French journalist shot ead in Ivory Coast ( 2003-10-22 09:51) (Agencies)
A French journalist working
for Paris-based radio station Radio France Internationale (RFI) was shot dead by
a policeman in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan on Tuesday, the French embassy
said.
The journalist was killed outside a police station in the center of the city
while awaiting the release of opposition party activists, who had been detained
last week on suspicion of plotting assassination attempts.
"The security service of the French embassy confirms the death of Jean Helene
after an argument with a policeman turned sour," said Francis Guenon, political
adviser and spokesman for the French embassy in Abidjan.
President Laurent Gbagbo, Prime Minister Seydou Diarra and the French
ambassador visited the scene of the shooting late on Tuesday. Gbagbo said he was
launching an immediate enquiry.
Officials said a policeman was being held.
Ever since civil war exploded last year in the former French colony, foreign
media and French radio and TV channels in particular have been accused of
pro-rebel bias by Gbagbo supporters and some have been criticized by the local
press.
Although the war was officially declared over in July, the world's largest
cocoa grower remains divided between a rebel-held north and
government-controlled south, and anti-French sentiment still runs high.
Gbagbo supporters blame the French, who have 4,000 troops in the West African
country, for not doing enough to beat back the rebels, while the rebels accuse
the French of propping up Gbagbo's administration.
There were violent anti-French demonstrations in January after warring
factions signed a Paris-brokered peace deal and some French businesses were
attacked during riots this month.
A spokeswoman for French President Jacques Chirac, who leaves on Wednesday
for a short visit to Niger and Ivory Coast's neighbor Mali, said he was saddened
by the death of a journalist who had spent much of his career in Africa.
"(Chirac) calls on the Ivorian authorities to throw as much light as possible
on this assassination, which must be the subject of a diligent and immediate
investigation," said spokeswoman Catherine Colonna.
Eyewitnesses said a policeman came into the headquarters where the party
activists were being released on Tuesday night and told the senior police
officer there was a "white man" outside. He was told the man was a journalist,
and was expected.
The eyewitnesses said the policeman left the building and a shot was heard
afterwards. Some people went outside and saw a body lying in the road by a car
and blood on the ground.
They ran into the building to tell the senior officer, who disarmed the
policeman, saying: "You have created a major problem for us."
