Thursday, May 27, 2004
What Else is New?
All is quiet during the current political stalemate, with Prime Minister Seydou Diarra indicating to President Gbagbo that he can only call together what was the Marcoussis Government, and that only when the problems are resolved. And they involve the Parties and their problems with the President, who has now named 3 ministers from his own Party to replace those ministers Mr Gbagbo no longer wants to see in front of him, including Guillaume Soro. The UN Security Council and the international community in general have offered their support to Diarra, expressing their concern at Mr Gbagbo’s sacking of the 3 ministers and the measures taken against them. The UN goes so far as to speak of the importance of the Reconciliation Government “meeting under the authority of the Prime Minister” -- without mentioning the President. They also said the pro-Gbagbo militias and armed youth groups urgently need to be disbanded and ask that the “Government” bring to justice those responsible for the March massacres.
There is of course Press talk of President Gbagbo trying to replace Diarra and even of his organising some attack in the west of the country to divert attention away from the political mess. But both moves would be condemned by the UN and countries Ivory Coast has to count on. The UN (and France) continue to say that the Linas-Marcoussis-Accra Agreements are the only way forward and, furthermore, that there should be no talk of revising their terms.
Here in Abidjan and in the rest of the country for that matter, nothing much has changed, and life continues as before with perhaps less hassles than twelve months ago.
The disappearance of the French-Canadian Kieffer is constantly in the news, with people close to the President being named in the press as involved, including his Pasteur Moïse Koré. Mme Gbagbo’s brother-in-law is one of the few people under arrest, and this may be in reprisal for having decided to spill the beans to the French Investigating Magistrate.
All is quiet during the current political stalemate, with Prime Minister Seydou Diarra indicating to President Gbagbo that he can only call together what was the Marcoussis Government, and that only when the problems are resolved. And they involve the Parties and their problems with the President, who has now named 3 ministers from his own Party to replace those ministers Mr Gbagbo no longer wants to see in front of him, including Guillaume Soro. The UN Security Council and the international community in general have offered their support to Diarra, expressing their concern at Mr Gbagbo’s sacking of the 3 ministers and the measures taken against them. The UN goes so far as to speak of the importance of the Reconciliation Government “meeting under the authority of the Prime Minister” -- without mentioning the President. They also said the pro-Gbagbo militias and armed youth groups urgently need to be disbanded and ask that the “Government” bring to justice those responsible for the March massacres.
There is of course Press talk of President Gbagbo trying to replace Diarra and even of his organising some attack in the west of the country to divert attention away from the political mess. But both moves would be condemned by the UN and countries Ivory Coast has to count on. The UN (and France) continue to say that the Linas-Marcoussis-Accra Agreements are the only way forward and, furthermore, that there should be no talk of revising their terms.
Here in Abidjan and in the rest of the country for that matter, nothing much has changed, and life continues as before with perhaps less hassles than twelve months ago.
The disappearance of the French-Canadian Kieffer is constantly in the news, with people close to the President being named in the press as involved, including his Pasteur Moïse Koré. Mme Gbagbo’s brother-in-law is one of the few people under arrest, and this may be in reprisal for having decided to spill the beans to the French Investigating Magistrate.
A Gmail Problem
Anyone with a new Google Gmail account and using ZoneAlarm firewall at the same time will need to know that ZoneAlarm Cookie Control has to be off when logging in and checking mail, otherwise it won’t work. This is because of the targeted ads. This Webmail account looks good, particularly as it offers 1 gigabyte of storage and has superb search functions! I am not yet replacing the temp Yahoo address for the blog with the Gmail one as I know that Yahoo gets it right most of the time with their spam filter – but it does not like mail originating with the British Foreign Office server, throwing it immediately in the rubbish bin. No wonder there is talk at the moment of a rift between Blair and Bush!
Anyone with a new Google Gmail account and using ZoneAlarm firewall at the same time will need to know that ZoneAlarm Cookie Control has to be off when logging in and checking mail, otherwise it won’t work. This is because of the targeted ads. This Webmail account looks good, particularly as it offers 1 gigabyte of storage and has superb search functions! I am not yet replacing the temp Yahoo address for the blog with the Gmail one as I know that Yahoo gets it right most of the time with their spam filter – but it does not like mail originating with the British Foreign Office server, throwing it immediately in the rubbish bin. No wonder there is talk at the moment of a rift between Blair and Bush!
ADSL Now Even Cheaper
If possible, it really is worth getting rid of your dial-up service which may be costing you almost 100.000F a month, particularly when you take account of the local phone charges taxed on a per minute basis by Citelcom and how painfully slow the dial-up services are for Web surfing or downloading.
Africaonline and Aviso are both offering 128 Kbps and 256 Kbps services at 25.000F and 35.000F per month respectively. The Afnet site says it is only offering 128 at 35.000F.
