1
- DJIBOUTI: ANATOMIE D'UN RÉGIME MORIBOND
QUI VIOLE LES DROITS HUMAINS DES DJIBOUTIENS
DEPUIS PLUS DE 23 ANS
Document distribué par : M. Ali Dahan, Ph.D.
Représentant permanent du Front pour la Restauration
de l'Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD) et Président
des Partisans
de la Paix dans la Justice pour tous les Djiboutiens (PPJD)
AU FORUM PUBLIC SUR
LA CORNE DE L'AFRIQUE
SAMEDI , 21 FÉVRIER 2001 UNIVERSITÉ STANFORD
CALIFORNIE, ETATS-UNIS D'AMÉRIQUE
"YOU
WOULD TEACH THE TRUTH
OR YOU WOULD SAVE A LAND
ABOUT TO DISAPPEAR? EVERYONE
IS AFRAID, NO ONE IS HELPING
YOU AN FEW ARE THESE WHO
UNDERSTAND"
ALEXANDRE POPE
"Essay on Mankind" EPISTLE IV-265-6
DJIBOUTI GOVERNMENT'S
DUPLICITY IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS,
TERRORISM AND VIOLATION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS WITHIN THE COUNTRY
MR.
ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH SOW DISSENSSION
AMONG THE PEOPLES OF THE HORN OF AFRICA
SINCE DJIBOUTI'S INDEPENDANCE IN 1977
Since 1977, the Republic of Djibouti is an independant state
and from this fact a member of the United Nations Organisation
and other international and regional instances of which has
adopted the status,conventions, protocols and others treaties
( including those of the Human Rights Commission ).
At the moment of its independance, Djibouti enjoyed a relatively
prosperous economy.The citizens of this State made proof of political
and social cohesion which represented a chance and allowed hope
, the civil peace assured and preserved , a harmonious development
by the judicious utilisation of the
country's ressources, sustained by the aid and the sympathy of
the international community.
The unprecendented violations of the Human Rights, who worn out
on the population accross the country, as soon as the proclamation
of independance, has betrayed this hope and wasted this chance
by pushing the country in a civil war. The fullness, the intensity
and suddeness of these violations and extorsions prove that we
find ourselves, there, in the presence of the
strict application of the customary ethnic law . This custom authorises
its followers the practise of one sort of "vital ethnic rivalry"
and prescribes the dispossession and elimination of the other
ethnic groups.
The ethnocratisation of the state by the application of a custom
only liberates the instincts naturally gregarious and predator
of all tribal society, directly affects by paralyzing the constitution
, the laws and regulations theoretically in effects and allegedly
destined to guarantee and protect the Human Rights.
In
reality, these texts are neither applicated nor respected by the
self-proclaimed president and his entourage who prefer the tradition
to the tribal solidarity that they confuse with the national interest,
wrongly so. The nature and the extension of the abuse committed
provoked local protestations and op-
positions and condemnations and denounciations from the exterior
:
-
The licensing of abusive and collective revocations of ethnic
nature dislocated social and professional lifestyles in one particular
part of the population ;
-
The massive and arbitrary arrestations created insecurity and
a general oppression ;
- The systematic and atrocious tortures created terror and provoked
mutilation and death, affected the physical and mental integrity
of the victims ;
- The monopolisation of all kinds of economic and professional
activities at the profit of those in power and their relatives
generated an economic stagnation for the majority of the population
in most areas of the country.
- This situation provoked a move and exodus towards foreign countries
from the population searching their salute far away for economic
and political immigration. This population was also driven to
refuge in neighboring countries who did not recognize them as
refugees.
- After each peaceful demonstration, raids were carried out in
the BALBALA and ARHIBA neighborhoods of the city of Djibouti,
as well at the city of Ali Sabieh in the South of the country.
- The destruction and systematic crushing of the inhabitant's
way of existence made places like the North and South-west regions
unsuitable as a naturel habitat , they were crushed and devasted
; on the shores, the embarcations and fishing materials were raided
; the sheeppheards saw their herds massacred and raided by the
governmental forces.
- The planned destruction of the vegetation in raising zones(Gagadé,Daguirou,
Day, Obock and Khor Angar etc...) and the suppression of water
in the dependant regions for consumption by drilling is an act
of artifical desertification accelerated in order to make these
densed human and animal regions inhabitable.
- Violating the parliamentary immunity of members of the National
Assembly, the police of Ismaël Omar Guelleh, imprisonned
Mr. Moussa Ahmed Idriss and killed his adopted son.
