms in the cocoa, coffee, and petrol sectors." "They also insisted on payment by Cote d’Ivoire on part of its debt vis-à-vis the bank, as one of the conditions to resuming cooperation with this country," reports the paper.

5. More than two months after the Ouagadougou Agreement was signed, a daily close to the opposition, Le Jour Plus, comments, "Gbagbo has succeeded in finding common ground between himself and his arch-rivals; he has also been able to sow the seed of division between the G7 and the RHDP [both opposition alliances]." Describing the Ivoirian leader’s accomplishment, the paper says, "Thanks to the Ouagadougou Agreement, Gbagbo has successfully softened the position of the New Forces, which has now joined him."

6. As Gbagbo and Soro work on a new relationship, the paper publishes a commentary reminding the two leaders "not to forget all the people who have died, as a result of the political instability that the country has gone through."

7. "After 7 years in power, Gbagbo has virtually killed Cote d’Ivoire," says a banner headline that runs across L’evenement, a daily close to a former Ivoirian Prime Minister. According to the paper, "During Gbagbo’s tenure, the private sector has lost 122.3 billion Francs CFA, 30,000 workers have lost their jobs…" It reports as well that, "Cote d’Ivoire’s 10 billion CFA debt to China has been written off."

8. Regarding reports of in-fighting among Ivoirian opposition parties, the privately-owned daily Soir Info tells readers, "The G7 is stricken by a malaise." The paper suggests that, "Ex-President Henri Konan Bedie and the leader of the opposition RDR party, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, have yet to accept the new relation between Gbagbo and Soro, particularly the latter’s nomination to be the transitional administration’s Prime Minister."

9. Speaking to Le Patriote, a daily close to the RDR, a leading member of the party states that, "Our relation with the New Forces will survive," while the spokesperson of the New Forces is quoted as agreeing that, "there is a problem between the RHDP and the New Forces."

10. Finally, a front-page story in Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA, says, "Members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union are divided, as Gbagbo is trying to impose his current Minister of Planning as the successor to Charles Konan Banny as president of the West African Central Bank."

May 14, 2007

1. Today’s Ivoirian press is preoccupied with the in-fighting going on between the opposition parties and the New Forces’ alliance.

2. With a few months to go to elections, "an advisor of Soro has stirred up things inside the RDR party," says a front-page story in the privately-owned daily L’inter. The paper indicates that Ouattara’s political party is experiencing "political turmoil," as a leading party member (Mr. Bictogo) tries to put in place what the paper calls "a think-thank committee," whose objective is to "instill more dynamism into the party."

3. The paper also reports that "in-fighting is continuing between leaders of the G7 [an opposition parties and New Forces’ alliance]." According to the paper, a leading member of the coalition has accused the spokesperson of the New Forces of "working for the ruling FPI party."

4. "Bictogo shook the RDR’s coconut tree last Saturday as he set-up a committee," says a banner headline that runs across 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. "Made up of about 60 executives of the RDR party, the committee will work on various issues, including the Ouagadougou Agreement, the RDR’s relation with the New Forces, and coming up with a strategy to win the next elections."

5. In another development, the paper reports that "members of the Young Patriots [a movement close to Gbagbo] are fighting over their plan to travel to the New Forces-controlled territory."

6. "After the death of the RHDP [an opposition coalition], Ouattara is trying to find a way to bring together his party and Ibrahim Coulibaly [a former Sergeant in the Ivoirian national army]," writes Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI party. Citing reliable sources, the paper says, "Ouattara’s plan to work with Ibrahim Coulibaly is aimed at thwarting the Ouagadougou Agreement."

7. Notre Voie also publishes the full text of a statement issued at on Friday at the end of "a meeting in Ouagadougou to evaluate progress re: the Ouagadougou Agreement." According to the paper, the Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore exhorted participants "to quickly vote in the laws needed to implement the accord."

8. A front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says, "There is no stumbling block in implementing the Ouagadougou Agreement, the process has simply been delayed."

9. A front-page story carried by Nord-Sud, a daily close to the opposition, says, "The RDR is to rally behind the Ivoirian Prime Minister Soro Guillaume." "Soro is not our enemy," the paper quotes a leading member of the party as saying.

