From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Fri Jan 16 2009 - 10:20:09 EST
March 11, 2006
Djibouti: is president Geelle a benevolent dictator or a dangerous
demagogue?
By CABDALE FARAH SIGAD
As a someone who deeply admire the honest and the good nature of the
Djibouti people I always show a great interested the way of political
climate develop in that country but recent local election campaigns gave
me more interested to follow the political debate in that country step
by step.
I am not an outsider who only interested the dark side of Djibouti; far
from it I had spent have of my life in that country and I consider it as
my second
country if not my first. My finger printed can be found every corner of
the (avenue 26) where I used to hung up with my friends. Old and young
in that area can easily remember my name if they were being asked.
Coming back to the subject and the recent local election in the country
which the state own TV website, was broadcasting for the last few weeks
with the
comfort of suspending what was knowing the presidential news where the
news reader would finish reading the whole news from the beginning to
the end what the president done or may do.
Watching the local election campaign reminds me 21t of October, which
used to be an old Somalia's revolution day, but the difference is
Somalia was ruled by obvious dictatorship and people were celebrating
one thing and there was no hidden agenda everybody knew who they were
applauding for, whether we
liked or not there was only one man to be respected. BARE was not lying
to us he was ruling us with an iron fist but is a different story with
president GELE.
In Djibouti there are opposition parties who their existence is to act
on behalf of the people who are not happy with the way things are at the
moment. They also supposedly there to hold the government to account
what ever mistake and misuse may occurs but this is only a dream to the
people of Djibouti.
I was amaze the way the local opposition candidates were campaigning I
couldn't tell if they were frighten from the authority or if they were
campaigning indirectly on the behalf of the RPB which is the ruling
part,
because they were all decorating the picture of the president on the
background of their camp. What is more strange all the main part's
candidate were starting their speech campaign with the words like (LONG
LIVE TO THE
PRESIDENT AND HIS GOVERNMENT) yes you may laugh but is true and one have
to wonder what is the purpose of their campaign.
I ask my self when ever I see the opposition leaders praising the
president: Why bother to campaign against him if he is adorable? But the
reality is they are not campaigning against him they are his follow
friends he establish them
he. One of the main opposition part who also ones were army opposition
part are now nothing more than a pappies of the RPB. So is president
GEELE and his pappies are serious about a democracy or are they making
mockery out of democracy.
In my view as long as the GEELE is manipulating the heart and the mines
of the innocence Djiboutian their will never be a democracy in that
country and the people I dearly love will suffer in the consequences
CABDALE FARAH SIGAD sigad12345@yahoo.com
http://harowo.com/2006/03/11/djibouti-is-president-geelle-a-benevolent-d
ictator-or-a-dangerous-demagogue/