IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - CÔTE D'IVOIRE

26 November 2004

President Gbagbo urged to assist opposition press, bring order to
state-owned media

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

**Updates IFEX alerts of 11, 8 and 5 November, 28 and 27 October 2004**

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF statement:

President urged to aid recovery of opposition press and bring order to
state-owned media

Reporters Without Borders has welcomed a statement from Ivorian president,
Laurent Gbagbo, condemning the ransacking of opposition and independent
newspaper offices on 4 November and the opening of an investigation to
punish those responsible. But the worldwide press freedom organisation
called on him to go further to ensure these newspapers can circulate freely
again and to restore order within the state-owed media.

"While it is shameful for this condemnation to come three weeks after the
event, we hail Laurent Gbagbo's apparent desire to see justice for dailies
24 Heures, Le Patriote, Le Nouveau Réveil, Le Jour, Le Front, Le Libéral
nouveau and all newspapers silenced by the extremists," Reporters Without
Borders said.

"We hope that these investigations will be thorough and that those
responsible, whoever they may be, will be genuinely punished". But it added
that to be consistent, the Ivorian authorities should also establish
professionalism within the state-owned media and guarantee that gagged
publications go back on sale at newsstands.

"Once it has received assurances from the head of state in person there
should be no reason for distributor Edi Presse to refuse to deliver them,"
it added.

A final statement from the council of ministers' meeting on 25 November,
read on television by the government's spokesman, said that the head of
state condemned the destruction of opposition party headquarters and "the
wrecking of some newspaper offices, violence against individuals,
particularly foreigners, women and children."

"Such acts should not go unpunished," said the statement, adding that
President Gbagbo had announced that investigations were "under way" to find
those responsible for acts of destruction, pillage and physical assaults.

A wave of exceptional violence was unleashed against press freedom on 4
November, the same day that Ivorian armed forces launched an offensive
against positions of former rebels in the north of the country.
Pro-government militia ransacked some opposition newspapers, gagging part of
the press, sabotaged FM broadcasts by Radio France Internationale (RFI), BBC
and Africa N°1 and ousted the director-general of Radiotélévision ivoirienne
(RTI) for a pro-government figure.

The state-owned media that enjoy a virtual monopoly in the economic capital,
Abidjan, then turned themselves into propagandists for the president's
party, and "Young Patriots" called for an anti-French uprising, putting out
doom-laden and extremist news.

Journalists who could not work for their gagged newspapers were forced to
live in hiding, more or less, before managing to publish a combined free
issue, distributed unofficially on 22 November, thanks to a return to calm
in the economic capital. Private distributor Edi Presse, however, still
refused to distribute the papers, citing "constant threats to destroy your
dailies and to ransack offices." It also argued that other newspaper sellers
and other partners" feared "their activities could be endangered" as a
result. Le Patriote, Le Jour, 24 Heures, Ivoire Matin, Le Libéral nouveau,
Le Nouveau Réveil and Le Front produced a further joint issue on 26
November, with a cover price, but still using an alternative distribution
system.

FM broadcasts of RFI and BBC mysteriously returned to Abidjan on 24
November. Moreover, there was a noticeable change of tone on the airwaves of
state-owned RTI and Radio Côte d'Ivoire, which broadcast regular messages
aimed at restoring calm.

For further information, contact Leonard Vincent at RSF, 5, rue Geoffroy
Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51,
e-mail: [email protected], Internet: http://www.rsf.org

The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of RSF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit RSF.
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