-
All these extortions and others (rapes, massacres), outside the
vivid opposition and army resistence that they provoked and aroused
, contributed from the Front for the Restoration of Unity and
Democracy FRUD - multiple correspondences adressing this subject
to the Human Rights Commission of the U.N. and the U.N. Secretary
General. This make us rise a few interrogations :
VIOLENCE AND NON-INTERFERENCE
With
the transformation of the contemporary world into a vaste planetary
village,consubstantial to the globalisation of information, people
who were oppressed to long had ligitimily hoped that the vigillence
of the international opinion would end a certain dictatorial and
inhumain practice that the " Society of
States " feigned to ignore in the name of the inviolable
non-interference in internal affairs of a sovereign State, specified
in paragraph 7 of the article 2 from the U.N.'s Charter.
This
version of a solidarity world beyond the frontiers pushed certain
movements to armed struggles to condamnable excesses : hostage
taking, who sometimes filled this need vital , to be known in
order to be recognized.
Force
is unfortunately to deplore today that this view rises more than
one idealistic internationalism, rather than a modest pragmatism.
If mediatisation somestimes, rhimes with conscientisation, it
often also rhimes with treateness without evoking here deep mutation
at the assumptionn of a disenchantement of the occidental world,
the image, only by its overabondance, transformed the
withness into a spectator tored by so much misery, when it is
not simply a seen to which a live performance of one death amongst
so many, or better mediatised than others. And it is true that
the famous humanitary operation Band Aid up to the Unison II and
by Restore Hope, the people of the Horn of Africa have solid doubts
or rethanking the international opinion for its active solidarity.
We
compared, not without a little bitterness, the right of interference
to Godot, this character of Beckett who wait for throughout the
play.
THEREFORE,
BY FAULT OF BEING SAVED BY APPLICATION OF SUCH A PRINCIPE, SO
EACH DAY THAT PASSED DEMONSTRATES EMERGENCY, MANY POPULATIONS
ARE CONDEMNED TO SUFFER IN SILENCE AND DIGNITY, IGNORED VICTIMS
( IN ALL SENSES OF THE TERM) OF A HIDDEN GENOCIDE.
The
situation of these oppressed people becomes disparate when the
weak mediatisation of the legetimate combat adds, in negative
value, the black-out imposed by other privilleged actors, to know
the accredited chancelleries in the country that guilties itself
of Human Rights violation on one hand,legalized opposition on
the other. This is now the case for the Afars of the Republic
of
Djibouti : victim of an ethnic cleasing made in practise by the
clanic dictatorship of M. Ismaël Omar Guelleh, self proclaimed
president and of when certain chancellery decided to be quiet
, deaf to the calls of distress from a tortured population .
THIS
LUKEWARN, BECAUSE SHE BETRAYS IN ALL HER
COLDNESS AN ATTITUDE THAT ALLY A NON-ASSISTANCE TO A
PERSON IN DANGER, TO WHOM IT CONCERNS MUST TAKE THIS
ACT, ASK FOR A FEW CLARIFICATIONS AS TO ITS MOTIVATIONS,
IN LIGHT WHY THIS COMPLICITY OF SILENCE ?
-
WHY STAY SILENT WHEN THE DICTATORIAL NATURE OF THE
DJIBOUTIAN REGIME REMAINS TO BE SHOWN SINCE AN ORGANI-
SATION SO INDEPENDANT AS AMNISTY INTERNATIONAL HAS
DENOUNCED THE MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ?
-
WHY STAY SILENT WHEN IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THIS DICTATURE
IS LEGAL ONLY TO WHAT IT HAS UNILATTERALY GRANTED
ITSELF ?
-
WHY STAY SILENT WHEN WE KNOW THAT GUELLEH SHOWS NO
MODESTY TO THE HITLERESQUE CLAIM OF GENOCIDE, AND THE
CONQUEST OF VITAL SPACE AT THE COST OF THE MAJORITY OF
THE DJIBOUTIAN POPULATION ?
-
FINALLY,HOW DO WE STAY SILENT FACING A REGIME PROFOUN-
DLY TERRORIST WHO KILLS , EMPRISONES , DEPORTS AND TOR-
TURES REPEATEDLY THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE NA-
TIONAL COMMUNITY, HIS EXCEPTED ?
The
Djibouti government found by the geographical position of its
country,
and giving itself entire satisfaction by its diplomatic positions
to the big states
in its geostrategic vision on the region, benefits from their
technical aid for its
administration, civil, military, police, their financial support
for its budget
and projects, and their mediatic silence for their abuses and
intense crimes.
For more than 23 years, the same government exhausted the country,
shelte-
red from the looks and criticise of the international opinion.
Steal the public's
domain and empoverich the State, destroy the homes and pauperize
properties,
oppress the citizens by arrestation, torture, rape and organized
massacres .
