US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1391

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 001391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SCUL, KPAO, DJ 
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTIAN OPPOSITION MEDIA THEMES, OCTOBER 27-28, 2004 
 
1. (U) Summary: The opposition journals during the week of 
October 24-28 focused on the alleged complaint against La 
Realite for slander filed by the Minister of Defense; the 
designation of the successor to Ahmed Dini Ahmed as president of 
the Republican Alliance for Democracy (ARD); and the 
distribution of school kits funded by United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID) in Djibouti. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) La Realite, published by the opposition party Republican 
Alliance for Democracy (ARD) reported October 27 that the 
Minister of Defense has lodged a complaint against the paper as 
a whole. The editor in Chief and his deputy were called to a 
hearing before the police for arguments. The story begins with 
an article published in the Realite one-week prior, October 20, 
concerning the Armed Forces inauguration of an air liaison 
linking Djibouti to the northern city of Obock. This liaison is 
meant to provide easier access to Obock, which is not easily 
reachable for common people. 
 
3. (U) The decision to establish a regular connection to Obock 
via military aircraft at the rate of USD 22.50 for a round trip 
was criticized by the opposition. The trip normally involves 
traveling overland a distance of 235 km by rough roads. The air 
liaison is direct and reduces the trip to 70 km. ARD denounced 
the action stating, "Army intrusion into the private economy is 
the last thing that a citizen should expect from the military 
institution." The Minister of Defense, acting for the Army has 
introduced a legal procedure against the paper. Realite's report 
cites defamation as the charge but does not go into detail on 
the Minister's complaint. (Note: Embassy has not been able to 
reach contacts at the Ministry of Justice to verify or get 
further details of the Minister's charges against La Realite. 
End Note.) A trial date is not yet fixed. 
 
4. (U) La Realite reported 27 October that the opposition 
coalition, Union for Democratic Alliance (UAD) has finally 
designated a new president after the preceding Ahmed Dini in 
August. The current vice-president of UAD, Ismail Guedi Hared 
has been chosen to lead the coalition to the presidential 
elections of April 2005. 
 
5. (U) Le Renouveau, the newspaper issued by the Movement for 
Democratic Renewal (MRD) published two articles concerning the 
donation of school kits by the U.S government and the speech of 
the U.S Ambassador during the ceremony. The paper first reported 
that on October 21, the U.S Ambassador, "has given 46,500 kits 
for students and 750 other kits for teachers and classes". This 
donation was made under a USD 1.6 million program funded by 
USAID, but managed through UNICEF, said the article. The goal of 
this aid, as reported, is to assist the national education 
efforts and guarantee a better access to education by 
rehabilitating school infrastructures in rural and urban zones. 
The paper said: "we came to know that an efficient distribution 
plan was set to ensure that materials go to their destination 
between 30 October and 3 November. The logistical support is 
jointly assured by the U.S military bureau for civil actions in 
Camp Lemonier and the Djibouti Armed Forces." Concerning the 
distribution, the paper continued, "we're noticing here an 
effort for transparency by the American authorities that do not 
ignore the bad governance in place so they can ensure that 
materials arrive to their destinations." 
 
6. (U) The second article contained the speech by Ambassador 
Ragsdale printed in its entirety, which highlighted the honor of 
giving the supplies in the name of the U.S government to the 
Djiboutian Ministry of Education. Le Renouveau did not comment 
on the speech but highlighted Ambassador Ragsdale's remark that 
her government considers that every child has the right to 
receive a basic education and that the responsibility of 
ensuring that each child attends school is, in her opinion, the 
task of parents." The article also reported that the Ambassador 
affirmed that the U.S government has not only committed itself 
to raise the number of children that have access to education, 
but also to improve the quality of education.