The United
Nations' « tango »

Le Patriote  –

When will elections be held in Côte d'Ivoire?  There is still no
response to this concern of Ivorians, fed up with the constitutional vacuum the
country has been going through for five years. After six successive
postponements, Ivorians have only one desire: the organization of fair, open,
transparent and equitable elections, that would certainly pave the way for a new
Côte d'Ivoire, definitively involved in peace, development and prosperity. But
this cherished dream has proved difficult to fulfill. This is because the
Ivorian Head of State, Laurent Gbagbo, and his party have been doing everything
to block the holding of elections. Their latest find is to shout everywhere that
the electoral list produced by technical institutions (Sagem and INS) selected
by consensus is "full of fraudsters". The list was however validated by all the
actors and institutions involved in the electoral process. Above all, it was
certified by the United Nations, through the Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General in Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Young-Jin Choi. (...) But what is the
international community, especially the United Nations,  doing to make things
really move forward? Nothing concrete. In fact, from statement to statement, the
UN has always shown its limitations regarding deadlocks in the Ivorian electoral
process. And the last revelation by Mr. Choi, published by the French daily
newspaper Liberation, is not reassuring. "Anyway, election will never be held
here", the Chief of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire apparently
said at a meeting with one of his collaborators. Beyond this statement which
could be described as a quip, the United Nations has always limited itself to
making speeches whereas Ivorians are waiting for concrete actions. (...)

Dania – UNOCI
sensitizes for the promotion of peace

L'Expression  –
The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), on Friday 2 July 2010,
organized a sensitization and information day for the promotion of a peaceful
electoral environment in Dania, 565 km west of Abidjan, as part of its caravan
known as UNOCI TOUR. Jean Gbassinga of UNOCI's Electoral Assistance Division,
after defining the section's mandate, explained the different phases in the
electoral process. He called on the populations to check the electoral lists by
themselves when they will be posted. Ms. Coulibaly Fatoumata of the Public
Information Office asked the community chiefs and opinion leaders to better
manage rumours in this delicate electoral period. "You must check information by
going to the source to put an end to rumours", she advised. Talking to the
population, Mrs. Coulibaly said that « rumours are an obstacle to social
cohesion. Do not be gossipmongers. Cultivate peace as a second religion. » (...)  

Verification of the
provisional voters' list: out of 1,792,356 cases, only 135,150 remain

Le Nouveau Réveil  -
The verification of the provisional voters list, begun on June 21, is actively
following its course. The technicians say they have encountered no major
problem. 1,792,356 petitioners are the main target of this operation. The
political parties and the technical structures have adopted by consensus a guide
for a methodological audit. This methodology has two phases: a computer check
and a manual verification. According to reliable sources, the meeting held
yesterday morning at the Prime Minister's Office has confirmed the end of the
first phase, which is the computer check. After this phase, the second phase,
the manual verification, starts this morning. Only 166,108 petitioners are
concerned by this operation (...). The data used for this operation were provided
by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and Sagem security, two of the
technical structures involved in the electoral process in Cote d'Ivoire. (...)

Presidential Election 2010:
Man calls for the holding of elections

Le Nouveau Réveil
 - The coordination
of civil society organizations of the city of Man demonstrated on Monday, July
5, 2010 to express their exasperation at the delaying of the presidential
election, to the regional commissioner (préfet) of Man. At around 8:00 a.m.,
barricades were erected to block the main streets of the city; the shrill sound
of whistles of informed everyone that the day would be hectic. Indeed, many
young people, members of civil society, carried banners and placards that read:
"Gbagbo, stop the diversion, we want to go to elections"; "We want our papers,
we want to vote" They converged on the Peace Square, where a meeting was held to
explain to the population why the demonstration was being held. For civil
society in Man, the presidential camp has no reason to continually delay the
elections. They think the so-called moralization of public life, which affects
Interior Minister Désiré Tagro and tends to incriminate Prime Minister Guillaume
Soro, is nothing but "delaying tactics and an attempt to sabotage the
Ouagadougou Peace Agreement. From the peace square, the civil society
representatives went to the Préfecture, where they read two motions to First
Secretary Acho Oke.

Violation of the embargo –
Gbagbo has received new tanks

Le Patriote
 - The situation of neither
peace nor war is in danger. The former belligerents in the Ivorian conflict
continue to strengthen their military arsenal in violation of UN Resolution 1572
that imposes an arms embargo. If the Forces Nouvelles are fairly discreet, this
is hardly the case with President Gbagbo. According to a senior officer of the
regular army, military tanks were landed on June at a dock commonly called the
"banana wharf" in Abidjan. This information was confirmed by some employees of
the wharf in question. According to these night workers, they saw half a dozen
military tanks that were later taken to the Presidential Palace, located less
than a kilometre away. We do not know yet if these tanks are still in the
basement of the Palace or if they were subsequently taken elsewhere. Anyway,
this military acquisition is very bad news for peace in Côte d'Ivoire. It is
especially disturbing because at the end of June a senior officer told to the
Newspaper L'Inter that war is inevitable. (...)