For acting this way, he was sure it would suffise in order to
permise himself
in power, to the exterior also bellieved him on word, and in the
interior crush
the people who had no legal rights and no help from the exterior.
It
is these circumstances that the resistence army bursted lead by
the FRUD in 1990..This resistence had an immediate goal to the
realisation of :
-
The revision of the constitution in the democratic sense ;
-
The multiparty systeme without hindance ;
-
The administrative and economic decentralization ;
-
The equitable balancement in the State organism ;
-
The detribalisation of the administration, army, and police.
The
clan in power do not tolerate neither dialogue nor participation
and oppo-
ses a refusal to all revendications, with outside help of mercenaries
and interna-
tional help with military equipment, financial aide, he has intensified
the repres-
sion war and State terrorism.
MR.
GUELLEH GOVERN DE FACTO THE REPUBLIC OF
DJIBOUTI SINCE THE INDEPENDANCE IN 1977 AND HE
GOVERN DE COUNTRY DE JURE SINCE 1999.
During
the presidential election on April 1999, one of the falcons of
Guelleh
who is as "refugee" in Canada declared :" ...Guelleh
is the President of all
Issas from the city of Djibouti to Aïchea (in Ethiopian)
and another one of
his falcons delcared :"... Guelleh is the President of all
Somalians from the
city of Djibouti to Kisimayo ( in Somalia at the border of Kenya).
Discouraged
by the blockade of peace by dicator Guelleh, which is only momen-
tarilly, three small dissident groups of the F R U D resistence,
having lost
their moral , tired of fighting, have put down their weapons and
joined the
government and the party in power.
The
3 leaders of those 3 small dissident groups leaded by Mr. Ali
Mohamed
Daoud , Mr. Mohamed Adoyta Youssouf (first cousin of Mr. Mohamed
Kada
my Youssouf) and Mr Ahmed Dini Ahmed signed 3 so-called framework
treaties
with dictator I.O. Guelleh ( in 1994,1995 and 2000 ). One after
the other these
head of the 3 dissident groups from the FRUD became an allied
to the party in
power and joined Guelleh in his crimes.
This
big-lie strategy conserves without modification the status-quo
for the dicta-
torship, aiming only to abuse the "donating countries"
who condition their exis-
tence at the restructuration of internal peace and stabillity.The
regime tries by
these manoeuvres luvers to put itself in position to tell these
donating countries :
"Here we have made peace with the F.R.U.D.". There is
no more civil war here
and we have established domocracy . Give us money to consolidate
this agree-
ment and rebuild what the war had destroyed ! Approving this speech
, the
government displays is real captives(Ali Mohamed Daoud,Mohamed
Adoyta Youssouf and Ahmed Dini Ahmed) who are false negociators
who hurry to confirm its speech . The lack of reform of the institutions
,
the refusal of reparing the prejudices,the absence of sanctions
of the crimes,
the continuation of all kinds of oppression by the regime, and
the protection and impunity assured to the criminels, are so tangible
proofs that there is no place in
politics and the behaviors of the Djibouti government to allow
the creation of
minimal necessary conditions for civil peace.
I.O.
Guelleh has officially and publically claimed the paternity and
reponsabi-
lity of the exactions committed by the Djiboutian National Army
(A.N.D.) and
the National Forces of Security (N.F.S.) which include : the devastation
of
properties and the population's struggle to survive including
the destruction of
vegetation and water, the tortures and massacres of unarmed civilians,
the rape
of married women and young girls and sometimes executions, the
armed robe-
ries of these voyageurs who travel by camel in order to provide
water to the
distant campments.
After
the assasination of a small french boy (6 years ) at the Café
the Paris of
the city of Djibouti by the men of Mr. Guelleh . A young Djiboutian
boy was
shot in the head by lieutenant Abdousalam Ismaël Chire who
was sitting on the
terrasse of a café, done purely by murderous reflex. This
child's assassination
did not even have politico-tribal justification generally granted
under tribalist
regimes in Africa. The lieutenant who assassinate this Djiboutian
boy was
not punished but giving a promotion ,he was name commander.
All
these civilians were killed coldly and with premeditation, far
from any
conflict or combat, only to the victims of frustation of the army,
because of
their loss facing the FRUD or to scare djiboutian people or just
to rob them.
Among the victims many were women who were killed after being
raped.
Some did make rape charges, but their complains , like those of
the families
of the murder victims, were given no follow up.
The
same justice denial is opposed to who complained of armed robbery
or
the destruction of their properties.
In
Djibouti justice is not independant and does not permit any persual
of the
involvement of those protected by power.
In
Djibouti torture is almost systematic. It is not used to retract
information
or to scare suspects, it is used against the opponents to punish
physically and
humiliate psychologically to break the morale and create a phobia.The
Djibou
tian torturers have brought three important innovations to the
method of
tortured uses in other regions of the world.
