Gueï claimed that he was not interested in power, and had seized control merely to save the country from the ravages of Ivoirité, the nativist, anti-immigrant movement that has dominated Côte d'Ivoire's political life for the past seven years. In early August, however, he declared himself a candidate for the October 22 presidential election. When that vote went against him, he tried to stop the counting of ballots, only to be thrown out of office by a popular revolt.
Gueï's National Public Salvation Committee (CNSP) used state television and radio to browbeat critics of the regime. In a June 23 broadcast, for example, the CNSP announced that it would censor any information "likely to negatively affect the credibility of journalists, national security, and social peace." It also threatened to prosecute journalists who "compromise[d] national security." (Local press laws impose criminal penalties for defamation and allow the state to prosecute reporters who publish leaked official documents.)
In late June, several pro-opposition news organizations published rumors of a coup plot by junta officials angered by Gueï's support for a controversial draft constitution that required presidential candidates "to be of Ivorian origin, born of a father and a mother themselves of Ivorian origin." A few days later, on July 4, disgruntled soldiers raided the studios of the Abidjan radio station Nostalgie FM to air grievances against Gueï. The soldiers said Gueï had reneged on a vow to pay each of them US$9000 for helping him seize power.
That same day, the junta banned Nostalgie FM for its alleged complicity with the rebellious soldiers and the RDR. (The popular station resumed broadcasting shortly after the October 26, 2000, uprising that overthrew General Gueï.) On July 5, having described the soldiers' actions as a failed coup sponsored by the opposition Rally of Republicans (RDR) party, Gueï claimed that certain local journalists had received money from the RDR in exchange for writing negative stories about the CNSP regime.
Meanwhile, the pro-RDR daily newspaper Le Liberal was banned on July 7. It resumed publication two weeks later, but appeared irregularly for the remainder of the year.
On September 8, the independent Abidjan daily Le Jour ran an article by veteran political reporter Joachim Beugré that cast doubt on Gueï's parentage. Gueï immediately summoned Beugré and his publisher, Diegou Bailly, to his office and severely reprimanded them. Gueï's bodyguards later drove Beugré to an open field on the outskirts of Abidjan, where they beat him brutally.
On September 21, local journalists observed a news blackout to protest the beating. (The state radio and television network RTI joined the boycott, despite stern warnings from the government.) The next day, hundreds of media professionals marched in downtown Abidjan and demanded that Gueï publicly apologize to Beugré. Gueï complied, hoping to improve his battered image a month ahead of the presidential vote.
Nineteen people submitted applications to the junta-appointed Supreme Court to run for president. Fourteen candidates were rejected, including the RDR leader and former prime minister Allassane Ouattara, who lost out because of his "dubious ethnic origins and falsified identification documents."
On October 22, Gueï stopped the ballot counting and declared himself the winner after exit polls showed him trailing Laurent Gbagbo, leader of the opposition Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). Outraged by this high-handed power play, thousands of people took to the streets and forced the dictator from power.
Gbagbo was sworn in as president on October 26. That same day, soldiers loyal to the new president kidnapped and beat Bakary Nimaga, editor of the RDR daily Le Liberal. The next day, FPI supporters ransacked the paper's offices. (Over 150 people died in post-election violence between RDR and FPI backers.)
President Gbagbo, a pioneer of the country's democracy movement, asked local media to stop what he described as "abusive" coverage of the president and to "concentrate more on socio-economic and cultural information as well as plural political discussions." His wife, Simone Gbagbo, an FPI member of Parliament, accused the international media of "distorting the realities in Côte d'Ivoire."
On December 15, over a hundred youths marched in Abidjan to protest against foreign news coverage of Côte d'Ivoire. The demonstrators carried placards with slogans such as "BBC-RFI liars" and "Let us live with our Ivoirité." It was not clear whether the youths had any links to the new government.
FEBRUARY 5
Le Jeune Democrate
HARASSED
A dozen armed soldiers raided the offices of the independent Abidjan daily
Le Jeune Democrate. The soldiers, who did not have a warrant, occupied
the paper's offices for four hours, verbally assaulting and manhandling
its editorial staff.