There is a set up charge of about 15.000F with these ISPs but they do come to your home or office to get you underway as also do pleasant Citelcom technicians.
Telecom which has a set up charge respectively of 25.000F or 45.000F for 128 or 256 Kbps, and a monthly phone line charge of 30.000F or 45.000F. When subscribing you need to buy a Citelcom modem charged at 10.000F per month for 5 months, but that is less than half of what Citelcom charged before.
You have to have both the Telecom service as well as the ISP, whichever one you choose. But just a reminder that with ADSL you have no additional phone charges for unlimited internet use, and your phone is still available for calls while you are connected to the Net.
To all charges mentioned you must add 18% VAT.
If possible, it really is worth getting rid of your dial-up service which may be costing you almost 100.000F a month, particularly when you take account of the local phone charges taxed on a per minute basis by Citelcom and how painfully slow the dial-up services are for Web surfing or downloading.
Africaonline and Aviso are both offering 128 Kbps and 256 Kbps services at 25.000F and 35.000F per month respectively. The Afnet site says it is only offering 128 at 35.000F.
There is a set up charge of about 15.000F with these ISPs but they do come to your home or office to get you underway as also do pleasant Citelcom technicians.
Telecom which has a set up charge respectively of 25.000F or 45.000F for 128 or 256 Kbps, and a monthly phone line charge of 30.000F or 45.000F. When subscribing you need to buy a Citelcom modem charged at 10.000F per month for 5 months, but that is less than half of what Citelcom charged before.
You have to have both the Telecom service as well as the ISP, whichever one you choose. But just a reminder that with ADSL you have no additional phone charges for unlimited internet use, and your phone is still available for calls while you are connected to the Net.
To all charges mentioned you must add 18% VAT.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
The Prime Minister Accuses Gbagbo of Deceiving the Nation
According to accounts in the press Friday, the Prime Minister, Seydou Diarra, has effectively accused President Gbagbo of deceiving the Nation during his televised address on Tuesday, and in his decree. Diarra, who has always said things the way they are, said that in spite of Gbagbo’s statement on television, the sacking of the ministers was not a result of his proposal (in spite of Gbagbo’s decree saying it was) and, furthermore, he was in no way associated with the nomination of the three interim replacements from Gbagbo’s party, the FPI (misnamed today in a news dispatch the Front Patriotique Ivoirien – understandable, with the Jeunes Patriotes and the Femmes Patriotes so much in the press and seeming to run the show).
To top it off, Diarra said that he will not convene or sit in the government council till the current outstanding issues are resolved. He has not resigned but he has thus indicated that the current state of affairs is not workable. His position, as one newspaper has said, is that of a half-resignation but in the end he is in much the same position as the “opposition” ministers who are refusing to sit with the Government on a question of principle.
Diarra warned Gbagbo that the economic situation of the country is precarious and really cannot tolerate this political instability which upsets the balance in the government, foreseen by the Marcoussis Agreement, and threatens the future of the country.
The three FPI ministers named by Gbagbo are asking that the “former” ministers, two from the ex-rebels, Soro and Soumahroro, kindly meet with them for a handing over of their functions and the files of the ministry, which the three “outgoing” refuse to do, considering Gbagbo’s move irregular against the terms of the Marcoussis Accords concerning the constitution of the reconciliation government.
Soro has asked from Bouaké that Diarra assume the full powers foreseen by Marcoussis and that a Marcoussis government in future sit without Gbagbo. He has again asked that Gbagbo resign. But has he forgotten that of all people, according to the Constitution, that would put the more radical Mamadou Koulibaly in his place?
Meanwhile hundreds of pro-Gbagbo women “patriots” were demonstrating Friday at the ONUCI, in spite of its diplomatic status, disrupting a UN committee meeting there and later preventing two ambassadors from leaving the premises.
According to accounts in the press Friday, the Prime Minister, Seydou Diarra, has effectively accused President Gbagbo of deceiving the Nation during his televised address on Tuesday, and in his decree. Diarra, who has always said things the way they are, said that in spite of Gbagbo’s statement on television, the sacking of the ministers was not a result of his proposal (in spite of Gbagbo’s decree saying it was) and, furthermore, he was in no way associated with the nomination of the three interim replacements from Gbagbo’s party, the FPI (misnamed today in a news dispatch the Front Patriotique Ivoirien – understandable, with the Jeunes Patriotes and the Femmes Patriotes so much in the press and seeming to run the show).
To top it off, Diarra said that he will not convene or sit in the government council till the current outstanding issues are resolved. He has not resigned but he has thus indicated that the current state of affairs is not workable. His position, as one newspaper has said, is that of a half-resignation but in the end he is in much the same position as the “opposition” ministers who are refusing to sit with the Government on a question of principle.
