UN peacekeepers retreat to Abidjan while "Young Patriot" demonstrators — led by military officers — take control of the state radio, calling for seizure of the airport and expulsion of neutral forces.
My translation of part of the Reporters Without Borders press release:
Around noon on January 16, 2006, several hundred of the "Young Patriots" were massed before the main offices of Radiotélévision ivoirienne (RTI) in the Cocody neighborhood of Abidjan, demanding to "make a live declaration." According to numerious eye-witnesses, the demonstrators had at their head the chef d'état-major of the Ivory Coast National Armed Forces, General Philippe Mangou, as well as the Security Operations Command Center commandant colonel Georges Guiai Bi Poin. Alerted, the channel's officers refused to give in to the demands. After the demonstraters had tried to penetrate into the studio by force, the channel officers attempted to negotiate a compromise in the afternoon. Finally, the demonstraters accepted the principle of the broadcast of a remote declaration.Posted by Ben Brumfield at January 19, 2006 08:41 PMThe next day, around a hundred demonstrators were still installed around the headquarters of RTI. The perimiter of the station had been placed under the protection of the Ivorien military. One soldier, questioned by Reporters Without Borders, indicated that the presence of his unit was to dissuade the "Young Patriots" from taking over the building.
In the middle of the day on January 18, around 300 demonstrators penetrated the courtyard of RTI, after security forces opened the gates to them. "They never had to open offices that remained closed," a source close to the action told Agence France-Presse. After having threatened the technicians on duty, they obtained for broadcast a message from the leader of the Ivory Coast Student and Scholarl Association, Serge Koffi, asking "all the youth to come down into the streets to demand the departure of the "impartial forces" and to totally liberate our country." The leader asserted that he had "taken" the station. After the 1:00 PM news update, the RTI antenna continued to be occupied by the "Young Patriots," who projected words ordering mobilization, calling after 4:30 PM for demonstrators to "take the airport."
For those of us who don't speak French:
http://www.oneworld.net/article/country/384/ has a range of articles on the subject from various sources.
I visited Cote D'Ivoire a decade ago, about two or three years before the turmoil began that led to all this. Everytime I hear news I think of people like Yao, the barman at the college I was staying at who I had lots of conversations with, and the pit of my stomach tightens.
Posted by: Graeme Burk at January 20, 2006 03:36 AMHey, Graeme Burk!
Posted by: Alan Allport at January 20, 2006 04:11 AMThanks for the link, Graeme. Sara and I were in Abidjan on September 19, 2002. I wonder about many of the people we met, and how they're faring.
If anyone's interested, I can post translations.
Posted by: Ben Brumfield at January 20, 2006 04:20 AM