Mr. Yves Zogbo Junior has been living into exile for three years now. He currently lives in Democratic Republic of Congo after a brief stay in
Monday, April 21, 2008
Ivory Coast: a TV show presenter stands for presidential elections
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Côte d'Ivoire: soccer legend beaten
On Saturday 12th April 2008, Ivorians were disappointed to learn that the international famous soccer player, Pokou Laurent, got beaten up by four policemen, a week ago, at a check point on one of the main roads leading to Abidjan, the economic hub of the country. This sad news spread out when the national TV channel showed the dishevelled face of this “soccer pioneer” with swellings.
Pokou Laurent is a former international Ivorian soccer player, famous at home and abroad, and very often acknowledged as the “Ivorian soccer pioneer” when Drogba Didier is acknowledged as the “Ivorian soccer hero”. Pokou Laurent still was the best African striker (with 14 goals) the African Cup of Nations competition has never registered until the very last African Cup of Nations soccer competition hold in Ghana this year, 2008.
On April 6th, Pokou Laurent was like a toy in the hands of four policemen who beat him up. He missed being killed for no charge at all. At the check point, he was asked to get off his car and to show his ID card. He complied with this demand in a polite way. He thought that just after the regular check up, he would get the authorization to drive away. Unfortunately, as his attitude did not lend to the racket practice policemen are accustomed to, he got beaten up seriously. When he was asked to describe what happened to him, he himself asserted: “policemen said they would take my life off”.
Cases of police misconduct are legion in Ivory Coast. No one is safe from the misconduct of policemen in this country where police is almost lethal than the disease it pretends to cure.
Selay M.K.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Ivory Coast: Price Rise Riot: Laurent Gbagbo cancelled custom duties and cut taxes on staples
Violent demonstrations against the rising coast of living have shaken
Yesterday morning, April 1st, at around 11.am, in an attempt to disperse the growing number of demonstrators who set up barricades and burned tyres to close major roads, the Anti-riot police fired on protestors and gunn down the young demonstrator, SEA Abel, in Port Bouët Gonzagueville, a seaside suburb of Abidjan. The Anti-riot police also injured around 39 demonstrators and made many arrests.
The demonstrators started to confront Anti-riot police and ransack public buildings as the news about the assassination of the young demonstrator SEA Abel spread out.
In the afternoon, at 4.pm, the Secretary General of the Government, Tyeoulou Felix announced on the National TV Channel that the government has immediately decided to cancel custom duties on imported staples and cut taxes on the basic household products; rice, sugar, milk, fish, flour, oil, canned tomatoes, cement. He then begged the demonstrators to withdraw from the streets. On 8.pm, the President Laurent Gbagbo delivered a speech focussing the price rise issue aired on the National Radio and TV channels, RTI. He has appealed for calm and has invited the leaders of all the national consumers associations and the economic operators to a talk at the presidency.
No demonstration has been witnessed this morning in the streets, the concern of all the Ivorian citizens and non nationals living in
Selay M.K.
Côte d'Ivoire: Price rise riot : riot police in clashes with peaceful demonsrators
The incident happened after populations joined a spontaneous protest against steep price hikes in Abidjan, the economic hub of the country. Demonstrators, mainly composed of women, gathered and began to set fire to rubbish containers and tyres in the streets, in Yopougon, a quarter at the periphery of Abidjan and in Cocody, the residential area where the embassies have their sites and where the President of the Republic and heads of the national and international institutions live as well.
At around 9.AM, demonstrators started to rise up stones and bricks roadblocks to disrupt the traffic. Battles broke out as riot police wearing gas masks and using batons and shields charged the areas where demonstrators had gathered and fired tear gas, rubber bullets, bullets and water cannon at the protesters. Police truck armed with water cannons sprayed the demonstrators while policemen wearing armor moved in formation down the streets firing smoke bombs.
This demonstration happened two days after the political meeting held by PDCI RDA, one of the main opposition parties, in Yopougon, the quarter where riot police started to clash with demonstrators. During this meeting, President Henri Konan Bedie, the former Ivorian President dismissed by the 1999 military coup has delivered a spicy speech, urging Ivorians to mobilize in order to get rid of the endless reign of the actual ruling party (FPI). “[…] we call on the international community, friends of Ivory Coast and all the witnesses of the current political situation […] to help Ivorians get rid of the present ruling party which is extending the duration of its terms office without the free consent of the people”.