10. Le Patriote, another daily close to the opposition, quotes an opposition figure as saying, "Gbagbo is finished." The paper comments, "The Ivoirian Head of State has showed his inability to manage the state’s affairs. This is the time for opposition groups to mobilize in order to beat him in the forthcoming elections."

11. In a separate development, Fraternite Matin reports that this past weekend was especially deadly on the nation’s highways as 70 people were killed, and 24 others injured, in different road accidents.

May 11, 2007

1. The grades of New Forces soldiers and the breakup of the Ivoirian opposition parties’ coalition, the G7, are the major issues in today’s Ivoirian press.

2. “Soro’s grades and the integration of the ex-rebels into the army: the great revelations of Soumaila Bakayoko, the Chief of Staff of the New Forces” says a banner headline in Le Temps, a daily close to President Gbagbo. According to the paper, the Ouagadougou Accord coincides with the abandonment of the ex-rebels’ demands. The paper says that the problems posed by “Soro’s grades” (grades given by Soro to its soldiers) and the integration of armed gangs into Cote d’Ivoire defense and security forces can be overcome and cannot constitute points of blockage.

The paper also reports that the New Forces Chief of Staff wants to send high level New Forces military officials abroad as Defense Attachés at Ivoirian embassies at the end of the crisis. He also said that all the New Forces elements cannot integrate the national army, as some of them have never belonged to Cote d’Ivoire’s national army.

3. “Restructuring the Defense and Security Forces: New Forces grades, a time bomb” writes Nord-Sud Quotidien, a daily close to the opposition. “I have not yet decided” said the Head of State last Monday when the National Army chief of staff, General Mangou, asked him to speak about the grades acquired by the ex-rebels. In April 2006 when the same problem arose, Gbagbo refused to recognize those grades, except those of General Soumaila Bakayoko and Michel Gueu. Today, he leaves the issue to the Integrated Command.

The paper also says that Anaky Kobena, a member of the G7, wrote to several leaders of the opposition coalition, including Henri Konan Bedie, Alassane Ouattara, Guillaume Soro and Mabri Toikeusse. He asks them to calm down and to follow the path of reason and wisdom to avoid the break-up of the coalition.

4. “Bakayoko, Gueu, Wattao, Zakaria, Sherif, Morou and Vetcho (ex-rebel chiefs), everything on their new grades, confirmations, who scraped through and who failed”, says a banner headline that runs across 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. Things become more and more precise regarding the way the Head of State and the military want to solve the tricky problem of New Forces grades. A confidential document which contains all the proposals has been written. According to the paper, some of the officers, like General Michel Gueu, are not worried because he (Gueu) is senior to Generals Mangou and Bakayoko in both time in service and in grade.

The paper also writes that the latent crisis within the G7 preoccupies its leaders. Anaky, the president of the MFA, told the G7 that if Gbagbo wins the elections, it is the end of their coalition.

5. “Marcoussis Accord, the G7 is dead, the requiem mass in the coming days” says a banner headline in Le Jour, a daily close to the opposition. This coalition, composed of 7 political parties and New Forces, will go to 4 if the serious dissent in their relations continues. The recent declarations of the New Forces spokesman and other defections from the Prime Minister’s movement have crumbled the G7.

6.   A banner headline carried by the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin, says “Meeting at the summit last night: Affi N’Guessan (the president of ruling FPI party) at the Golf Hotel”. The FPI leadership had a working session with the New Forces yesterday. The meeting, convened by the New Forces, confirms the reconciliation begun since the Ouagadougou Accord between the two parties.

7.  “The RHDP wants to sabotage the Ouagadougou Accord: the wrong war of Bedié and Ouattara” says a banner headline in Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI party. According to the paper, the Ouagadougou Accord has entered into its application phase but the RHDP (opposition coalition), which is afraid of the return of peace, has decided to wage war against the accord.

The paper also says that the Head of State, Gbagbo, wrote to French President Sarkozy to congratulate him on his election. He hopes that his election will contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations, solidarity, friendship and cooperation that have always united the two countries and their peoples.

8.   “Three years after the killing of French soldiers in Bouaké, Gbagbo begs Chirac” writes a banner headline that runs across L’Evénement, a privately-owned daily. According to the paper, Gbagbo proposed an arrangement to Chirac. While Chirac is getting ready to leave his position, a delegation, composed of 3 magistrates, went to France to renew the proposal of a settlement out of court. At the beginning of 2007, the delegation submitted a proposal of mutual compensation. France would reimburse Cote d’Ivoire for Ivorian planes destroyed by Licorne, and would compensate the families of patriots killed during the riots. In return, Abidjan would give compensation to the families of French soldiers killed in Bouaké and to the French who ran away from Cote d’Ivoire.

