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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Feb 14 2011 - 06:51:15 EST
Djiboutiplan: Presidential Challenger Warns Djibouti President over Police
Brutality
Djibouti’s human rights leader arrested as calls grow for President Guelleh
to step down
February 14, 2011 01:00 AM Eastern Time
LONDON--( <http://www.businesswire.com/> BUSINESS WIRE)--The spontaneous
uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have spread to Djibouti with thousands of
anti-government protestors taking to the streets to call for President
Guelleh to step down.
“It is clear that the President of Djibouti has no intention of responding
to the findings of this report and implementing its recommendations”
Buoyed by the success of demonstrations across the region, increasing
numbers of protestors have been gathering in the East African country to
urge the President not to seek a third five-year term in office, at the
presidential elections in April, according to
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.djibout
iplan.com%2F&esheet=6606493&lan=en-US&anchor=Djiboutiplan&index=1&md5=808d8a
d0468e8d1267c4741605e9d6d4> Djiboutiplan.
Further unrest is expected this week as the country prepares for two days of
mass protests on February 18 and February 25.
However, opposition groups fear that the peaceful demonstrations could be
met with police brutality, following clashes last week that saw the
country’s security forces use tear gas and stones to disperse the crowds.
Fears for the safety of political activists are also growing following
Friday’s
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.omct.or
g%2Ffr%2Fhuman-rights-defenders%2Furgent-interventions%2Fdjibouti%2F2011%2F0
2%2Fd21086%2F&esheet=6606493&lan=en-US&anchor=arrest&index=2&md5=32c816677b5
610f8de0d73cba5d24e5e> arrest
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.omct.or
g%2Ffr%2Fhuman-rights-defenders%2Furgent-interventions%2Fdjibouti%2F2011%2F0
2%2Fd21086%2F&esheet=6606493&lan=en-US&anchor=of+Jean-Paul+No%C3%ABl-Abdi&in
dex=3&md5=303134975a8a3b95f61281ced2f1469a> of Jean-Paul Noël-Abdi,
President of the LDDH ( la Ligue Djiboutienne des Droits Humains),
Djibouti’s leading human rights group. Farah Abadid Hildid, a member of the
MRD (Mouvement pour le Renouveau démocratique et le Développement), who has
been leading calls for President Guelleh’s resignation, has also been
arrested.
Abdourahman Boreh, the leading Presidential challenger and former Chairman
of Djibouti’s Ports and Free Zones Authority, warned the President today of
the consequences of using brutality to stay in power.
He said “The international community is watching and must take action
against Mr Guelleh if this illegal oppression continues. Public anger at the
brutality of President Guelleh’s police state may lead to civil unrest with
devastating consequences for the citizens, the refugees and the economy. In
the interests of the Djibouti nation, Mr Guelleh must accept the will of the
people, and the true terms of the constitution, and step down to allow a
credible democratic process to take place.”
He added: “The unfolding events in Djibouti are of great concern to
countries in the region too, due to its strategic role in guarding the
narrow Red Sea straights that lead to the Suez Canal, and the importance of
Djibouti’s ports as Ethiopia’s only secure access to the sea in an unstable
region.”
Djibouti has endured one-party rule dominated by the RPP (Rassemblement
Populaire pour le Progrès) for 34 years. President Guelleh was first elected
to office in 1999, taking over from his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who
had ruled the country since its independence from France in 1977. Mr Guelleh
was re-elected unopposed in 2005 and was due to step down before the 2011
elections, but he changed the 1992 constitution in March 2010 to allow
himself to stand for more than two terms.
Mr Boreh said that after more than three decades living under an
undemocratic regime the people of Djibouti were finally rising up to demand
political change, despite political activists in the country facing
imprisonment and detention.
Mr Boreh said: “For 34 years, the Djibouti people have been deprived of
political freedom and forced to live under a corrupt regime that does not
believe in democracy. Galvanised by the recent upheavals in Tunisia and
Egypt, they are now finding the strength to tell the world that they have
had enough.
“The people of Djibouti are desperate for free and fair elections, as this
will finally give them the opportunity to decide the leadership they want
for their country. That is why I’m calling on the President to step down to
make way for a peaceful transition of power. However, without a guarantee
that Djibouti will be allowed a true democratic process, I and other
opposition candidates may be forced to boycott the presidential elections to
make it clear to Mr Guelleh that Djibouti will no longer tolerate his
corrupt regime.”
Anti-government groups in Djibouti such as the UDA coalition (Union pour
l'Alternance Démocratique) and the Afar FRUD (Front pour la Restauration de
l'Unité et la Démocratie) have already raised the prospect of a boycott
following what they describe as a lack of progress in organising the
election.
Mr Boreh’s warning follows a visit to Djibouti by representatives of
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democra
cyinternational.com%2F&esheet=6606493&lan=en-US&anchor=Democracy+Internation
al&index=4&md5=25394752578055dea1f22599560d5734> Democracy International, a
US-based pro-democracy group, who reported that “a more competitive
environment” was needed to ensure free and fair elections.
In its report it called for opposition representatives to be appointed to a
National Electoral Commission, which has “the necessary means and autonomy
to function properly”. It also called for “timely access to the electoral
list for both political parties and the general public”, and a ban on
“inducements” on election day, to put an end to the Government distributing
money and khat (a popular stimulant chewed across east Africa) to win
people’s votes.
In a final attempt to secure free and fair elections, Mr Boreh has also
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdjiboutipla
n.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fopen-letter-to-the-african-union&esheet=6606493&lan=en-U
S&anchor=written+to+the+African+Union+Pan-African+Parliament&index=5&md5=efe
48e205b298194beebd6b22568e9d2> written to the African Union Pan-African
Parliament, urging them to send impartial observers to the elections.
“It is clear that the President of Djibouti has no intention of responding
to the findings of this report and implementing its recommendations,” said
Mr Boreh. “What is particularly unfortunate is that if we, the opposition,
lose hope in a democratic transition of power, and are forced to boycott the
elections, there is a real chance that this week’s demonstrations will
descend into civil unrest, like we have seen in Egypt.”
Mr Boreh has published on his
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.djibout
iplan.com&esheet=6606493&lan=en-US&anchor=website&index=6&md5=421bb8fec9d3f4
226e821ac65c224a82> website a list of demands to ensure the elections are
free and fair.
About
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdjiboutipla
n.com%2F&esheet=6606493&lan=en-US&anchor=Djiboutiplan&index=7&md5=2ed597a81b
8250791592285bc820de29> Djiboutiplan
Djiboutiplan sets out Abdourahman Boreh’s manifesto for change. The
presidential challenger and pro-democracy campaigner is committed to a
large-scale reform programme to address the widespread economic and
political problems in the country.
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