American Embassy’s National Daily Press Review and Media Reaction

United States Embassy (Abidjan)

13 May 2011

press release

This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. .

American Embassy’s National Daily Press Review

Yesterday’s official mourning ceremony at the presidential palace, President Alassane Ouattara’s first foreign trip since taking the oath of office, as well as ongoing arrangements for the investiture of the Ivorian leader in Yamoussoukro made major news in today’s press. Dailies also reported on cases of human rights abuses committed in the aftermath of the post-electoral crisis.

1. President Alassane Ouattara pledged yesterday to punish those who committed crimes during the violent power struggle between him and former leader Laurent Gbagbo, as he decreed three days of national mourning for those killed. The information was reported by the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin, which underscored that the somber ceremony hosted at the presidential palace was full of emotion. “Never again should our country descend into bloodshed as it did over the past five months,” the paper reported the Ivorian leader as saying. “We the survivors, we remember the martyrs and all victims of this crisis. We must pause to mourn with those thousands of families bereaved and saddened,” President Ouattara reportedly said. According to the Ivorian leader, no crime will remain unpunished. “A national commission of inquiry has already been formed to pursue and judge perpetrators of atrocities and killings,” he said, adding that the recently appointed Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission will enable the whole nation to understand, determine responsibility and give the power to forgive. [Note: At least 3,000 people were killed in the violence and more than a million uprooted according to recent reports. End note.]

2. Just after the mourning ceremony, the Ivoirian leader headed to Senegal, his first official foreign trip since he was sworn in. Reporting on the event, Le Patriote (a daily close to President Ouattara) noted that President Ouattara received a warm welcome upon his arrival. The trip, tagged as a “friendly and working visit” by Mr. Ouattara’s office could also be regarded as an acknowledgement to his Senegalese counterpart President Adboulaye Wade for his support during the five-month long post-electoral crisis. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara), on its part, noted that the trip is also meant to revive the bilateral relationship between the two countries, badly challenged by the former regime of Mr. Laurent Gbagbo.

3. The countdown to the official investiture of President Ouattara in the political capital Yamoussoukro has begun with only eight days remaining before the event. According to L’Inter (an independent daily), arrangements are being made at all levels in the central city to ensure a successful ceremony for the wide-range of participants due to attend. To that end, major repairs and other maintenance operations are being conducted in the city. Security issues are being addressed by the Republican Forces who are likely to receive support from UN forces, the paper said.

4. Between 2000 and 3000 people were killed as a result of the post-electoral conflict according to the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI). The announcement was made yesterday by UNOCI spokesperson Mr. Hamadoun Toure, who underscored that these figures could be revised as atrocities were still being committed in the west of the country. According to L’Inter (an independent daily), the UN official also indicated that a preliminary inquiry carried out by the UN in Yopougon has established that at least 68 people were killed by militias and buried in mass graves. A total of ten mass graves were identified in the neighborhood then under the control of pro-Gbagbo forces, Mr. Toure said, adding that investigations into human rights violations are still going on. Mr. Toure also called on Ivoirians to turn the page on this sad conflict and look forward, the paper said.

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