9. “Gbagbo agrees to compensate the French – but this is what he wants in return” says a banner headline that runs across the privately-owned daily, L’Inter. The paper writes that according to the French daily “Liberation” dated May 10, 2007, three Ivorian magistrates were in Paris between the two rounds of presidential elections. Their mission was to study ways and means to settle the litigation begun due to the November 2004 events out of court.

10. “Breaking up the G7? Anaky the fireman: Divided, we are dead” says a banner headline in Le Nouveau Réveil, a daily close to former ruling PDCI-RDA party.  According to the paper, in the letter written by Anaky Kobena to the G7 leaders, he says that only a unique candidate in the presidential election can save their coalition.

11. “Cote d’Ivoire’s reunification process: Dano Djédjé, Minister of reconciliation, made a beginning in Bouaké yesterday” write the Courrier d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo. After a program in Yopougon, where the First Lady and the Young Patriots organized a ceremony for peace with some members of the New Forces, Bouaké also had a special program on Thursday May 10, 2007. Dano Djédjé took the opportunity to launch a series of campaigns for reconciliation and peace that the Patriots want to organize in the New Forces-controlled zones.

May 10, 2007

1. The breakup of the Ivoirian opposition parties’ coalition, the G7 and New Forces, is the major issue in today’s Ivoirian press.

2. A banner headline carried by the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin, says, "The New Forces stay away from the G7" (the opposition parties' alliance). According to the paper, Guillaume Soro and his men were absent again at yesterday’s meeting with the PDCI, RDR, MFA and UDPCI, and did not give any reason for their absence.

The paper also says that Laurent Dona Fologo, the president of the Economic and Social Council, says that, "After the election of Nicolas Sarkozy, we will turn a new page in relations between France and Cote d'Ivoire. Those relations must be marked by a new mentality made up of mutual respect and defense of the same interests".

3. A banner headline in Nord-Sud Quotidien, a daily close to the opposition, reports on an interview with Salif N'Diaye, the Secretary General of UDPCI, one of the opposition parties in the G7: "Latent crisis at the G7: Salif N'Diaye comes off his hinges.” He asks the New Forces to tell them what is wrong. According to him, it is due to the inertia of the G7 that the Ouagadougou Accord has been made possible.

4. Meeting of the G7 yesterday at PDCI headquarters, "Justified absence or boycott?" asks a banner headline that runs across Le Nouveau Réveil, a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party. According to the paper, everybody was present except for the New Forces. But according to Meité Sindou, the spokesman for the Prime Minister, the two representatives of the New Forces were not present at the meeting because they are actually in Burkina Faso to meet President Compaore to evaluate the Ouagadougou Accord.

The paper also reports clashes between the students of the national forestry school in Kossou (a small town near Yamoussoukro) and the army. To reclaim their unpaid war allowances, the students blocked the roads. According to them, it is the only way to make President Gbagbo, who is actually on vacation in Yamoussoukro, aware of their problem. In response, the army charged.  Several people were injured.

5. A banner headline carried by Le Patriote, a daily close to the opposition RDR party, says, “Relations between the RDR and New Forces, pay attention to a conflict ADO (Alassane Dramane Ouattara)-SORO". According to the paper, the secret intention of instigators from the ruling FPI party is for Alassane Ouattara and Guillaume Soro to enter into a conflict. According to the paper, they have infiltrated the circle of the secretary general of the New Forces and the President of the RDR. They work night and day to tear these two men apart.

6. “Divorce G7-New Forces, Soro humiliates ADO and Bedié”, says a banner headline in Le Temps, a daily close to Gbagbo.  Summoned yesterday by the RHDP for an explanation, the New Forces ignored their allies. According to the paper, the divorce between the RHDP and the New Forces has been concluded.

7.  "The balance of power since the Ouagadougou Accord: Gbagbo largely leads in points versus Soro and the opposition" writes 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. According to the paper, in two months, the Head of State has won decisive points on the institutional front. According to the paper, the creation of the new government has established his substantial influence over his challengers, because he has taken main ministries.

