Review of the Ivorian Press, Friday 23 August 2013
L'Inter:
UNOCI has granted financial assistance worth CFA 15 million francs (30,000 USD)
to ex-combatants in Korhogo who were selected for the commercial tricycle
project organised by the national Authority for Disarmament, Demobilisation and
Reintegration (ADDR). Some 399 ex-combatants will receive CFA 40,000 francs (80
USD) each to enable them launch their transport business.
Le
Mandat:
The adoption of bills related to Ivorian nationality and land ownership is said
to be surrounded by controversy. Disagreement among parliamentarians of the
ruling RHDP coalition centres around the question whether the acquisition of
Ivorian nationality gives automatic right to land ownership, while some
detractors of the bill authorising the Head of State to ratify international
conventions on the status of stateless persons argue that there are no stateless
persons in Cote d'Ivoire. Another controversy centres on the exact number of
stateless persons. While some talk of 400,000 persons, others put the number at
3 million. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, puts the figure at 950,000.
L'Inter:
The
race for the presidency of the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) is on.
With 40 days to go for the 12th Congress of the party, four candidates have so
far declared their candidacies including the incumbent, Henri Konan Bedie, PDCI
Secretary-General Djedje Mady. PDCI youth wing president Kouadio Konan Bertin-
KKB and Yao Kouassi.
L'Inter:
The
federation of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), has called for a general amnesty
for other political prisoners and soldiers in detention charged with the same
crimes as the 12 close collaborators of former president Laurent Gbagbo who were
recently released on bail. An FPI general assembly on 10 August called on the
Head of State Alassaane Ouattara to emulate his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo who
granted amnesty to rebels following the 2002 political/military crisis.
L'Inter also observes that after granting bail to 12 collaborators of
former president Gbagbo, the FPI is under pressure to take part in political
dialogue with the government. The former ruling FPI had previously used the
detention of its leaders as a pretext for boycotting talks with the government.
Le
Patriote:
Some 200 exiles from Ghana and Togo have pledged to be ambassadors of peace and
reconciliation in Cote d'Ivoire. They made the commitment yesterday at the
Yopougon HQ of the Coalition of young patriots for peace. The exiles declared
the time for divisiveness, belligerence and war was over, saying it was now time
for Ivorians to adopt the dynamic for peace and national reconciliation.
Arc en Ciel:
Urban transporters in Abidjan, particularly taxis operating taxi-meters are
planning to go on a 5-day strike on Monday 26 August to protest against the non
respect of a protocol agreement by the Minister of Transport requiring other
inter-communal transporters to obtain the same administrative documents as the
taxi-meter taxis. The documents include vehicle registration documents, business
license, and authorisation to transport.