The raid resulted from coverage of an alleged coup plot in the February
5 issue of Le Jeune Democrate. The paper reported that Mouassi
Grena, an army commander close to the ruling junta, had publicly accused
three prominent opposition figures of conspiring with members of former
president Henri Konan Bedié's family to overthrow the military
regime of Gen. Robert Gueï, who had himself deposed Bedié
in 1999.
The soldiers who raided the paper's offices said they were looking for
Laurent Nahounou, the author of the article in question, in order to verify
the accuracy of his information. They also warned the journalists against
reporting "garbage" about Gueï and Allassane Dramane Ouattara, leader
of the Rally of Republicans, a political party that was initially close
to the junta.
An hour after the raid, two officers from the Investigation Brigade visited
the paper's offices and asked to speak with publisher Ignace Dassohiri,
who was not present that day.
CPJ protested the raid in a March 28 letter to General Gueï.
FEBRUARY 10
Maxime Wengue, Le National
HARASSED
David Bogui, Le National
HARASSED
Solange Baka, Le National
HARASSED
Pierre Lemauvais, Le National
HARASSED
Rasis Paccola, Le National
HARASSED
Vincent Yobouet Nguessan, Le National
HARASSED
Armed soldiers acting on behalf of the National Public Salvation Committee
(CNSP), Côte d'Ivoire's ruling junta, raided the offices of Le
National, an Abidjan daily known to be close to deposed former president
Henri Konan Bedié.
The soldiers, who did not have a warrant, verbally abused and later detained
six of the paper's staffers in connection with an article entitled "How
ADO Misled General Gueï" that appeared in the February 10 issue of
Le National. The report alleged that Allassane Dramane Ouattara,
leader of the Rally of Republicans party, had considerable influence on
Gen. Robert Gueï, head of the CNSP junta, who had ruled the country
as president since seizing power on Christmas Eve in 1999.
The detained staffers included reporters Bogui and Wengue, editors Paccola
and Lemauvais, Baka, a photographer, and Nguessan, a sales agent. They
were all released three hours later.
CPJ protested the raid in a March 28 letter to General Gueï.
FEBRUARY 11
Tape Koulou, Le National
HARASSED
Koulou, publisher of the private daily Le National, received a
phone call at his Abidjan home from Maj. Gaoudi Oulatta of the National
Public Salvation Committee (CNSP), the ruling junta, ordering him to appear
within 20 minutes at CNSP headquarters in Plateau, Abidjan's business
district.
When Koulou arrived at the CNSP offices half an hour later, he was immediately
detained by a crowd of agitated young soldiers who warned that he would
pay dearly for being 10 minutes late and added that Major Oulatta was
too busy to see him.
Koulou was then interrogated by army officers who he said were former
bodyguards of presidential candidate Allassane Dramane Ouattara of the
Rally of Republicans (RDR), a political party that for a time had close
links to high-ranking CNSP officials.
The soldiers warned Koulou against writing negatively about Ouattara and
the RDR, confined him to a windowless room for 10 hours, and then set
him free.
According to Ivorian journalists, Koulou was harassed because of his past
association with former president Henri Konan Bedié, whom the CNSP
ousted in a military coup on December 24, 1999.
MARCH 5
Soir Info
HARASSED
Three armed soldiers led by Maj. Issa Touré forced their way into
the newsroom of the independent Abidjan daily Soir Info looking
for reporters Alain Bouabré and Claude Daassé.
The soldiers wanted to question the reporters concerning their March 4
article about a strike of woodcutters employed by Scieries du Bandama,
a state-owned company in southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. In the article,
the two journalists argued that the government should mediate negotiations
between the workers and management over salary and work conditions.
Learning that Bouabré and Daassé were out on assignment,
the soldiers interrogated publisher Fero Bi about what they described
as the newspaper's hidden political agenda. They left the paper an hour
later.
On March 7, the same soldiers showed up at Daassé's home in an
Abidjan suburb, where they questioned the reporter's wife about his whereabouts
and political ties. On March 8, the soldiers again visited Daassé's
home and interrogated family members in his absence.
CPJ protested the raid in a March 28 letter to Gen. Robert Gueï.