8. "Electoral hold-up: Gbagbo's plan to short-circuit Bedié and ADO" says a banner headline in the privately-owned daily L'Evénement. According to the paper, Gbagbo has met with the president of the independent election commission (CEI), Mr. Robert Mambé, several times. In private, President Gbagbo told his friends that from his exchanges with the president of the CEI, he thinks that presidential elections can take place in November and they must take place then. For the head of state, this plan will allow him to take Bedié and Ouattara by surprise.

9. "RHDP goes up in smoke, Mabri and Anaky join Soro" says a banner headline in Le Matin d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo. The Meeting of the G7 did not take place yesterday. According to the paper, the PDCI and RDR are more and more isolated because two other members of the coalition, Anaky Kobena of the MFA and Mabri Toikeusse of the UDPCI, did not agree to attend the meeting.

10. "Redeployment of the administration: civil servants killed in Ferkéssédougou”, says a banner headline that runs across the privately-owned Soir Info. According to the paper, the bodies of three civil servants who were recently assigned to Ferké were found yesterday by UN forces on the road to Ouangolo, a town north of Ferké. These three civil servants were from western Cote d'Ivoire.

May 3, 2007

1. Efforts aimed at implementing the Ouagadougou Agreement, and in-fighting among Ivoirian opposition parties and New Forces, are the major issue in today’s Ivoirian press.

2. A banner headline carried by Le Patriote, a daily close to the opposition RDR party, says, “The pact between New Forces and the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (the opposition parties’ alliance) is solid.” The paper quotes an accusation by a leading member of the alliance that “the local press is creating problems between the allies.” Regarding his recent declarations on the relationship between the New Forces and the opposition groups, the ex-rebel movement’s spokesperson Sidiki Konate is reported saying, “My statements were a call for more responsibility by alliance leaders.”

3. In a commentary, the paper exhorts members of the G7 “not to be diverted from their original goal.” The commentator says, “What leaders should fight for is finding strategies that can bring peace and reconciliation back to Cote d’Ivoire, and to organize elections to give the country a legal and legitimate power.”

4. “After attacks from Sidiki Konate, the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace bounces back,” writes 24 Heures, a daily close to the opposition. It announces that, “Opposition parties are planning a special meeting to bring back order to the group.”

5. As papers announce the opposition’s plan to organize an emergency meeting to resolve their differences, Le Matin d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo, tells readers that, “The coalition is to launch a salvo against Soro.”

6. “The opposition is engulfed in a wave of panic,” says a banner headline in Le Courrier d’Abidjan, a daily close to Gbagbo. Regarding government initiatives to implement the Ouagadougou Agreement, the paper publishes the full text of the recommendations from a just-ended conclave organized by the Prime Minister Soro Guillaume. The paper calls the document, “Soro’s blueprint to bring peace back to Cote d’Ivoire.”

7. “We’ll overcome obstacles,” Le Front, a daily close to the New Forces, quotes Soro as saying at the conclusion of the government’s conclave yesterday in Cote d’Ivoire’s political capital Yamoussoukro. In a separate development, the paper notes that, “The ruling FPI party has confiscated the national broadcasting network.” 

8. According to L’evenement, a daily close to the former Prime Minister, “Cote d’Ivoire needs 500 billion Francs CFA to implement the peace process – including the organization of the forthcoming elections.”

9. A few days after May Day festivities in Cote d’Ivoire, papers continue to comment on President Laurent Gbagbo’s statement regarding the controversy surrounding university teachers’ demand for salary increases.

10. “Reacting to continuous strikes in the public sector, Gbagbo sets the record straight,” says a banner headline in Notre Voie, a daily close to the ruling FPI party. The paper publishes the full text of Gbagbo’s speech – given on May 1 at the Presidential Palace – quoting the Ivoirian leader as saying, “No university teacher will be paid two million Francs CFA.” 11. Reacting to what the Nord-Sud Quotidien – a paper close to the opposition -- calls “Gbagbo’s vitriol,” a leader of the workers union said: “Our dream can be made real through fighting,” reports the paper.

11. “Humiliated at the May Day celebrations by Gbagbo, workers’ leaders react,” writes Le Nouveau Reveil, a daily close to the ex-ruling PDCI-RDA party. “We’re not concerned by threats,” the paper quotes them as saying.