It is important to recall that the presidential elections normally due to October 2005 have been postponed many times. These elections have finally been pencilled for June 2008 by Ouagadougou political Agreement. But, there is no doubt that these elections will be delayed once more.
The speech of the ex-President could have triggered the sudden uprising of the population. Unfortunately, riot police responded this peaceful demonstration using rubber bullets, real bullets, and made many arrests.
Selay M.K.
Côte d'Ivoire: Pro-governmental Militias: a Time bomb threatening the Peace Process
On May 2007, in the presence of President Laurent Gbagbo and the Special Representative of UN Secretary General, Abou Mussa, five (5) pro-governmental militias: FLGO, APWE, UPERGO, MILOCI, gathered into a single armed unit name FRGO, under the leadership of Maho Glofléhi, set fire on 1027 weapons. This event was commented by many political analysts as the very beginning and promising disarmament process. 981 out of 2000 militiamen received each 1,000 US $. The disarmament process of these militias has not been heard of since.
The remaining 1,019 militiamen are still threatening dwellers of the western region of the country. They are also pestering their leader to get financial compensation for them and threaten to block the peace process as well. On addressing local journalists and journalists of AFP, the French Press Agency, on Friday 21st March 2008, Maho Glofléhi, the leader of the western pro-governmental militias asserted: “ […] Until now, I have calmed down uprisings of the unhappy militiamen. I have now come to the point of exhaustion […] The 1,019 militiamen are intrepid fighters and still are a time bomb”. Maho Glofléhi called the government to keep its promise and provide the militiamen with financial compensation to prevent any sudden uprising.
Côte d'Ivoire: Compaore calls out Gbagbo and his Premier to respect the Electoral Schedule
Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo and his Premier Soro Guillaume failed to respect the schedule set up within the framework of Ouagadougou Political Agreement which should normally pave the way to the presidential election pencilled for June 2008. As time is passing by, clamors become more and more audible.
here is no doubt that the long postponed elections pencilled for June 2008 by the Ouagadougou Agreement will be delayed once more. The main opposition parties, PDCI and RDR, and some political analysts see behind this postponement an unveiled will of the ruling party (FPI) to organize electoral fraud and stay in power for a new term of office. This troublesome situation is still fuelling political debates in the headquarters of political parties.
The facilitator of Ouagadougou Agreement,
Selay M.K.
Ivory Coast : Postponement of Elections Due to June 2008 : Who is to Blame ?
The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the National Statistics Institute (INS), the French technical Operator SAGEM, the popular opposition parties, President Laurent Gbagbo and his Premier Soro Guillaume, are accusing each other of the postponement of the presidential election in Ivory Coast. Each of these entities is an important actor of the electoral process and bears the responsibility for the successful holding of 2008 general elections. The postponement of these elections is still fuelling debates in the country.
SAGEM, the French Operator, hired by the Ivorian government to identify voters by the use of biometric data claimed up to 100,000,000 US $ to keep up the work. The government disagreed with this financial bid and dismissed SAGEM. Till now, the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) is not through with the public hearings which are an important step towards the holding of the elections, mainly because of the strike of judges, attorneys and legal experts in charge of this operation, and because of the lack of financial means as reported by Beugre Mambe, the Head of the CEI. The Head of the National Statistics Institute (INS) asserts that its institute has faced many financial, logistic and administrative problems; among is the crafting of a reliable electoral listing. President Gbagbo and his Prime Minister Soro consider the leaders of the most popular opposition parties as responsible for the blockade that hinder the holding of free and fair elections in Ivory Coast. On addressing the populations of Beoumi, a town 30km far from Bouake, the hub of the former rebellion, Gbagbo warned the leaders of opposition against the Kenyan post-electoral violence syndrome: “Each candidate is claiming victory before the holding of the election [...] They are working to favor the birth of the kenyan post-electoral violence syndrome in this country. I keep these people responsible for what might occur after proclamation of poll results”. On the other side, the leaders of the opposition parties assert that Gbagbo will not willingly organize free and fair elections unless people coerce him to do so. Besides the leaders of opposition parties claim that President Gbagbo is using tricks to delay the date of the election in order to organize electoral fraud and stay in power for another term of office.
