AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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During the year, police beat persons who criticized or angered the Government.
For example, on March 11, 12 unknown persons severely beat Pasteur Faustin
Leka, the president of the Ivoirian Party For Democracy (PID). Leka, who was hospitalized
for 1 month, had written articles critical of President Gbagbo and the governing
FPI party. He stated that his attackers accused him of being a traitor to his
Christian and Bete background. It was unclear whether uniformed forces or party
militants beat Leka.
On April 18, six gendarmes reportedly arrested and beat Alexis Gouanou, the Secretary
General of the Youth of the Grand West for having released medical information
about Commander Bekpan, one of the gendarmes tried and acquitted for the
Yopougon mass grave.
On July 2, near a police precinct in Abidjan, unknown assailants beat Francois
Kouadio of the Presidency’s Office of the Inspector General, despite his having a
government protective detail. Kouadio had completed a report on cocoa marketing
that accused some government officials, as well as private operators and organizations,
of corruption.
After the September 19 rebellion, security forces on heightened alert for potential
rebel infiltrators or active sympathizers erected numerous roadblocks and searched
Abidjan neighborhoods, frequently during nightly curfew. There were numerous reports
that police and gendarmes continued to harass, beat, extort, and commit other
abuses with impunity.
Also after September 19, there were credible reports of special militias comprised
of uniformed forces operating outside the normal chain of command of the Ministries
of Defense (gendarmes) and Interior (police) and involving members or units
of the President’s security force. There also were reports of civilian militia that reportedly
operated with political and judicial impunity and were responsible for extortion,
robberies, and killings (see Section 1.a.).
During the rebellion, individuals associated with opposition parties or rebellion
leaders or believed to be sympathizers were subjected to increased harassment and
abuse. Several hundred RDR members were arrested without legal procedures having
been followed, and a number reportedly were killed by security forces under unclear
circumstances (see Sections 1.a. and 1.d.).
After September 19, police harassment and abuse of noncitizen Africans increased
significantly as the Government blamed many of the surrounding countries for complicity
in the crisis. Noncitizen Africans, mostly from neighboring countries, complained
after September 19 that they were subject to police harassment, repeated
document checks, increased security force extortion and racketeering, and violence.
Police and security forces continued to use excessive force to disperse demonstrations,
some of which were violent (see Section 2.b.).
There were credible reports of disciplinary or legal actions against some police officers
for mistreating suspects and arrestees during the year; however, critics
deemed such actions uneven and inadequate. On May 15, Minister of Interior Boga
Doudou fired 50 police officers and gendarmes, suspended 27 others for racketeering
and extortion, and had 8 police officers and 4 gendarmes arrested on racketeering
and extortion charges. Minister Boga Doudou stated that the suspensions and arrests
would be an example to other officers; however, independent newspapers noted
that the majority of those fired were of northern origin and suggestd that the Minister
of Interior was using the occasion to reduce their numbers in the police ranks.
In August Minister of Interior Boga Doudou issued a statement threatening sanctions
against members of the security forces who confiscated or destroyed noncitizens’
identification papers; however, no action was taken by year’s end (see Sections
1.a., 1.d., 1.f., and 5).
On July 26, police arrested Sergeant Baba Nene for the July killing of taxi driver
Kalilou Keita (see Section 1.a.). On September 11, police arrested Blea Tia in the
shooting of taxi driver Seydou Kone; an investigation was ongoing at year’s end.
There were no reports of action taken against members of the security forces in
any of the following incidents in 2001: The April shooting of a taxi driver in Daloa;
the April beating of Dago Fabrice in Yopougon; the May beating of a man in Daloa;
the May beating of eight persons, including a secondary school teacher and two
girls; and the June forcible dispersal of a strike at Blohorn Unilever.
There were no reported disciplinary actions against members of the security forces
responsible for abuses committed during 2000.
During the year, there were fewer reports that Liberian refugees in the western
part of the country faced harassment and threats from supporters of Liberian President
Charles Taylor.
There were numerous incidents of ethnic violence during the year, some of which
resulted in injuries (see Section 5).
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