THE
METHODS OF TORTURE IN DJIBOUTI -THEY ARE LOCALLY
CALLED : THE HAT, THE SWINGER AND THE POSTE.
The
HAT is used by immobilising the victim and covering its head with
a piece
of blanket. The blanket is constantly soaked with bleach water.
The chlorine
gases inhaled provok a bronchitio which is followed by the filling
of motes into
the lungs. Death comes after a few days caused by lack of oxygen.
This method
is not longer used because of the high level of death amongst
its victims.
The
SWINGER consits of tying the victim's wrists and hangs him on
a horizon-
tal bar. The victim's head is held back while his body bends to
the front with
his knees up against his chest. The inner-abdominal pressure begins
to expulse
the intestinal contents and creates a rectal prolapsus.
At
this stage, the torturer use bottles replace the rectum in its
normal position.
They also use pistols, metal bars and broom sticks. This provokes
grave lesions
described by doctors of Amnesty international who questioned and
examined
the victims.
In
the position , death comes rapidly by cardiac collapse if the
victim is not
untied . After many deaths with this torture, they have learned
to master it and
have used it without killing their victims, except those with
fragile hearts. This
is why this methods mostly used because it results in the destruction
of the per-
sonnality : it creates a phobia. It leaves a permanent psychological
traumatism.
All of those who are tortured are left with a great fear and are
constrained to
not running the chance of going through it again, or claim exile,
or put them-
selves in the position of absolute submission and actively servile
facing the secu-
rity services mastering the art of torture in Republic of Djibouti.
The
POSTE was invented in September 1993, and was used for the first
time at
the deportation camp of Lac Assal. It consists of suspending the
victim on a hori-
zontal bar by the face, arms, attached to the body, the head in
a hole without
touching the bottom, the shoulders resting on two rocks. In this
way, the weight
of the body rests solely on the shoulders, which provokes after
a while a burning
of the tissues of the shoulders. This torture has the consequence
of leaving the
arms the incapability of rising of moving. These are the methods
of torture used
by the djiboutian regime against its opponents, real or suppposedly
real. They
are an integral part of the customary ways of submissing the people
by using
terrorism. As the way the tortures have been described, so are
the torturers,
thoses who order and those who execute.
The
rapes of women and children have been systematic since july 1993.They
are part of the plants, provokes exodus of the inhabitants in
the regions submited
at these exactions, the North and South-westof the Republic of
Djibouti exclusi-
vely inhabited by the Afars . Many women have been killed while
resisting to
their rapers or after being raped. Others were mutilated with
the hitting
of bayonettes on their genital parts or on the shoulders, to make
them uncapable
of doing household chores. Many unarmed civillans have been killed
trying to
protect their wives against their government agressors.
The
agressions done by the men in uniform do not limit to the rape
of women
and murders of unarmed civillans, but also armed robbery with
violence.
On
all roads around the city of Tadjourah, the soldiers control all
of the circu-
lation and systematically steal, with the threat of their arms,
the voyagers.
The
ciy of Obock was totally devastated: the houses and commerces
were emp-
tied of all that could be dismantled, roofs, doors, windows, electrical
and water
installations , walls , floors and were taken away . All of these
were sold by
auction.
Written
intervention asking the Minister of the interior, of the defence
and the
prosecutor general to stop this armed robbery was to no use. This
city's inhabi-
tants fell dispersed, outside and inside the country, finding
themselves in a state
of total ruin. The government, uniquely responsable of this situation,
does not
seem willing to rebult it so that it rebecomes inhabitable for
its people.
All
irrigated plantations of the North ans the South-west were ruined
when the
solders stole all their power-driven pumps who irregulated them
and the fences
that protected them against wild animals.
Which
confirms the existence of a collective expulsion policy against
one of the
national composants, and exposes the will of the government to
transfer at its
costs or not a tribal criteria to a non-original population provided
by neighbo-
ring countries. If this was so, this would constitute a supplementary
cause of
complications and conflicts.
This
being, the tyranny and the oppression have never been so ferocibus
since
the government declared in February 7, 2000 having signed a so-called
a frame-
work traity with Mr. Ahmed Dini Ahmed, the chief of the third
group of the
dissidents of the FRUD. In reality, it's the official violence
instead of peace and
classic dictature intead of democracy that reignes as master in
the Republic
of Djibouti.
"
YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FAITHFULL
BE DISPENSERS OF JUSTICE IN GOD
AND TESTIFY IN ALL IMPARTIALLITY.
DO NOT LET YOUR HATRED FOR A
NATION HEAD YOU TO BE UNJUST
TOWARD THAT NATION".