This gloomy political atmosphere seriously undermines the promising confidence that was born after the Ouagadougou Agreement and “the flame of peace” held in Bouake. Confidence is unfortunately giving place to mistrust. Meanwhile each political actor shifts the blame on the others.
Selay M.K.COTE D’IVOIRE: Disarmament before or after Presidential Elections due to June 2008? The Question stands on.
In the streets, in the offices and in the headquarters of political parties, all the discussions are centered on the disarmament issue; people are debating whether to disarm former fighters before or after the election normally due to June 2008.
The point of views of President Laurent Gbagbo and Soro Guillaume, the Prime Minister and former leader of the Forces Nouvelles (FN) and Henri Konan Bedie and Allassane Ouattara, the leaders of the main opposition parties are diametrically opposed. President Laurent Gbagbo and his Prime Minister Soro Guillaume are determined to carry out the disarmament operation till to its end before the holding of the long-postponed elections. Weapons have been assembled at disarmament sites and barracks, but the former fighters of both the governmental and rebel troops have not been disarmed yet. On the other side, Konan Bedie and Allassane Ouattara, assert that, though weapons have been assembled within barracks, President Gbagbo and Prime Minister Soro Guillaume are not willing to disarm their fighters and organize the elections in June 2008, as planned by Ouagadougou Agreement. Gbagbo and Soro Guillaume are suspected of using the disarmament as a pretext to delay the election once more in order to prepare electoral fraud. Konan Bedie the leader of PDCI-RDA and Allassane Ouattara, the leader of RDR, the main opposition parties said that full implementation of the peace agreement, including total disarmament of the Forces Nouvelles, is not necessary prior to the holding of the election normally due to June 2008. Pascal Affi N’guessan, the President of the FPI, Gbagbo's party, has said that disarmament must be completed before the election.
The question of disarmament stands on while Ivorians are waiting for pending elections.
Selay M.K.
COTE D’IVOIRE: President SARKOZY claims free and fair elections
The preceding Peace Agreements and Talks: Lomé Talk (Togo), Marcoussis Peace Agreement (France), Pretoria I and Pretoria II Peace Agreements (South Africa), Accra I, II, II Peace Agreements (Ghana) and the various UN Security Council resolutions failed to pave the way for free and fair elections in Côte d’Ivoire.
Ouagadougou Agreement and its additional clauses signed by President Laurent GBAGBO and the Prime Minister SORO Guillaume focus on the disarmament, the demobilization and the reintegration issues. This political agreement also focuses on the mobile courts’ process to issue birth certificate to people above 13 years old and who have never been registered at the Civil office.
The implementation of the additional clauses has been postponed many times and the population is still worrying about the credibility of the presidential election due later June 2008. This date will certainly be delayed once more and President GBAGBO sees no risk linked to this postponement. Speaking to ONUCI-FM (the radio station of the UN mission operations in Côte d’Ivoire) on March 4th 2008, President GBAGBO said: “I am serene because I know that we are stepping towards elections, calmly […] We are working to organize presidential elections in June 2008, but if there is no election in 2008, there will be no death […] I we are not through with the organization of this elections, will just inform Ivorians that we are not through with electoral organization, and that’s all […]”.
President SARKOZY, who takes an interest in the Ivorian crisis since its very beginning, now claims free and fair election in
During the conversation he has had with the facilitator Blaise COMPAORE, President of Burkina Faso, on Friday 7th March 2008, President Nicolas SAZKOZY recalled that “it is essential that the electoral process in
For the time being, Ivorians need disarmament and elections but there are fears that electoral fraud and protest might bring violent turmoil and upheavals in the country.
Libre Analyse de la Forte Présence Chinoise en Afrique
Le Constat: L'activité chinoise fait florès en Afrique!