MARCH 24
Le National
HARASSED
A band of rogue soldiers under the command of Priv. Moussa Traore raided
the offices of the Abidjan daily Le National and manhandled its
staff. Before they forced their way into the paper's newsroom, the soldiers
fired three rounds into the air and expressed hostility toward the media.
Once inside the newsroom, they ordered a dozen journalists to perform
a series of push-ups and roughed up those who refused to obey.
The incident apparently related to a piece in that day's issue of Le
National, criticizing the country's military ruler, Gen. Robert Gueï.
The raid lasted for two hours, during which time the journalists were
repeatedly threatened with death. According to Soir Info, another
independent Abidjan daily, Traore and his armed companions told the journalists,
"We can kill you and nothing will happen. Gueï is president but we
are the true rulers."
None of the soldiers faced disciplinary proceedings in connection with
the raid, which CPJ protested in a March 28 letter to General Gueï.
APRIL 3
Michel Kouamé, Fraternité Matin
IMPRISONED
Kouamé, publisher of Fraternité Matin, a government-owned
daily, was arrested at the Abidjan International Airport when he returned
from three months of exile in Togo.
Kouamé fled the country after the December 24, 1999, military coup
that brought Gen. Robert Gueï and a nine-man junta to power. The
journalist said he feared for his life because the junta had accused him
of biased reporting favoring the deposed regime of Henri Konan Bedié.
But as a government newspaper, Kouamé later told CPJ, Fraternité
Matin's mandate was to support all state decisions, regardless
of which government was in power.
Upon his arrest at the airport, Kouamé was driven to a military
base in Akouedo, a suburb of Abidjan, for questioning. He was released
a day later.
APRIL 13
Jules Toualy, Le Jeune Democrate
ATTACKED
Toualy, a reporter with the private daily Le Jeune Democrate, was
arrested on April 9 and tortured by two soldiers close to the ruling National
Public Salvation Committee (CNSP).
Toualy's captors, who were dressed in street clothes but carried military
identification cards along with pistols and a submachine gun, arrested
him at his newspaper's offices and drove him to the Akouedo military barracks,
in a suburb of Abidjan.
Toualy was threatened and then severely tortured when he refused to reveal
the sources for an April 8 Le Jeune Democrate article reporting
that six mercenaries from neighboring Guinea had been arrested for helping
to instigate a March 28 mutiny at a military base in the Ivorian town
of Daloa, 80 miles northwest of Abidjan. (The mutineers were demanding
payment of salaries and perks that the CNSP had promised them after it
seized power on Christmas Eve, 1999.)
During five hours of torture, Toualy was twice beaten unconscious. He
was then taken into a cell and asked to identify six inmates as the sources
for his article, which they were not, according to CPJ sources. Toualy
was then released. He later checked himself into a hospital, having suffered
a severe concussion and other serious injuries.
CPJ protested the arrest and torture of Toualy in an April 13 letter to
Côte d'Ivoire head of state Gen. Robert Gueï.
MAY 16
Patrice Pohe, La Référence
HARASSED
Jean-Claude Ragaza, La Référence
HARASSED
Eugene Kanga, La Référence
HARASSED
A group of soldiers raided the editorial offices of La Référence,
a private Abidjan-based daily newspaper, vandalized the premises, and
harassed four journalists physically.
The soldiers were connected with the ruling National Public Salvation
Committee (CNSP). La Référence is published by the
Rally of Republicans (RDR), an opposition party. The soldiers damaged
computers and other equipment before arresting four journalists, including
Pohe, the newspaper's managing editor, and reporters Ragaza and Kanga.
CPJ was unable to identify the fourth journalist, who was said to be a
female photographer.
The journalists were then driven to La Primature, the office of the head
of state, where they were made to crawl and do push-ups in front of passersby.
Soldiers also kicked and whipped the journalists before releasing them
without charge an hour later.
It remains unclear why the soldiers attacked the newspaper and manhandled
the four journalists. According to Pohe, however, the raid on La Référence
was prompted by a front-page photograph of CNSP leader Gen. Robert Gueï
with his finger in his nose.