SOURATE - "THE FAMILY OF IMRAN"
VERSES - 140-141, THE CORAN
MR.
ISMAËL OMAR GUELLEH SOW DISSENSSION BETWEEN
THE PEOPLES OF THE HORN OF AFRICA SINCE 1977
While
Guelleh's genocide is still continue against our Afar population
(since
the independance of Djibouti), he had extended is oppression against
other
Djiboutians from Yemenite origin as well as from the Somali tribes
:Darode, Gadaboursi, Isaak... and even Issa.
In
Somalia Mr. Guelleh is helping with arms one faction against another.This
month Guelleh suspended all relations with our brothers from the
Nord of
Somalia because the authorities of Somaliland burnt down 3034
cartons
of cigarettes enter illegally to the Port of Berbera . The 3034
cartons of cigaret-
tes belong to Mr. Abdourahman Borreh , the associate of the dictator
Guelleh !
On
the international road,a commercial vocation between Djibouti
and Ethiopia
on the portion under military Djibouti occupation,where hundreds
Ethiopian
merchants were robbed and killed . In Loyada on the border Somaliland
the
circulation of goods and the people cannot be done now because
the attacks and
robberies perpetuated by the armed soldiers of Guelleh.
During
the war betwen Ethiopia and Erytrea Mr. Guelleh sided with Ethiopia
against Erytrea but , at the same time Guelleh was helping the
rebellion of Diré-
Dawa against the central Ethiopian government.
It
is almost impossible to talk about the Horn of Africa without
mentionning the
abnegation and sacrifice of the Erytrean people during their struggle
for free-
dom. Contrarily to the other african countries who where colonize
by european
powers, Erytreans struggle for freedom was more difficult because
of the occu-
pation of their country by another african country. Erytrean freedom
fighters
had verry much difficulties to get the recognition from the western
and eastern
countries because of their excellent relations with the White
Emperor of Ethiopia,
Haile Selassie and the Red Emperor Mengistu Haile Mariam. But
this difficulties
did not stop the Erytrean People to obtain their Independance
after 29 years
of occupation (1962-1991).
No
honnest persons can deny that the Erytrean freedom figthers helped
their
Ethiopian brothers to overthrow the dictatorial regime of the
DERG.
In
the sixties and the seventis while I was a student in Europe,
I remember that
I use to suffer before I could make pass a RESOLUTION in faver
of the
Independance of Erytrea by the participants of regional and international
student and youth conferences in Helsinki (Finland), Prague (Czech
republic),
Berlin (Germany), Orleans (France), etc...That is why I can say
today proudly:
HAPPY 10 th BIRTHDAY TO ERYTREA ( May 24th, 1991-May 24th,2001
).
While the Djibouti citizens welcome with open arms the refugies
from the
neighboring countries of the Horn of Africa, Mr. Guelleh is returning
them
manu-military to the hands of their dictatorial governments.
DJIBOUTI PEOPLE IS FOR
A JUST AND DURABLE PEACE
Our
Djibouti people is suffering from the horrible exactions imposed
to him by
the yoke of a clanic dictatorship headed by Mr Ismaël Omar
Guelleh, self-procla-
med President of Djibouti, help by some suspicious policians like
Mr Ahmed
Dini Ahmed.
The
FRUD and PPJD believe on peace within justice for all Djiboutians.That
is
why we believe that every denounciation of the Djibouti tyrannic
regime by the international community will help to save many lives
and will facilitates the
creation of a States of Law in Djibouti who will respect human
rights for all
Djiboutians and will build excellent relation with the countries
and peoples of
the Horn of Africa.
Ali
Dahan, Ph.D.
Permanent representative of the FRUD in the Americas
and President of the PPJD
ANNEX
- 1
EXTRACT FROM DJIBOUTI
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -2000
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
of the State Department of the U.S.A. -February 2000
On
April 9, 1999, Djibouti elected its second president since gaining
independence
from France in 1977. Ismael Omar Guelleh, the candidate of the
ruling party, the
People's Rally for Progress (RPP), won the election with 74 percent
of the vote.
Opposition candidate Moussa Ahmed Idriss, of the Unified Djiboutian
Opposition
(ODU), received 26 percent of the vote. For the first time since
multiparty elections
began in 1992, no group boycotted the election. The ODU later
challenged the resul-
ts based on election "irregularities" and the assertion
that "foreigners" had voted
in various districts of the capital; however, ...
Guelleh took the oath of office as President in May 1999, with
the support of an
alliance between the RPP and the government-recognized section
of the Afar-led
Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD). The RPP
has been the
ruling power since independence in 1977. Two main ethnic groups
hold most politi-
cal power: Somali Issas (the tribe of the President), and Afars.
