New York, U.S.A. — Ivorian authorities should halt censorship of critical news outlets and investigate an armed assault on the offices of a publishing group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on August 27.

“We call on President Alassane Ouattara to demonstrate tolerance and a commitment to democratic principles,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita from New York. “As the country weathers a period of great tension, the president can set an important example by allowing the voices of opposition to air their concerns and opinions, as harsh as they may be.”

The state-run National Press Council suspended the daily Le Temps on August 3 for 20 editions in connection with a July 24 article that it said defamed Ouattara, Raphael Lakpé, the council’s chairman, said in an interview on U.N.-sponsored station ONUCI FM. Le Temps, which is loyal to the former leader Laurent Gbagbo, had published an opinion piece on violence between supporters of Ouattara and those of Gbagbo and called the president a “ghoulish vampire,” according to news reports. Opposition groups have accused Ouattara and his allies of targeting supporters of Gbagbo in the past.

Le Temps’ editor-in-chief, Simplice Allard, was also suspended from writing for the paper for one month, news reports said.

On Sunday morning, a group of unidentified armed men attacked the offices of the Cyclone Media Group, in Abidjan, which publishes Le Temps, according to news reports. The men assaulted a security guard, set a room on fire, ransacked the offices, and stole several computers, Agence France-Presse reported. No one was injured in the attack, which caused significant damage to the offices, AFP said. Police have not made any arrests yet, local journalists said, adding that they believe the attack on the media group was in reprisal for Le Temps’ critical coverage of Ouattara’s government.

In another case of official censorship, the National Press Council suspended Bôl’ Kotch, a private satirical newspaper, on August 8 for eight issues, over articles and cartoons critical of Ouattara that appeared in its July 27 edition, the state news agency AIP reported. The council singled out a caricature of an exchange between Ouattara and an army chief that suggested the president was using ethnic groups of traditional hunters to fight pro-Gbagbo supporters in the ongoing unrestin the country, according to news reports.

At least one journalist who has extensively covered the activities of former leader Gbagbo has told CPJ he fears for his life. Alain Tiéffi, photo editor of the state daily Fraternité Matin, said his neighbors had suggested to him that he leave their house in Yopougon, a suburb considered a Gbagbo stronghold. Security forces, in response to armed attacks against government positions, have in recent weeks conducted raids on houses in Yopougon and arrested people suspected of being linked to armed supporters of the ousted leader, according to news reports.

Tiéffi told CPJ that fighters loyal to Ouattara had ransacked his house in May 2011 and pointed a gun at his head. “I am the only journalist in the area I live. My wife, children, and in-laws are all living with me. Right now, I don’t know what to do. I am scared,” Tiéffi told CPJ.

Gérard Gnawa, a spokesman for the police in Abidjan, would not tell CPJ if they were investigating the case.

A group of six pro-opposition dailies have refused to publish their newspapers on August 24 and 25 to protest the attack on the Cyclone Media Group and the threats and assaults Ivorian journalists have faced in recent months, according to news reports. The group said the refusal to publish was to display “the risk of death that hangs over the lives of journalists.”

Image Courtesy of  bbcworldservice

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Meanwhile the world’s attention is captured by the events of the Northern part of Africa in the last weeks in Ivory Coast there is a real humanitarian emergency. Since the elections of November 2010 the country is torn by the political instability and the conflicts among the “two presidents” supporters.

Thousands of refugees and hundreds of dead have been estimated in the last months by the humanitarian organizations which are working in the country to help the population and try to keep the peace and avoid another civil war.

The UNHCR has reported that the situation is getting worse every day and that the clashes and the violence are increasing dangerously.

The presidential election in November showed the loss of the president Laurent Gbagbo, in favor of his rival Alassane Ouattara. The results have been contested by Gbagbo who refused to hand power to Ouattara, declaring the elections’ results were not valid. The victory of Ouattara has been internationally recognized by most countries and the United Nations, which see him as the Ivory Coast’s president in office.

This event has led to a situation of strong tension and to the rise of violent clashes among the population. In this civil war climate the population is fleeing the country for taking refuge in the nearest countries, especially in Liberia, where already 20.000 people are escaped there.

According to Save the Children the half of the refugees are children. Numerous are the non-governmental organizations (NGO) that report a difficult situation which is getting constantly worse in these weeks. The fear of a new civil war – after that of 2004- is strong.

The president Alassane Ouattara declared: “my country is on the brink of genocide”. It seems that peaceful demonstrations of the president’s supporters in the Abobo neighbourhood, a suburb of the city of Abidjan, were put down with bloodshed by the forces loyal to Gbagbo. The protesters have been attacked with tank fire and at least seven women were killed and 110 people wounded.

UN refugee agency spokesman Jacques Franquin said: “The situation is deteriorating rapidly. Certain areas of Abidjan are truly in a situation of war with the population fleeing. The situation is making it impossible to reach people who are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.”

“Today I will reiterate it to the genocide in the making. They are killing people along ethnic lines. They are killing foreign nationals from foreign countries, from neighbouring countries. They are killing people who are opposed to Mr Gbagbo. That’s not acceptable. “These were the words of Yousoufou Bamba, Ivory Coast’s ambassador to the UN and Ouattara loyalist, who is calling for more international intervention and for the arrival of more peacekeepers in the country.

The UN Security Council is concerned about the situation and particularly about the attacks on the civilians. It has been estimated by the United Unions that at least 365 people have been killed since December, and about 200,000 people have been displaced by the bloodshed.

The world can’t stay in total indifference; this situation has to be faced up as soon as possible. Africa is still fighting to achieve a civil condition of life and the basic human rights but the West of the world too often forgets it.

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