On May 12, La Référence also alleged that Gueï's
wife had been using public funds to finance trips to campaign for her
husband in advance of the September presidential elections. And in a May
16 editorial, La Référence claimed that General Gueï's
regime was weak and could easily be overthrown.
MAY 16
Blaise Sahiri, Le Bucheron
HARASSED
Vacaba Touré, Le Bucheron
HARASSED
Sahiri and Touré, respectively managing editor and reporter at
Le Bucheron, were told to come to Judicial Police headquarters
and report to Security Minister Lassana Palenfo, who detained them at
his office for five hours.
Palenfo was apparently upset about an article by Touré titled "The
Disillusionment of the Three Pyromaniacs: Lassana Palenfo, Abdoulaye Coulibaly,
and Issa Diakité." The article alleged that the three men, all
supporters of opposition leader Allassane Dramane Ouattara, had tried
to assassinate the country's military leader, Gen. Robert Gueï. Palenfo
asked the two journalists to print a retraction of their article, which
they apparently did not do.
JUNE 23
All media outlets and journalists
THREATENED
Information Minister Captain Henri Cesar Sama announced that the ruling
National Public Salvation Committee (CNSP) would soon release a list of
measures designed to block the publication of any information "likely
to negatively affect the credibility of journalists, national security
and social peace."
Captain Sama, who had replaced journalist Levy Niamkey as information
minister on May 19, called on journalists to refrain from becoming "the
extended arm of politicians with dubious goals." The minister added that
he "would not hesitate to make use of the law which provides a spate of
punishments for journalists who deliberately compromise national security."
Hours after the Information Ministry released Captain Sama's statement,
the state-operated Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirienne network (RTI)
pulled a TV commercial for the opposition Rally of Republicans (RDR) party
off the air on the grounds that it contained snatches of "misleading,
mystic, and Nazi" music. However, Ivorian journalists contacted by CPJ
said the commercial in question contained no music at all, but rather
showed RDR leader Allassane Dramane Ouattara addressing a crowd of supporters
in a stadium.
CPJ protested the minister's threat in a June 28 letter to Gen. Robert
Gueï, the country's military ruler.
JUNE 27
Bourehima Traore, Le National
HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION
Asse Alafe, Le National
HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION
Military police arrested Alafe, editor of the Abidjan daily Le National,
and his deputy, Traore, and took them to the office of police prefect
Yapo Kouassi for questioning in connection with articles in the paper
that reported on rumors of an impending coup against military ruler Gen.
Robert Gueï.
In a June 21 article entitled "Coup d'État, or What?" Traore alleged
that General Gueï's CNSP junta was at risk of being toppled in a
coup. The next day, the junta declared a nationwide security alert.
In a second article that ran on June 23 under the headline "Poor Taste,"
Traore protested the fact that Information Minister Henri-Cesar Sama and
Security Minister Lassana Palenfo had appeared on national television
to say that nothing had happened on June 22, the day of the security alert,
while street rumors had it that the head of state had been killed or taken
hostage.
Upon their arrest at the newspaper's Abidjan offices, the two journalists
were asked to reveal their sources for the sake of national security.
Having refused to do so, they were charged with publishing false news
and insulting the head of state.
No trial date had been chosen by year's end. Meanwhile, October presidential
elections to restore civilian rule led to more violence when Gueï
tried to alter the results in his favor, sparking a popular uprising that
brought Laurent Gbagbo to power.
JULY 4
Nostalgie FM
CENSORED
During the July 4 army mutiny, 10 heavily armed soldiers loyal to the
military government of Gen. Robert Gueï searched the premises of
Nostalgie FM, a private radio station in Abidjan, before dismissing its
personnel and confiscating the station's keys. The premises were then
placed under heavy military guard.
There was no official explanation for the raid, but CPJ sources said the
Gueï government was retaliating against Nostalgie FM for allowing
a mutinous soldier on the air to protest the nonpayment of cash bonuses
that General Gueï had promised when he seized power in December 1999.
The station resumed broadcasting in the week following the October 26
popular uprising that overthrew the junta.