Diarra warned Gbagbo that the economic situation of the country is precarious and really cannot tolerate this political instability which upsets the balance in the government, foreseen by the Marcoussis Agreement, and threatens the future of the country.
The three FPI ministers named by Gbagbo are asking that the “former” ministers, two from the ex-rebels, Soro and Soumahroro, kindly meet with them for a handing over of their functions and the files of the ministry, which the three “outgoing” refuse to do, considering Gbagbo’s move irregular against the terms of the Marcoussis Accords concerning the constitution of the reconciliation government.
Soro has asked from Bouaké that Diarra assume the full powers foreseen by Marcoussis and that a Marcoussis government in future sit without Gbagbo. He has again asked that Gbagbo resign. But has he forgotten that of all people, according to the Constitution, that would put the more radical Mamadou Koulibaly in his place?
Meanwhile hundreds of pro-Gbagbo women “patriots” were demonstrating Friday at the ONUCI, in spite of its diplomatic status, disrupting a UN committee meeting there and later preventing two ambassadors from leaving the premises.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Air Chance Has Competition – New Paris Flights
Ivoire Airways, with rented Airbus A310s, will have its inaugural flight on 27th May for 350.000F return, then the rate will be 439.000F return till end July, with flights projected for Monday to Thursday. The result of some lateral thinking by former Air Afrique staff, the baggage allowance will be 40 kg. Later they are hoping to continue from Paris to New York.
AirIvoire is hoping to enter French skies also as from July 1 with Airbus A321s, flying into Orly rather than the CDG jigsaw airport, and with a stop at Marseille. Phone : +225 20 25 14 00 or look at their site http://www.airivoire.com
Ivoire Airways, with rented Airbus A310s, will have its inaugural flight on 27th May for 350.000F return, then the rate will be 439.000F return till end July, with flights projected for Monday to Thursday. The result of some lateral thinking by former Air Afrique staff, the baggage allowance will be 40 kg. Later they are hoping to continue from Paris to New York.
AirIvoire is hoping to enter French skies also as from July 1 with Airbus A321s, flying into Orly rather than the CDG jigsaw airport, and with a stop at Marseille. Phone : +225 20 25 14 00 or look at their site http://www.airivoire.com
Things Are Stalled – Still, and More So
After too much of a hiatus here I am again, but what can we say. During the past couple of months nothing much has changed. Things are as stalled as ever. The political posturing is continuing, everybody seeking their advantage. The prophets of war have been proved wrong up till the present, though Armed Forces Chief of Staff Doué has said that talk of war will not go beyond June. The “Reconciliation” Government is no longer meeting, and since the March 25-26 massacres the non pro-Gbagbo parties have withdrawn their participation.
President Gbagbo’s regime has been condemned by the international community as responsible for the March massacre of at least 120 people (the minimum figure the UN enquiry team could confirm), with people in some cases being targeted in their courtyards from the helicopters. In addition, the missing French-Canadian Kieffer has still not been found, in spite of the pressure from France and Canada for a serious police enquiry. Kieffer was critical of the regime and of certain manœuvres in the coffee-cocoa industry, and probably knew too much. This puts the regime in the spotlight again, particularly if his last contact was, as has been reported, a relative of Mrs Gbagbo. (His car was found in the airport car park by coincidence the day before his wife arrived to better motivate the enquiry. But it was not there when the French police searched the car park after his disappearance. Elementary, my dear Watson. And the fingerprints on the car are said not to be those of Kieffer. The plot thickens.)
Gbagbo himself had just been encouraged by his peers meeting at the summit in Mali to promote dialogue – which the pro-Gbagbo press turned into support for Gbagbo against the ex-rebels by, of all people, Kadaffi (who has earlier been accused of backing the Ivorian rebellion through Burkina’s President Compaoré).
So what has President Gbagbo done. He returned and, according to press accounts, late Tuesday morning had a meeting with consensus Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, taking a concialiatory tone. Then about an hour later he went on television with an aggressive address to the nation, hardening his position, trying to regain the political initiative and cranking up his young troops to such an extent that FESCI students penetrated into the Collège Mermoz grounds and attacked students with the result that French schools were closed on Wednesday. (Today being the Ascension holiday gave a further day’s cooling off period.)
At a time when intense efforts were being made to get things on the rails again (including a helicopter trip by four ambassadors to see ex-President Bédié in Daoukro), Gbagbo has acted almost as if he wanted to sabotage these efforts, while maintaining that the UN enquiry has got it all wrong. Face-Saving is the name of the game. In addition to announcing sanctions against the Ministers no longer prepared to meet for the Government meetings, Gbagbo has decided that there are three Ministers he no longer wants to see in the Government, including Soro and Achi – who, though he was the official Government spokesman, has opposed all along the FPI sweetheart deal with Bolloré for the Abidjan Port and who precipated in a way the withdrawal of the PDCI from the government. (See the comment for March 16.) They have temporarily been replaced by FPI ministers.
