Audiences with
the Chairman of PDCI / Y.J. Choi: "We were in a political impasse until the past
Monday"

Le Nouveau
Réveil -
The political-diplomatic ballet opened
on Monday, 10 May at the home of Chairman Bédié, the PDCI candidate at the next
presidential election by Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivorian head of state, continued
yesterday Tuesday.  On this day, the PDCI candidate successively met with Mr.
Choi, then Jean Marc Simon. This is what Mr. Choi had to say at the end of his
visit. "We were until yesterday (Editor's note: Monday, 10 May – the day Bédié
and Gbagbo met) in a political impasse. On the electoral issue, we are not very
sure of when we will have a definitive electoral list. With regard to
reunification, there still a lot of work to do. And now, the elections and
reunification are linked. And then there is the march on 15 May and on the other
side there is a meeting of the political committee in New-York with the
Secretary-General on Côte d'Ivoire on 20 May 2010. And then based on the
discussions of the committee, there will be an important meeting of the Security
Council in June and it is at this meeting that decisions will be made about
UNOCI. So the situation is serious but we welcome the meeting on Monday between
President Gbagbo and Chairman Bédié in the spirit of compromise and the national
interest. (...).

 

Fofié Kouakou,
zone commander of Korhogo - "Cantonment of our elements will start soon"

Notre Voie  -

The Zone Commander of Korhogo, Fofié
Kouakou, met yesterday morning with the Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire. At the end of the meeting, he said: « I
came to meet and reassure Mr Y. Choi of my availability to implement the
military aspect of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. The cantonment of my men
will start very soon in Korhogo, so I am happy and satisfied with the meeting".
With regard to the disarmament of his men, he said that it was impossible to
talk about the issue of cantonment and ignore that of disarmament. "Whoever
talks about cantonment must also talk about disarmament, our leaders are ready,
we are simply the ones who implement, once the leadership gives the order we
will execute it,» he said. He also said that the UN sanctions against hi, were
not discussed during the meeting with the Special Representative of the UN
Secretary- General

 

March on 15 May:
France would like peace safeguarded

Fraternité- Matin -

Former president Henri Konan Bédié has informed me that party
members of the Rally of Houphouétistes for Democracy and Peace have decided to
maintain the march which is part of their right to demonstrate, a right which is
in the Constitution. All that we hope is this will be done peacefully and that
civil order will be preserved». This statement was made yesterday by the French
ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Jean-Marc Simon, at the end of a meeting with PDCI
chairman, Henri Konan Bédié. The two men also discussed the political situation
in Côte d'Ivoire during the meeting. According to the French diplomat, «the
various difficulties which still remain concerns the electoral list,
reunification of the country, an important element and disarmament».
(...).

 

Postponement of
15 May march: The RHDP hesitates

Le Mandat  -

Incredible, what happened last night at the home of the chairman
of the RHDP-Rda, Aimé Henri Konan Bédié. After almost two hours of secret talks,
the leaders of the Rally of Houphouëtistes for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) could
not produce a final communiqué which would tell Ivorians about the march
scheduled to be held Opposition youths on 15 May.
(...)
After almost two hours of discussion,
it was Mr. Emile Ebrottier: who is in charge of communication for Chairman Aimé
Henri Konan Bédié, who came out at 18.45 in front of a huge number of
journalists and photo reporters, who had been waiting a long time, to apologise
on behalf of the RHDP leaders «Chairmen Bédié, Ado, Anaky and Mabri sends their
apologies and ask you to come back tomorrow (today) at 17 00hours, a compromise
has to be found," he told journalists.  (...).

 

Regarding appeals on the grey
List: the statement from the Independent Electoral Commission

www.abidjan.net:
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has not been deployed in the Local
Electoral Commission (LEC) on Monday, May 10, 2010 to start the appeals process
on the grey list, as was announced. Last minute difficulties, beyond its
control, have prevented it from doing so. However, the IEC reassures the
national and international communities of its determination to conduct the
electoral process to its conclusion. (...)

 

The crisis-resolution process:
The Forces Nouvelles wants concomitant disarmament

Le Nouveau Réveil
 - Sekongo Felicien,
a spokesman for the Forces Nouvelles and Special Adviser to the Secretary
General of the Forces Nouvelles in charge of civil society talked about the
current socio-political situation on May 8 in Bonoua during a public conference
held at the town hall of that city by the international organization of
community associations for the development and unity (OISS). (...)Sekongo
Felicien said that regarding disarmament, "self-defence" groups still exist.
They too must disarm. For the Forces Nouvelles, disarmament is not a difficult
thing to do. There is nothing difficult. Disarmament is part of the military
operations. People who respect themselves cannot deny that. However, the
disarmament must be concomitant. (...).

 

Row between RDR and Forces
Nouvelles: a danger on the horizon

L'Expression
 - We have witnessed, these past days, heated exchanges between the
spokespersons of the Forces Nouvelles and the RDR. However, none of them will
win at the end of this squabble, which, without any doubt, suits the
presidential camp. The political microcosm is surprised to see a skirmish
between the RDR and the Forces Nouvelles. Through their spokesmen, they throw
poisonous darts at each other that may do more harm than they think.  As an
example, Sanogo Mamadou, "The Mr. election of the RDR" has recently accused the
Prime Minister's Office and the Independent Electoral Commission of playing the
game of the presidential camp because they have decided to resume the appeals by
taking into account the demands of the FPI instead of the Agreement of February
22. Responding to Mr. Sanogo's declaration, the spokesman of the former
rebellion, Sekongo Felicien, said that "The indelicate Sanogo Mamadou has the
courage to make nonsensical statements against the Prime Minister and Secretary
General of the Forces Nouvelles, Guillaume Soro, whose struggle and that of the
Force Nouvelles' gave Alassane the chance to be a presidential candidate." The
text published in the columns of Nord-Sud and Notre Voie angered the
Republicans. Therefore, the spokesperson for the youth of the candidate Alassane
Ouattara, Salimata Dembele, decided to take action. She spat the venom on the
Force Nouvelle. "I recommend you to take a mirror and to look at yourself and
think about who, you were just 10 years before and you will realize that your
struggle was not for the candidacy of Alassane Dramane Ouattara but rather to
get rich on the backs of Ivorians. You can make mistakes about where you are
going, it does not matter, but what matters the most is when you make a mistake
about where you come from, and you seem to forget your roots," she said. Then,
she asked Soro and his men to face their responsibilities. "How can we
understand that you keep quiet when faced with the numerous removal of names
from the electoral list when you took up arms precisely to resolve the problems
of identity?"(...) she said.

 

The Opposition march: Michel
Amani N'Guessan, (Defence Minister) reveals: "Weapons were hidden in Yopougon"

Inter
 - "The weapons discovered in
Anyama, were not intended to kill animals but people. Human life is sacred. God
cannot allow the killing (...) Those who do not believe in God are still trying
to peddle weapons everywhere. They hid weapons in Yopougon; they have hidden
weapons to attack here. But search in the Bible, who has overcome a child of
God? Who can defeat the one who puts his faith in God?  No one!

The Minister Amani made this
statement on Saturday, May 8, in Yamoussoukro. It was at the double ceremonies
of laying the first stone of the Evangelical Church of the Assemblies of God's
"temple of Peniel"...
(...)