JULY 5
All media outlets and journalists
THREATENED
In the aftermath of what he described as a "failed coup," Côte d'Ivoire's
military ruler Gen. Robert Gueï warned local journalists that they
severe punishment for politically motivated "bias" and "distortion of
facts."
General Gueï said that the ruling National Public Salvation Committee
(CNSP) possessed "evidence" that local journalists had received payment
from political parties in exchange for writing negative stories about
the military regime. "From now on, bias and distortion of facts by the
press will be systematically punished," the 59-year-old retired general
warned at a press conference. "Media outlets that publish such unethical
reports will be suspended. I ask journalists to be careful."
General Gueï issued this warning one day after the CNSP junta shut
down the offices of the private broadcaster Nostalgie FM, forcing the
popular music and sports station off the air.
JULY 6
Patrice Guehi, Le Patriote
HARASSED
Meite Sindou, Le Patriote
HARASSED
Kone Yoro, Le Liberal
HARASSED
Emmanuel Tanoh, Le Liberal
HARASSED
Diomande Ibrahim, Le Liberal
HARASSED
Yves Zogbo, Radio Nostalgie FM
HARASSED
Sran Haizy, Le Jeune Democrate
HARASSED
On July 6, the vice director of the independent radio station Nostalgie
FM and five other journalists, three from the daily Le Liberal
and two from the daily Le Patriote, were summoned to the headquarters
of the ruling junta for questioning in connection with a July 4 soldiers'
mutiny.
Nostalgie FM and the two newspapers backed the opposition Rally of Republicans
(RDR), whose leader, Allassane Dramane Ouattara, was believed to have
instigated the mutiny.
The journalists summoned were publisher Yoro, photographer Tanoh, and
office manager Ibrahim of Le Liberal; Nostalgie FM vice-director
Zogbo; Guehi, publisher of Le Patriote, and Sindou, the paper's
editor in chief. Also on July 6, Haizy, editor of the private daily Le
Jeune Democrate, was briefly detained and interrogated at a military
base near Abidjan.
All seven journalists were released later that day, having been forced
to crawl, sing pro-junta anthems, and perform push-ups.
JULY 31
Mohammed Fofanah Dara, BBC
ATTACKED
Kady Sidibe, Le Patriote
ATTACKED
Ivorian soldiers attacked and roughed up Dara, a sports reporter for the
BBC's French-language Africa service, while he was covering a pro-France,
anti-government rally in downtown Abidjan. Though the soldiers pummeled
his head with their rifle butts, Dara somehow escaped without serious
injury.
Soldiers injured several other civilians during the rally, which an opposition
party called two days after nationwide demonstrations held to protest
a French government minister's negative comments about attempts to restore
democracy following the military coup of December 1999.
It was not clear what prompted the attack on Dara. Some local sources
claimed the soldiers had attempted to steal Dara's minidisc recorder,
and then attacked him when he tried to resist.
During the same demonstration, another group of soldiers assaulted photographer
Sidibe of the private daily Le Patriote as she was taking pictures
of irate soldiers chasing demonstrators. Sidibe was repeatedly slapped
in the face and kicked in the stomach by the soldiers, who also confiscated
her camera and film.
AUGUST 2
Khristian Kara, Le Libéral
IMPRISONED
Kone Yoro, Le Libéral
IMPRISONED
Kara, a reporter for the Abidjan daily Le Libéral, and Yoro,
the paper's publisher, were arrested on the same day that the paper carried
a story about the alleged corruption of the ruling military junta.
Written by Kara, the piece reported that military ruler Gen. Robert Gueï
had drawn US$1.2 million from his personal account to finance his presidential
campaign. The controversy arose from the fact that Gueï had publicly
promised not to run for the presidency. Le Libéral published
a copy of a check allegedly carrying the general's signature to back up
its claims that he was in fact planning to run.
The two journalists were charged with defamation and released a day later.
The charges were dropped after General Gueï was deposed in a popular
uprising on October 26.
AUGUST 31
Freedom Neruda, Notre Voie
HARASSED
Neruda, editor of the independent daily Notre Voie, received a
summons to "immediately and in all haste" appear at the headquarters of
the Ivorian police in Abidjan. The journalist responded to the summons
on August 31 at around 9:30 a.m. He was then interrogated about his editorial
in the August 30 edition of Notre Voie.
