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To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

IVORY COAST: Body of missing local reporter found

New York, March 20, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) mourns
the death of Kloueu Gonzreu, 51, a regional correspondent for the state-run
news wire service Agence Ivoirienne de Presse.

According to several local reports, Gonzreu's body was found and identified
on Wednesday, March 19, by a team from the Red Cross, where the journalist
also worked in his spare time. Gonzreu's remains were discovered near
Toulepleu, a town on the border with Liberia where Liberian mercenaries
employed by the Ivoirian government reportedly kidnapped the journalist on
January 11.

Gonzreu disappeared less than two weeks after Notre Pays, a pro-government
publication, had listed him among suspected rebels in its January 30
edition. Notre Pays accused Gonzreu of "voicing sympathy for the rebellion"
in his reports.

Liberian mercenaries have been fighting on both sides of the Ivoirian civil
war, which began in September 2002 after disgruntled soldiers from the
country's Muslim north attempted and failed to topple the government, which
has the support of southern Christian and animist populations.

"We are greatly saddened by the death of our colleague Gonzreu," said CPJ
acting director Joel Simon. "We reiterate our call to all parties to Ivory
Coast's conflict to respect the rights of journalists to report the news
freely and to refrain from targeting them for doing so."

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press
conditions in Ivory Coast, visit www.cpj.org.

**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole responsibility
of CPJ**