Citizens from other
Somali clans (Issak, Gadabursi, and Darod), and those of Yemeni
and other origins
are limited unofficially in their access to top government positions.
In 1994 the
Government and a faction of the FRUD signed a peace accord, ending
3 years of
civil war. In the accord, the Government agreed to recognize the
FRUD as a legiti-
mate political party. The Government named two FRUD leaders to
Cabinet posi-
tions in 1995. On February 7, the Government and the faction of
the FRUD that
had rejected the 1994 peace accord signed a new peace accord,
ending FRUD
opposition to the Government. Since April the two sides have been
negotiating
many issues, including a role for this faction of the FRUD in
the Government.
The judiciary is not independent of the executive. The Government's
human rights
record remained poor; although there were a few improvements in
some areas
serious problems remain. Members of the security forces committed
extrajudicial
killings. There were credible reports that security forces beat,
otherwise abused, and at times tortured detainees, and raped female
inmates.There were credible reports that police
beat protesters.Prison conditions remained harsh.The Government
continued to harass and intimidate political opponents, and to
arrest and detain persons arbitrarily. Prolonged
detention and incommunicado detention remained problems.The judiciary
is not inde-
pendent of the executive and does not ensure citizens' due process.
The Government at
restricted freedom of the press. The Government limited freedom
of assembly, and
restricted freedom of association.While the Government respected
freedom of religion
in general, it discouraged proselytizing. There were some limits
on freedom of move-
ment.The Government remained antagonistic to the formation of
human rights groups.
Violence and discrimination against women persisted, and the practice
of female
genital mutilation (FGM) continued to be widespread. Discrimination
on the basis
on ethnicity and clan background persisted. The Government restricted
unions and
harassed and intimidated their leaders.
Child
labor exists.
RESPECT
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section
1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person,
a.
Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing Security forces committed
several
extrajudicial killings.
On June 24, in a market in Balbala, police shot and killed Daher
Guedi Fourreh, the
nephew of Moumin Bahdon Farah, the leader of the opposition party
Groupe pour la Democratie et la Republique (GDR), because they
mistook him for a smuggler. Police
admitted he was shot by mistake and were investigating the shooting
at year's end.
On October 13, while forcibly dispersing an unruly crowd demonstrating
in support of Palestinians, police fired into the crowd, killing
one person and injuring several others
(see Section 2.b.).
On December 7, approximately 150 police officers, led by Police
Chief Yacin Yabeh
Galab, attempted to overthrow the Government (see Sections 1.c.,
1.d., and 3); as
many as 9 persons were killed and over 10 injured during clashes
in front of the
presidential offices between the police and the gendarmerie, who
were supporting the
President. A stray bullet also killed a person praying at a nearby
Mosque.
There were no reports of any action or investigation into the
following 1999 cases of extrajudicial killings: The March death
of a political detainee in the main prison; the
April killings of Abdallah Ahmed Mohamed Rebeh, Moussa Abdallah,
Ahmed Yagouri, and Ali Mohamed Ali "Derbi"; the August
killing of eight persons in Tadjourah district
when an army helicopter exploded; and the September killing of
one person by police attempting to arrest Moussa Ahmed Idriss.There
were no reports of any action or
investigation into the following 1998 cases of extrajudicial killings:
The killing of one
man when police shot into a crowd while attempting to make an
arrest in downtown
Djibouti and the killing of two Afar community elders near Assa
Gueyla.
b.
Disappearance
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatmen
or Punishment
The
Constitution provides that no one shall be subjected to torture
or to other
inhuman,cruel, degrading, or humiliating punishments, and torture
is punishable
by 15 years' imprisonment; however, there continued to be credible
reports that
police and gendarmes beat, otherwise physically abused, and at
times tortured
prisoners and detainees.
There were widespread, although unconfirmed, reports that gendarmes
and
police beat, raped, or stole personal property from some of approximately
5,000
undocumented foreigners arrested and detained on December 21;
most
of those arrested were Ethiopian (see Sections 1.d., 1.f., 2.d.,
and 5).
Landmine explosions resulted in at least one death and several
injuries
during the year (see Section 1.a.).
In previous years, there have been credible reports that security
force
personnel raped at least 120 Afar women in the northern districts
of Obock and
Tadjourah (see Section 5). In almost all of the cases, the victims
did not press
charges due to shame and fear. There were no reported cases of
rape during the
year, and there were no developments in the 1999 rape case of
Zenaba Agoden.
In April unknown persons beat and robbed the cousin of Ali Dahan,
a FRUD offi-
cial, several days after the delegation of FRUD leaders returned
to the country
(see Sections 2.d. and 3); Dahan was residing at his cousin's
residence. It still was
unknown who the perpetrators were at year's end.