Aujourd'hui, presque chaque pays africain témoigne d'une présence chinoise croissante. Cette présence chinoise ne date pas d'hier, même si elle s'est accrue tout récemment. La présence chinoise en Afrique s'est manifestée depuis les années 60 par l'offre de diverses compétences techniques aux pays africains (dans le domaine agricole surtout). La récente influence chinoise en Afrique a été promue par le premier Forum de Coopération Sino-africaine qui a eu lieu à Beijing en 2000; le but de ce forum étant de promouvoir les relations diplomatiques, le commerce et l'investissement entre
D'où vient ce regain d'intérêt croissant pour l'Afrique? Que représente l'Afrique pour
Ce que vaut l'Afrique pour
Le
L'Afrique renferme des ressources naturelles abondantes. C'est d'abord une source clé de matières premières, surtout de pétrole brut dont
La stratégie chinoise de pénétration du marché africain diffère de celle des ex-pouvoirs coloniaux en bien de points si bien que
Stratégies de pénétration du marché africain
Dans son opération de charme en vue de la pénétration du marché africain,
La coopération sino-africaine présente indéniablement des avantages pour les deux parties, mais elle semble être, à y voir de près, la répétition-type des relations commerciales établies par l'impérialisme européen; la répétition de la vieille histoire du commerce africain avec l'Europe. On peut oser affirmer alors, sans risque de se tromper, que l'avenir demeure un défi pour l'Afrique.
L'Avenir: un challenge permanent pour l'Afrique
Le commerce sino-africain présente des caractéristiques semblables au commerce que l'Europe a entretenu des décennies durant avec l'Afrique. L'Afrique exporte des matières premières vers
et rivalisent avec les industries et les entreprises locales. Ainsi, l'industrie locale se trouve dans une position défavorable à cause de la croissance des exportations chinoises vers l'Europe et les Etats-Unis. Cette situation détruit tout espoir pour l'Afrique de pénétrer les marchés européens et étasuniens et encore l'espoir de voir prospérer les industries et les entreprises africaines au niveau local.
Les exemples qui illustrent combien de fois les entreprises africaines végètent dans les profondeurs abyssales de la galère à cause de la forte présence chinoise sur le marché domestique africain sont légion. Le cas du textile en est un parmi bien d'autres. A l'expiration de l'Accord Multifibre (MFA) en Janvier 2005, les exportations chinoises vers les Etats-Unis son monté en flèche et les exportateurs africains se sont rendus compte qu'ils ne pouvaient pas leur faire concurrence. Plus de dix (10) usines textile au Lesotho ont fermé en 2005 et dix mille (10.000) employés au moins se sont retrouvés au chômage.
En Octobre 2005, des syndicalistes représentant les industries de vêtements, de textiles, de chaussures et de cuir de plusieurs pays - Le Ghana, le Kenya, le Malawi, Madagascar, l'Ile Maurice,
Les gouvernements africains devraient pouvoir soulever devant le comité responsable des conflits de l'Organisation Mondiale du Commerce les pratiques de dumping de
Selay M.K.
COTE D’IVOIRE: NDI’s Contribution to Free and fair Elections from 1992 to Present: How little has changed / How much remains to be done
Since its creation in 1983, the American based Non Governmental Organization NDI has contributed to the reinforcement and the development of democracy throughout the world and throughout
In
From 1995 to 1999, NDI’s action targeted both the National Assembly and the Government. During the legislative election organized in November 1995, NDI staff supervised twenty (20) different sites in ten (10) regions of the country. In October 1997, NDI organized a seminar for the members of Parliament (of which 65 percent were new elected officials) in order to help them better know and master electoral processes and concentrate on the demands of voters. In December 1999, when the armed forces came into power after the coup, NDI officers realized that the chances of having free and fair elections in 2000 were reduced. So NDI sent a delegation to
Since 2000, NDI has focused its efforts on political parties, on the organizations of the civil society and on the electoral administration. In
In 2006, disagreements about the ‘Public Hearings’ have provoked clashes between political protagonists and have resulted in many deaths and casualties. For what must be learned, Public Hearings aimed at providing Nationals and non Nationals born in
Though NDI has made significant contribution to pave the way for free and fair election in
Journalists are really not associated with the pacification process in
Selay M.K.