Dokument #1229817
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to the attached excerpt from
Africa South of the Sahara 1989, all forms of political
activity were forbidden on campuses in 1982. [ Africa South of
the Sahara 1989 (London: Europa Publications, 1988), p. 418.]
Africa Contemporary Record states that fewer protests were
held by students in 1986. [ Colin Legum, ed., Africa
Contemporary Record 1986-1987 (London: Africana Publishing
Company, 1988), p.B61.] It also states that overtures were being
made to a former university lecturer who had gone into self-imposed
exile following a 1982 conference on democracy which was stormed by
riot police. [ Ibid.] According to the U.S. Government
Country Reports 1989, the lecturer, Mr. Gbagbo, returned to
Côte d'Ivoire in 1988 and was given a job at the university.
He is, however, permitted to publish only in scientific journals
and is not allowed to have significant contact with students. [
U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1989 (Washington: Government Printing Office,
1990), p. 94.]
In April 1990, students led demonstrations
against the government's austerity measures which would include
salary reductions of up to 47 percent. Police used tear gas to
disperse the crowds. A high school student was reportedly beaten
and later found dead in undetermined circumstances in the city of
Adzopé, 100 km north of Abidjan. [ "Un première
victime en Côte d'Ivoire", Le Devoir, 7 avril 1990;
"Une manifestation d'appui tourne mal pour Houphouet", Le
Devoir, 6 avril 1990.]
The Constitution guarantees the freedom of
the press with the exception of violations of state security. [
L'information dans le monde (Paris: Editions du Seuil,
1989), p. 161.] However, in practice, criticism of government
policies is not permitted. [ U.S. Department of State, p. 93.]
Journalists practice a form of self-censorship. [
L'information, p. 162.] In 1987, the publication Jeune
Afrique was banned from sale because of an article which
suggested that Côte d'Ivoire was implicated in a coup
d'état in Burkino Fasso. [ Ibid., p. 161.] This
is in direct contradiction to the information given in the
Encyclopedia of the Third World which states that "foreign
publications are readily available, and are not seized even when
they criticize the government". [ George Thomas Kurian,
Encyclopedia of the Third World, Vol. 2, (New York: Facts on
File, Inc., 1987), p. 988.]
Encyclopedia of the Third World also
states that:Publication of 'false' news bringing into disregard the
laws of the country or its political institutions or injuring the
morals of the population is punishable with imprisonment, fine or
expulsion. [ Ibid., p. 998.]
The IRBDC has no information currently
available which can corroborate this statement.
ATTACHMENTS:
Africa South of the Sahara 1989 (London: Europa
Publications, 1988), pp. 418-419.
Colin Legum, ed., Africa Contemporary Record 1986-1987
(London: Africana Publishing Company, 1988), pp. B60-B63.
"Un première victime en Côte d'Ivoire", Le
Devoir, 7 avril 1990; "Une manifestation d'appui tourne mal
pour Houphouet", Le Devoir, 6 avril 1990.
L'information dans le monde (Paris: Editions du Seuil,
1989), pp. 159-162.
George Thomas Kurian, Encyclopedia of the Third World, Vol.
2, (New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1987), pp. 988, 998.