In his article, Neruda (whose real name is Roch D'Assomption Tieti) warned
the country's military leader, Gen. Robert Gueï, against misappropriating
state funds to build up his native village in order to make it Côte
D'Ivoire's new capital.
Neruda, the recipient of a 1991 International Press Freedom Award from
CPJ, was released four hours later without charges.
SEPTEMBER 8
Joachim Beugré, Le Jour
ATTACKED
Diegou Bailly, Le Jour
HARASSED
Beugré, an editor at the private daily Le Jour, was savagely
beaten by three soldiers on orders from Gen. Robert Gueï, Côte
d'Ivoire's military leader. Beugré and the paper's publisher, Diegou
Bailly, were summoned to the presidential palace in Abidjan on the afternoon
of September 8. General Gueï interrogated the two journalists personally
and pressed them to reveal their sources for an article about his parentage
that had appeared in that day's edition of Le Jour.
Published under Beugré's byline, the article pointed out that according
to General Gueï's birth certificate, the general's father had a different
surname. Le Jour published a copy of the birth certificate to support
Beugré's argument.
Bailly was released without charge after General Gueï explained to
him that in his tribe a son did not take his father's surname, according
to local press reports confirmed by CPJ sources. The matter did not end
there, however.
Acting on Gueï's orders, three soldiers drove Beugré to his
Abidjan home, which they searched without warrant. The soldiers then took
the journalist to an open field near Abidjan International Airport, beat
him savagely, and threatened even harsher retribution if he continued
to report "maliciously" about General Gueï and the military junta.
Beugré spent three days recuperating in a local medical center.
CPJ protested the attack in a September 13 letter to General Gueï.
All media
CENSORED
The military government's information minister, Capt. Henri Cesar Sama,
summoned two dozen local publishers and editors to a meeting where he
ordered them to stop reporting on the military, the ruling junta, and
their activities.
Using what CPJ's sources called "trashy street language," Sama said the
local press was "weakening the National Public Salvation Committee," which
overthrew a democratically elected government in December 1999. Sama also
threatened that "civilians would be the first to suffer" if the junta
was destabilized by negative media coverage.
SEPTEMBER 9
Patrice Guehi, Le Patriote
HARASSED
Meite Sindou, Le Patriote
HARASSED
Presidential adviser Major Desiré Dacoury summoned Le Patriote
reporter Guehi and the paper's publisher, Sindou, for questioning after
they published a copy of Gen. Robert Gueï's birth certificate in
an article that cast doubt on the military dictator's parentage by pointing
out that his father had a different surname. (Another Abidjan daily, Le
Jour, had broken the story a day earlier; see September 8 case.)
Upon their release several hours later, the two journalists told Agence
France-Presse that Major Dacoury had berated them for "attempting to set
Côte d'Ivoire afire" with the help of the opposition Rally of Republicans
(RDR).
OCTOBER 26
Bakary Nimaga, Le Libéral
ATTACKED
Nimaga, editor of the pro-opposition daily Le Libéral, was
arrested without warrant, beaten, and dragged to the Agban military base
in the Adjamé neighborhood of Abidjan by soldiers loyal to junta
leader General Robert Gueï.
Army officers accused Nimaga of spying for the opposition Rally of Republicans
(RDR), then released him a few hours later. Nimaga suffered bruises to
his left arm and his legs.
That same day, a popular uprising drove General Gueï from office.
OCTOBER 27
La Référence
ATTACKED
Le Libéral
ATTACKED
A mob of rioting students ransacked the Abidjan newsrooms of the private
dailies Le Libéral and La Référence,
both known to back the opposition Rally of Republicans (RDR). Computers
at both newspapers were smashed during the assault, according to local
journalists.
It was not clear what motivated the attack, but some sources linked the
students to Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). Gbagdo had been
declared president the day before, after a popular uprising drove Gen.
Robert Gueï from office.
That same day, FPI and RDR supporters fought deadly street battles during
unrest over the exclusion of RDR leader Allassane Dramane Ouattara from
the election. More than 150 people died in the riots, most of them RDR
supporters.