There are the usual grunts, threats and promises of marches and sit-ins by the anti-Marcoussis militia and youth groups and the pro-regime women. Most of these are linked to events on dates which are no more certain that that of President Gbagbo’s visit to Bouaké. In this Alice in Wonderland situation the Jeune Patriotes have even said THEY intend to demonstrate in Bouaké, no doubt to a warm welcome.
Meanwhile, asked to leave their Golf Hotel security by Gbagbo, assured by the ONUCI troops, the ex-rebel ministers in Abidjan have been recalled to Bouaké and a statement is expected later today Friday. And it is still not certain whether the Prime Minister is prepared to withdraw or withhold his resignation, in spite of the pressure put on him from so many quarters, his being the epicentre of the Marcoussis process, and the RFI have said. It will be virtually impossible to find someone of his integrity and capacity to replace him, if he refuses to carry on under the new constraints.
After too much of a hiatus here I am again, but what can we say. During the past couple of months nothing much has changed. Things are as stalled as ever. The political posturing is continuing, everybody seeking their advantage. The prophets of war have been proved wrong up till the present, though Armed Forces Chief of Staff Doué has said that talk of war will not go beyond June. The “Reconciliation” Government is no longer meeting, and since the March 25-26 massacres the non pro-Gbagbo parties have withdrawn their participation.
President Gbagbo’s regime has been condemned by the international community as responsible for the March massacre of at least 120 people (the minimum figure the UN enquiry team could confirm), with people in some cases being targeted in their courtyards from the helicopters. In addition, the missing French-Canadian Kieffer has still not been found, in spite of the pressure from France and Canada for a serious police enquiry. Kieffer was critical of the regime and of certain manœuvres in the coffee-cocoa industry, and probably knew too much. This puts the regime in the spotlight again, particularly if his last contact was, as has been reported, a relative of Mrs Gbagbo. (His car was found in the airport car park by coincidence the day before his wife arrived to better motivate the enquiry. But it was not there when the French police searched the car park after his disappearance. Elementary, my dear Watson. And the fingerprints on the car are said not to be those of Kieffer. The plot thickens.)
Gbagbo himself had just been encouraged by his peers meeting at the summit in Mali to promote dialogue – which the pro-Gbagbo press turned into support for Gbagbo against the ex-rebels by, of all people, Kadaffi (who has earlier been accused of backing the Ivorian rebellion through Burkina’s President Compaoré).
So what has President Gbagbo done. He returned and, according to press accounts, late Tuesday morning had a meeting with consensus Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, taking a concialiatory tone. Then about an hour later he went on television with an aggressive address to the nation, hardening his position, trying to regain the political initiative and cranking up his young troops to such an extent that FESCI students penetrated into the Collège Mermoz grounds and attacked students with the result that French schools were closed on Wednesday. (Today being the Ascension holiday gave a further day’s cooling off period.)
At a time when intense efforts were being made to get things on the rails again (including a helicopter trip by four ambassadors to see ex-President Bédié in Daoukro), Gbagbo has acted almost as if he wanted to sabotage these efforts, while maintaining that the UN enquiry has got it all wrong. Face-Saving is the name of the game. In addition to announcing sanctions against the Ministers no longer prepared to meet for the Government meetings, Gbagbo has decided that there are three Ministers he no longer wants to see in the Government, including Soro and Achi – who, though he was the official Government spokesman, has opposed all along the FPI sweetheart deal with Bolloré for the Abidjan Port and who precipated in a way the withdrawal of the PDCI from the government. (See the comment for March 16.) They have temporarily been replaced by FPI ministers.
There are the usual grunts, threats and promises of marches and sit-ins by the anti-Marcoussis militia and youth groups and the pro-regime women. Most of these are linked to events on dates which are no more certain that that of President Gbagbo’s visit to Bouaké. In this Alice in Wonderland situation the Jeune Patriotes have even said THEY intend to demonstrate in Bouaké, no doubt to a warm welcome.
Meanwhile, asked to leave their Golf Hotel security by Gbagbo, assured by the ONUCI troops, the ex-rebel ministers in Abidjan have been recalled to Bouaké and a statement is expected later today Friday. And it is still not certain whether the Prime Minister is prepared to withdraw or withhold his resignation, in spite of the pressure put on him from so many quarters, his being the epicentre of the Marcoussis process, and the RFI have said. It will be virtually impossible to find someone of his integrity and capacity to replace him, if he refuses to carry on under the new constraints.
