UNION OF STATE-OWNED NEWSPAPER THREATENS STRIKE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 001276

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ELAB IV
SUBJECT: UNION OF STATE-OWNED NEWSPAPER THREATENS STRIKE
ACTION IN PROTEST OF DISMISSAL OF DIRECTOR GENERAL


1. (SBU) Summary: On October 30, 2006 the board of
influential government-owned newspaper Fraternite Matin
(FratMat) dismissed Director General Honore De Yedagne (close
to the FPI) and replaced him with Leon Lebry Francis, an ally
of PM Banny. On November 6 the union for employees at
FratMat, the &Syndicat des Agents de Fraternite Matin,8
(SYNAFRAT-MAT) threatened a strike in protest of the
dismissal of the former DG. This episode reflects continued
jockeying between supporters of President Gbagbo and Prime
Minister Banny. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Who, What, How: The Ministry of Communications,
run by Junior Minister and former NGO leader Martine
Coffi-Studer (Prime Minister Banny is also the Senior
Communications Minister as well as the Senior Finance
Minister),recently undertook an audit investigating the
organizational and financial operations of the newspaper at
the request of the board of Fraternite Matin. The board,
composed of members appointed by the Ministries of
Communication, Telecommunication, Culture, Finance, Labor,
and Education and the Prime Minister's office, held an
extraordinary meeting to review the results of the audit and
recommended emergency measures. Voting unanimously, the
Board quickly dismissed Director General Honare, accusing him
of &outrageous mismanagement8 and replaced him with Leon
Lebry Francis, reportedly an ally of Prime Minister Banny.


3. (SBU) The Immediate Result: On November 6 the union for
employees at FratMat, the &Syndicat des Agents de Fraternite
Matin,8 (SYNAFRAT-MAT) threatened a strike in protest of the
dismissal of Honore, alleging the action violates the rules
governing the management of parastatal firms. SYNAFRAT-MAT,
generally supportive of the FPI, also denounced the presence
of armed police at FratMat's HQ to enforce the dismissal.
However, another FratMat union (more aligned with the
opposition),the &Syndicat des Agents Libres des Employes de
Fraternite Matin8 (SYLE-FRATMAT),has come out against the
threatened strike and instead proposed negotiations with the
Ministry of Communications.


4. (SBU) Honore's Counterattack: Honore's camp argues that
as Fraternite Matin is legally under the financial
supervision of the Ministry of Finance, any legitimate audit
must be carried out under its guidance. The audit resulting
in his dismissal was carried out by an independent auditing
firm, UNICONSEIL, at the behest of the Ministry of
Communications. The outcome of the audit was not made
available to the former DG, who claims that far from being
mismanaged, under his leadership, the paper has begun to turn
a profit. According to Honore, the Board does not have the
authority to dismiss him, but only to propose a dismissal
which must be confirmed by the Council of Ministers and a
Presidential decree. Honore asserts that under FratMat's
bylaws, a Director General can also only be appointed by
decree after approval by the Council of Ministers as the
result of a proposal by the Minister of Communications.


5. (SBU) Honore Says It's Personal...: Honore claims his
dismissal is the result of personal settling of scores
between himself and Junior Minister Coffi-Studer. Honore
publicly stated that his first clash with Coffi-Studer
occurred in 2002 when he was new to the position of Director
General and Coffi-Studer was the head of advertising firm
Ocean. According to Honore, she was unhappy about the
reduction from 25% to 15% in Ocean's advertising discount
with the paper, a reduction insisted upon by Honore, bringing
Ocean's discount in line with those offered other advertising
firms.


6. (SBU) ...And Political: Perhaps more important is the
political dimension: Honore claims his resistance to
Coffi-Studer's direct involvement in the editorial section of
Fraternite Matin was a key factor in his removal. Much of
the ongoing commentary on the issue underscores the degree to
which this controversy either was or has become a proxy fight
between Banny's camp and the FPI. In any case, Honore says
that that &he will fight the state-sponsored gangsterism8
through the courts.


7. (SBU) Comment: While other papers in Cote d' Ivoire
openly declare their support for one party or another,
Fraternite Matin advertises itself as being a state-owned,
independent source of information that is &neither partisan
nor neutral8 (its official byline) offering the government's
point of view. However, in reality it has become
increasingly biased in support of the President and does not
reflect the fact that this is, in effect, a coalition
government. Recent stories highly critical of the Prime
Minster, the international community and the recent UNSCR
1721 resolution underscore this reality and have undoubtedly
contributed to the move to oust Honore. End comment.

ABIDJAN 00001276 002 OF 002


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