In March 1999, Abdi Houfaneh Liban, a 35-year old political prisoner
arrested in
April 1998, died under unexplained circumstances. The journalist
noted that the prison infirmary was stocked poorly and prisoners
often were given incorrect medications.
Conditions at Nagad detention center, where Ethiopians and Somalis
are held prior
to deportation, also are extremely harsh. Detainees at Nagad are
held in unsanitary
conditions and often are not fed for several days before their
deportation.
An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate from
Kenya made
quarterly visits to the main prison. In March a visiting delegation
from the Organi-
zation of African Unity (OAU) Human Rights Committee visited Gabode
prison.
OAU observers stated that the conditions at the prison were desperate.The
president
of the Djiboutian Human Rights League (LDDH) was granted permission
to visit
prisoners in Gabode Prison during the year.
d.
Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Despite legal protections, arbitrary arrest and detention remained
problems.
On May 30, police arrested five bus union leaders for organizing
a strike to protest
fuel price increases (see Section 6.a.). On May 31, police arrested
15 bus drivers and
owners in connection with the strike. All were released after
2 days following an
agreement to raise bus fares.
On June 3, police detained approximately 160 persons, mostly women
and children,
for blocking traffic in Djibouti City to protest the increased
bus fares (see Section
2.b.). On December 21, gendarmes and police arrested and detained
approximately
5,000 undocumented foreigners, most of whom were Ethiopian (see
Sections 1.c., 1.f.,
2.d., and 5). There were widespread, although unconfirmed, reports
that gendarmes
and police beat, raped, and stole personal belongings from some
of those detained.
Many of those detained were deported from the country by year's
end. In April 1999,
authorities arrested more than 20 Afars in the Obock district
for expressing support
for the FRUD.
e.
Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary ; however,
in practice the
judiciary is not independent of the executive..
Traditional law (Xeer) often is used in conflict resolution and
victim compensation.
In March the Council of Ministers approved a law granting amnesty
for political
crimes committed by the FRUD prior to the signing of the peace
accord.
f.
Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the inviolability of the family,
home, correspondence,
and communications; however, the Government infringed on these
rights.
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press;
however, at times
the Government restricted these rights in practice.
On June 22, the Government deported Abdirazak Hadji Soufi and
Muridi Aboubaker
Mahdi, two delegates attending the Somalia Peace and Reconciliation
Conference,
after they criticized the Government for allegedly interfering
in the conference
process (see Section 2.d.).
In April the Government banned the importation and sale of the
Somaliland news
papers Jamhuuriya and The Republican. The ban remained in effect
at year's end.
g. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The right to free assembly is provided for in the Constitution;
however, the Govern-
ment limited this right in practice. In June the Government refused
a request by the
ODU to organize a march for peace and democracy in celebration
of Independence
Day. On June 3, police detained approximately 160 persons, mostly
women and
children, for blocking trafic in Djibouti City to protest increased
bus fare (see the
Sections 1.d. and 6.a.).
The Constitution provides for freedom of association provided
that certain legal
requirements are met; however, the Government restricts this right
in practice.
h.
Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration,
and
Repatriation
The Constitution allows freedom of movement; however, there
were instances in
which authorities limited this right. judicial surveillance or
awaiting trial.
In March the Embassy of Djibouti in Paris refused to issue a passport
to Ali
Dahan, Permanent Representative of the FRUD to the Americas, prior
to the
return of exiled FRUD leaders to the country. On June 5, the Government
refused to issue a passport to Aden Robleh Awaleh, president of
the PND, to attend an African Leadership Forum
in Nigeria (see Section 3); no passport was issued by year's end.
On June 30, airport
police prevented Bogor Abdillahi Bogor Moussa, a participant in
the Somalia Peace
and Reconciliation Conference, from boarding a plane for Puntland,
in Somalia.
On April 15, after the Administration of Somaliland, in Somalia,
prevented a delega-
tion from the Djiboutian Government to deplane in Hargeisa, the
Administration
closed its border with Djibouti. On April 16, the Government closed
its border with
Somalia and expelled the Somaliland representative to Djibouti
and his staff in retali-
ation.
On June 22, the Government deported Abdirazak Hadji Soufi and
Muridi
Aboubaker Mahdi, two delegates attending the Somalia Peace and
Reconciliation
Conference (see Section 2.a.).
Landmines laid by the Government and FRUD forces in the 1990's
remain in some
areas of the country, especially in areas controlled by the FRUD
prior to the peace
accord, and landmines laid in Tadjoura and Obock districts restricted
freedom of
movement (see Section 1.a.).
