Clamp down on pro-Ouattara newspapers intensifies

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent in Cote d’Ivoire reported that Gbagbo’s Minister of Communication, Ouattara Gnonzie, on December 14, 2010 declared that he has “outlawed” the pro-Ouattara newspapers and they must be stopped as “quickly as possible”. He also said he would ensure that newspapers “respect the laws and the Constitution,” of […]

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent in Cote d’Ivoire reported that Gbagbo’s Minister of Communication, Ouattara Gnonzie, on December 14, 2010 declared that he has “outlawed” the pro-Ouattara newspapers and they must be stopped as “quickly as possible”. He also said he would ensure that newspapers “respect the laws and the Constitution,” of the country.

The newspapers banned were Le Nouveau Reveil , L’Patriote, Nord-Sud Quotidien, L’Expression, Le Mandat, Le Deomcrate, and L’ Intelligent d’ Abidjan.

Earlier, the commander of the Republican Guard, Dogbo Ble Brunot and Charles Ble Goude, Gbagbo’s Minster of Youth Employment and Urban Health stormed the printing houses of the newspapers and threatened them to stop printing.

In protest, two pro- Gbagbo newspapers, Le Temps and Le Noveeau Courrier did not publish in solidarity with their colleagues.

The Republican Guards also stopped Edipresse, the only newspaper distribution company in the country from distributing the newspapers.

However, on December 19 after two days of the suspension, the media regulatory body, National Media Council (CNP) lifted the ban. According to Eugene Do Kacou, the CNP’s chairman, the media can only be sanctioned by the CNP and the Attorney General.