Robert Bourgi, a French lawyer, stated in a book that the 2010 presidential election was not won by the current regime. In reaction to the comments of Robert Bourgi, Amadou CoulibalyMinister of Communication and government spokesperson deplored the attitude of certain intellectuals who are still debating the 2010 election.
“I am surprised that there are still intellectuals who are at this stage of the debate, at a time when all Ivorians are calling on President Ouattara to run for the next elections. I will therefore not comment. There was a certification process. I am very surprised that there are emotional Ivorians who indulge in the comments of an individual who, I remind you, has no power. This process was certified, the CEI gave results, the Constitutional Council ruled, then reversed itself on the results it had announced. The group of experts also spoke out. Finally, with all this, an individual who writes a book because it is important to say it and who does interviews as part of the promotion of his bookmeans something else, and that is debated. We hope that this book either a best-seller. It would be good for Mr. Bourgi. For the rest, I will simply remind him that the Internet has an immense memory, and I leave it to his clean contradictionsbecause we are contemporary,” the Minister of Communication justified himself.
Asked whether he had information on his compatriot, the journalist arrested in Niger, the Minister of Communication was clear and revealed in passing that the colleague had been charged.
“We were happy to finally learn that he has been officially charged and to know what he is accused of. From the moment this process has entered a legal phase, we are calm about the safety of our compatriot. Let us not forget that we are coming out of a situation where no one knew where he was and that even the official steps we had taken with our consul had not given a satisfactory answer. We are therefore happy to know today where he is and what he is accused of. We will continue to follow this process, hoping that justice will be done and that the truth will come out,” he said.
“We followed with great interest the intervention of the Minister of Defense of Burkina, who clearly told us that our compatriot would have helped to harbor someone who would have gone to prepare a coup d’état. It’s a bit convoluted, but the fact remains that it would be linked to this alleged coup attempt. There is certainly a link between Niger and Burkina. It’s true that they created an association. I can therefore understand that Niger shows solidarity with Burkina. But what we know is that he was in Niger, it was there that he was arrested. He therefore appears in a statement made by the Burkinabè minister who incriminates him in the attempt to overthrow this military regime in Burkina. For us, it is clear that by establishing links between the ECOWAS countries, Niger had to, at the request of Burkina Faso, arrest our compatriot. But for us, this is good news, because until now, the Nigerien authorities said they did not know where he was. Now that it appears in an official statement, we welcome it. We officially know that he has been arrested, and we are awaiting further developments. But I can assure you that our consul is following this matter,” continued Mr. Coulibaly.
The information circulated on social networks and it came from a colleague. According to this information, there is an armed group of ex-demobilized Ivorians in Bobo-Dioulasso who are training there. Asked whether this information is true, the government spokesperson assured that Ivorian territory is protected and this is not the case. “A State manages itself with responsibility. There is no point in disseminating information which could, as I said earlier, create unrest between the populations of our countries. What I can assure you is that the government’s responsibility is to protect the perimeter of Côte d’Ivoire, to protect the national territory, and this territory is protected. I can assure you of that. For the rest, while waiting for this colleague to provide more evidence, we are not informed of this. In any case, not at the level of the Council of Ministers,” he maintained.
Wassimagnon