The law provides for the granting of refugee or asylum status
in accordance with the
1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its
1967 Protocol. The Government offers first asylum; however, the
government committee responsible for determining refugees' status
has not met since 1995. While the Government officially
does not recognize those refugees under the protection of the
U.N. High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR) absent this approval, the refugees are permitted
to remain in
the country.
There are reports that members of the security forces sometimes
compel illegal immi-
grants to work for them under the threat of deportation. Although
unconfirmed, there were widespread reports that police beat, raped,
or stole personal property from those who were
arrested and detained. Many of those detained were deported from
the country by
year's end.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights:
The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government.
A
former FRUD military commander was appointed to the Defense portfolio
and
another FRUD member assumed the Health portfolio. The government-recognized
faction of the FRUD was registered as a political party in 1996.
On February 7, the
Government and the faction of the FRUD that had rejected the 1994
peace accord
signed a new peace accord, ending FRUD opposition to the Government.
The two
sides were negotiating many issues at year's end, including the
role of this branch of
the FRUD in the government.
The President's subclan, the Issa Mamassans, wields disproportionate
power in affairs
of state. Afars hold a number of high Ministerial posts; however,
they are not well
represented at lower levels . Somali clans other than the Issa
and Djiboutians of
Yemeni origin are limited unofficially to one ministerial post
each, which they hold.
There also are informal limits on the number of seats for each
group in the Parliament.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Government does not support the formation of local human rights
groups.
The ICRC maintains a small office that is staffed with locally-hired
personnel. The
ICRC regional representative, who is based in Nairobi, makes quarterly
visits.
Section
5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language,
or Social Status.
The
Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of language,
race, sex,or religion; however, discrimination against women and
ethnic minorities persists. In particular the Government's enforcement
of laws to protect women and children is weak.
Women Children
Many schools are in poor condition and need upgrading. The number
of classrooms
for secondary students is inadequate, and only approximately 20
percent of children
who start secondary school complete their education. More than
53 percent of the
population is illiterate: Only 32 percent of girls are literate
compared with 60 percent
of boys. Only 62 percent of girls attend primary school compared
with 73 percent of
boys, and only 23 percent of girls attend secondary school compared
with 33 percent
of boys. Girls made up only 36 percent of all secondary students.
It is believed that as many as 98 percent of females age 7 or
older have undergone
FGM, which is condemned widely by international health experts
as damaging to both
physical and psychological health., where it is pervasive. forms
of FGM still were prac-
ticed widely and that infibulation still was common in rural areas.Child
abuse exists;
however, except for FGM, it is not thought to be common. The Government
has not
addressed child abuse, which often is punished lightly; for example,
when a child is
raped or abused, the perpetrator usually is fined an amount sufficient
to cover the
child's medical care. The Government has not used applicable existing
provisions of
the Penal Code to deal with child abuse more severely. Child labor
persisted ( see
Section 6.d.).
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The Government continued to discriminate against citizens
on the basis of ethnicity in
employment and job advancement. Somali Issas are the majority
ethnic group and
control the ruling party, the civil and security services, and
the military forces. Discri-
mination based on ethnicity and clan affiliation limited the role
of members of minority
groups and clans, particularly the Afar minority ethnic group,
in government and
politics.
Section
6 Worker Rights
a.
The Right of Association
Under the Constitution, workers are free to join unions and to
strike provided that
they comply with legally prescribed requirements; however, the
Government limited
these rights. At its June meeting, the ILO demanded the Government
enact the labor
resolutions it had signed in 1998. The ILO noted ongoing abuses
by the Government
in forbidding union meetings and preventing union officials from
receiving their mail.
Prior to the Government takeover, approximately 70 percent of
workers in the small
formal economy were members of the UDT or UGTD; however, since
the takeover,
there have been almost no independent union activities.The Djiboutian
Labor Congress
(CIDJITRA), composed of Ministry of Labor officials, created by
the Government to
counter the UDT and UGTD, did not appear to exist any longer.
On May 30, police arrested five bus union leaders for organizing
a strike to protest
fuel price increases, which increased 33 percent on May 31 (see
Section 1.d.). On May
31, police arrested 15 bus drivers and owners in connection with
the strike, which
ended on June 3.
The law permits unions to maintain relations and exchanges with
labor organizations
abroad. The UDT has been a member of the International Confederation
of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) since 1994.
c.
Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits all forced or compulsory labor, including by
children; however,
while the law generally is observed, there are reports that members
of the security
forces sometimes compel illegal immigrants to work for them under
the threat of
deportation. There were no reports of forced child labor.
d.
Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
The law prohibits all labor by children under the age of 14, but
the Government
does not always enforce this prohibition effectively, and child
labor, although not
common, exists. A shortage of labor inspectors reduces the likelihood
of investigation
into reports of child labor
------------------------------------------
Sommaire
-----------------------------------------------------
