MONTHLY REPORT--ABIDJAN BUREAU--NOVEMBER 1982

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86-00040R000100010002-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 31, 2008
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 2, 1982
• Content Type: MEMO

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FOREIGN F OADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
ABIDJAN BUREAU
MAB 231
2 December 1982
NH'IORANDUM FOR: Director, FBIS
THROUGH : Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT . Monthly Report - Abidjan Bureau - November 1982
The cost of living allowance (COLA) for staff employees in
Abidjan was increased from 5 to 20 percent effective 31 October.
The increase came as a result of a cost of living survey conducted
by the Embassy during the summer. Because of the strength of the
dollar over the past year, COLA had dropped as the exchange rate
rose. However, the Embassy survey showed that costs of basic goods
and services had risen rapidly, thus negating much of the additional
power of a strong dollar.
A. Editorial/Monitorial
1. November was an exceptional month for Abidjan, with
two coups in the bureau's coverage area. The Saye Zerbo regime in
Upper Volta was overthrown, and an attempt against Jerry Rawlings
in Ghana was defeated. These two events helped push bureau wordage
to an all-time high of?-nearly 300,000.
On Sunday, 7 November, a visiting BBC television crew
called the bureau to find out if there were problems in Upper Volta,
as flights to Ouagadougou were canceled without explanation. The
bureau immediately began monitoring Ouagadougou radio, and caught
the end of an announcement asking for the people's support and telling
them to return to their normal business. A signon-signoff open watch
was established, requiring a 16-hour shift on the 7th. During the
day the radio carried a series of decrees, including one establishing
a Provisional People's Salvation Council (CPSP). On the 8th the
radio announced that the CPSP leader was Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo,
a 140-year-old doctor. Ouedraogo gave his first press conference on
the afternoon of the 19th. The radio broadcast a recording of the
press conference late that evening, and the bureau remained open
until 0100 to finish processing. On the 26th both AFP and the radio
announced the new Upper Voltan cabinet and the composition of the
People's Salvation Council, which replaced the CPSP. At the request
of the Ambassador, the bureau supplied coup-related material, with
French transcriptions, directly to Ivorian Foreign Minister Simeon
Ake as well as to the Embassy.
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On the 24th a coup attempt in Ghana was foiled. This
attempt was the culmination of a series of problems over the past
month, including the resignation of the Ghanaian chief of staff
on the 23d. At 0600 on the 24th Ghanaian leader Jerry Rawlings
announced on Accra radio that the attempted coup had been defeated
and that loyal troops were in control of the situation. An initial
FYI on this announcement was telephoned to the Wire, as bureau
teletypists were not yet on duty. The radio then warned that any
troops moving without orders would be ''bombed" and that "isolated
pockets" of resistance were on the run. The radio also reported
that fighting had taken place the previous night, and subsequently
announced that a number of soldiers and civilians-none identified-
had been arrested. By nightfall it was clear that the coup had
been defeated and rallies were held throughout Ghana the following
day to celebrate. At a large rally in Accra, Rawlings defended
his record and said he would "very soon" introduce new "structures"
and a new economic program. Again, copies of all relevant items,
together with French translations, were delivered expeditiously to
the Ivorian Foreign Ministry and the Embassy. The BBC Newsbureau,
which closely watches events in the former British colony, sent a
message expressing gratitude for the bureau's "excellent service"
on the coup attempt.
2. The timing of the Ghana coup attempt was interesting
as it might have been expected that Rawlings would have been in
Tripoli at the time, at the second OAU summit in the Libyan capital.
This summit conference, like an earlier one in August, could not be
held due to lack of a quorum. The issue this time was the represen-
tation of Chad, with the host, Al-Qadhdhafi, contending that the
deposed Transitional National Union Government of Goukouni Oueddei
should represent the country while various African countries demanded
that current leader Hissein Habre should take Chad's seat. A
compromise could not be reached, and the summit was not held. The
bureau processed statements and comment from various participating
or nonparticipating countries in our coverage area. Embassy officers
in Abidjan were particularly interested in a statement by Foreign
Minister Ake on the Ivorian position. The statement, carried in the
Abidjan daily Fraternite Matin, was discussed in detail at a Country
Team meeting.
3. Reaction to the African tour of Vice President George
Bush occupied some attention. A commentary from Accra radio used
the occasion to refute the U.S. position on linking Cuban troops in
Angola with a Namibia settlement. Lagos radio asserted that it was
time the U.S. put its words into actions in southern Africa, and the
News Agency of Nigeria said the U.S. should be mindful of its long-
term interests on the continent. Zaire avoided the issue in public
statements and Angola continued to reject U.S. optimism on a Namibia
accord.
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B. Lateral Services
The U.S. Consulate in Kaduna, Nigeria, responding to a
query from LRB on FBIS services, said that it wishes to continue
receiving FBIS reports because they are of "high value to post,
especially in fast-developing situations such as the recent religious
disturbances in northern Nigeria."
III. ADMINISTRATION
Personnel
French-English monitor
PSI on the 114th, to FSN 3/3?
Attachment
Monthly Production Report
CC: Acting Deputy Chief, London Bureau
Chief, Swaziland Bureau
Chief, Abidjan Bureau
STAT
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