Government Could Lift Gbagbo Sanctions

United States Embassy (Abidjan)

21 July 2011

News reported in today’s press said that the Ivorian government could lift financial sanctions and unfreeze the assets of some prominent pro-Gbagbo supporters. Dailies also reported on changes within the Ivorian military leadership amid speculation about potential risks of destabilization. Disputes likely to torpedo arrangements that are being made ahead of the legislative elections and arrangements to end the occupation of an opposition newspaper’s offices by government forces were also reported on.

1. In a statement made yesterday, the Ivorian government announced that financial sanctions imposed on some dignitaries of former president Laurent Gbagbo’s regime could be lifted soon. Providing details, the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin noted that the decision came out of a cabinet meeting held yesterday in Yamoussoukro and is one of the measures aimed at promoting national reconciliation and peace. According to the daily, some 30 individuals whose financial assets have been frozen by the government for their alleged actions during the power struggle that followed last year’s presidential election could see those sanctions lifted soon. Discussions to that end are ongoing, the paper said, adding that the decision is, however, not likely to apply to individuals under EU sanctions.

2. As part of another decision that came out of yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the paper further noted that President Ouattara signed a decree establishing a commission of inquiry into crimes committed during the violent post-election turmoil. The commission would “help understand how and why people were able to conceive, plan and execute such grave violations of human rights,” the paper reported the government spokesperson, Mr. Bruno Kone as saying, adding that the commission has six months to release its findings.

Still on human rights issues, Notre Voie (a daily close to the former ruling FPI party) noted that the Ouattara administration is divided over the conditions of detention of several Gbagbo partisans. According to the daily, the Ivorian Minister of Justice, Mr. Ahoussou Jeannot, and his counterpart in charge of human rights are at loggerheads on the issue. The daily alleged that pro-Gbagbo dignitaries, under house arrest in the northern part of the country, are being denied their basic human rights and are being detained arbitrarily by the new regime.

Le Patriote (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara), on its part, noted that the harmonization of ranks and advancement within the Ivorian army were also on the agenda of yesterday’s cabinet meeting. Thus, the paper said, in line with the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, some army officers from the then-Forces Nouvelles have been promoted to higher ranks. The move, the paper said, is meant to formalize their integration into the Ivorian army, now known as the Forces Republicaines de Cote d’Ivoire (FRCI).

3. With more on military issues, Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara) informed readers that handovers in the upper ranks of the Ivorian army were recently carried out. Thus, the paper said, the newly appointed heads of the infantry, the air force and the Ivorian navy were officially sworn in by the Ivorian chief of army staff Gen. Soumaila Bakayoko. President Ouattara is due to meet today with the new officers, the paper said.

These handovers came as speculation about potential attacks designed to destabilize the country are being reported. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara) carried a banner headline pressing the Ivorian authorities to beware of a coup attempt being fomented by pro-Gbagbo dissidents along the country’s border with Ghana. The daily alleged that a secret meeting to finalize attack plans was held over the weekend to that end. Soir Info (an independent daily), on its part, noted that the UN special envoy in Cote d’Ivoire, Mr. Y. J. Choi, has, in a recent briefing to the UN Security Council, warned against potential threats posed by rival military factions and pro-Gbagbo forces in exile.

4. On domestic affairs, Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara) informed readers that legislative elections, slated for the end of the year, could be jeopardized as a result of ongoing disagreements within the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI). According to the daily, the Commission is facing major challenges both from within as well as from outside, a situation likely to put at stake the holding of the poll according to plans.

5. Finally, on media issues, a report in Notre Voie (a daily close to the former ruling FPI party) says that the offices of the newspaper, which are allegedly being occupied by elements of the FRCI, will be liberated soon. According to the paper, officials from the Defense Ministry visited the newspaper’s offices yesterday in Abidjan saying “the visit is part of an investigation ordered by the offices of the president and the prime minister.” The paper also quotes one of the officials explaining to the head of the FRCI detachment that occupies the newspaper’s office that “the purpose of the investigation is to demand that the FRCI detachment return to its barracks in order to allow journalists to take possession of their offices and resume normal business.” The report also says that the visit came after the National Press Council (CNP), a state-run print media regulatory body, sent a letter to the Ministry of Defense.

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