English (http://en.rsf.org/cote-d-ivoire-reporters-without-borders-
begins-15-10-2010,38563.html)
For French version see (http://fr.rsf.org/cote-d-ivoire-reporters-
sans-frontieres-observe-15-10-2010,38555.html)
Reporters Without Borders (http://www.rsf.org)
Press release
15 October 2010
COTE D'IVOIRE
Reporters Without Borders begins monitoring media’s coverage of
presidential election campaign
As Côte d'Ivoire’s election campaign officially got under way today,
Reporters Without Borders began its monitoring of the state and
privately-owned media’s coverage of the campaign as part of a
European Union project for the “Protection of media pluralism at
election time.”
Reporters Without Borders welcomes the lottery which the National
Press Council (CNP) conducted in transparent manner in Abidjan today
to determine the order in which the presidential candidates will be
given space in the public newspaper Fraternité Matin. The lottery
complied with the electoral law’s principle of equal access for
candidates to the state media.
The press freedom organisation regrets that a similar lottery has not
been used by the National Broadcasting Council (CNCA) to determine
the order in which the candidates will appear on a special programme
called “Facing the voters,” which the state television station RTI
will broadcast every day at prime time from tomorrow.
The programme will give each candidate 90 minutes to present their
election platform to viewers. Reporters Without Borders questions the
CNCA’s grounds for deciding that the incumbent president, Laurent
Gbagbo, should appear last (the most advantageous position) and
thinks this decision casts doubt on the impartiality and neutrality
of both the CNCA and RTI.
There was an incident yesterday, on the eve of the start of the
campaign, which Reporters Without Borders hopes will be an isolated
one. Journalists from the Qatar-based satellite TV station Al
Jazeera, who had arrived in Abidjan to cover the election, were
followed from their hotel and were then arrested by members of the
Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DST), the police
intelligence department.
They were taken to DST headquarters in the Abidjan district of
Cocody, where they were questioned by Deputy Director Djé Bi, who
demanded to see all their video-cassettes and to search their hotel
room. The journalists, who were properly accredited, refused. They
were finally released two hours later.
In an unrelated incident, around 50 armed men from the Waters and
Forests department of the Côte d'Ivoire defence and security forces
prevented a debate from taking place at the headquarters of the
L'Intelligent d'Abidjan newspaper in which Touré Ahmed Bouah, the CEO
of a real estate company, had been due to take part.
----
Mission
Reporters Without Borders will monitor the Ivorian media from today
until the end of the presidential election. The quantitative and
qualitative monitoring will be carried out in Abidjan by a team of
observers, who will evaluate the air-time that the state radio and TV
stations allocate to the political parties and movements
participating in the election. They will also evaluate the space
allocated by the public daily Fraternité Matin and three privately-
owned dailies, Le Nouveau Réveil, Le Patriote and Notre Voie. The aim
is to ensure respect for the principle of fairness in the public
media and balance in the privately-owned media.
Methodology
Reporters Without Borders will observe and measure the airtime that
the candidates get in all the French-language programmes relating to
the elections on the state-owned TV station RTI 1 and the state-owned
radio station Radio Côte d’Ivoire (RCI). It will also measure and
compare the column space that each candidate and their supporters and
allies get in the four public and privately-owned daily newspapers
that are being monitored. Reporters Without Borders will add a
qualitative evaluation of the tone used by the journalists and media
in their references to the candidates.
---
Ambroise PIERRE
Bureau Afrique / Africa Desk
Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris, France
Tel : (33) 1 44 83 84 76
Fax : (33) 1 45 23 11 51
Email : [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask]
Web : www.rsf.org
Twitter : RSF_RWB
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