US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI317

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000317 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/E; 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SCUL, SOCI, DJ 
SUBJECT: ELECTION UPDATE: HIGH-RANKED OPPOSITION MEMBER 
RESIGNS OVER PARTY LEADER'S REFUSAL TO DIALOGUE WITH 
GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: DJIBOUTI 298 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: With four days until polls open for the 2005 
presidential election, the election climate is beginning to 
get interesting. Guelleh's campaign, as single candidate, 
proceeds with few disturbances or protests from the 
opposition or the population. The atmosphere in Djibouti is 
still one of slight apprehension due to opposition calls for 
protests on election day. In response to these calls for 
action from the opposition journals, the Minister of Interior 
has released a statement in the national press warning the 
opposition against disturbing the electoral process and 
asking the people to respect democracy. Amidst all this, La 
Nation's March 30th edition included an announcement that 
Farah Ali Waberi, Secretary General of the opposition party 
Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), has resigned due to a 
disagreement with his party's leader, Ismail Guedi Hared - 
who is also the current opposition coalition leader, 
regarding Hared's decision not to dialogue with the 
government. End Summary. 
 
2. (C) La Nation's March 30th edition, a BBC report of March 
31 and Embassy sources report that Farah Ali Waberi resigned 
his post as Secretary General of the opposition party Union 
for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) due to disagreement with his 
party's leader, Ismail Guedi Hared - also the opposition 
coalition leader. According to La Nation, Waberi stated in an 
interview with Radio Television Djibouti that Hared had 
written to President Guelleh requesting that Guelleh meet 
with the leaders of the three opposition parties that make up 
the Union for Democratic Alternance (UAD). Waberi then stated 
that two days after the request, President Guelleh agreed but 
Hared did not respond, which Waberi said was "inexplicable." 
Waberi continued that Hared was wrong in refusing the meeting 
that he had personally requested. La Nation's writers called 
the move by Waberi "a hard blow that widens a cut the 
opposition has already started with a profound internal 
crisis." BBC report of the event stated that Waberi "believes 
the absence of the opposition at the upcoming elections is a 
pity." No opposition journals have yet responded to the La 
Nation. 
 
3. (C) In the same edition of La Nation, the Minister of 
Interior released a public statement explaining electoral 
regulations concerning campaign gatherings, authorized 
stances for boycotts and warning against demonstrating on 
election day. (Note: The Minister's statement in La Nation 
covered virtually the same points as in Ambassador's 
conversation in reftel. End Note.) The Minister's statement 
outlined the following as the only authorized positions for a 
boycott: 1) To participate or not in the elections, 2) In the 
case where abstention has been recommended, this party can 
invite its members and sympathizers to not vote, 3) The party 
can invite its members and sympathizers to give their vote 
for X candidate, or 4) The party can advise its members and 
sympathizers to do as they wish without orders from the 
party. The Minister then stated "All other demarches, in 
particular invitations to demonstrate that could disturb the 
campaign, the voting or in a general manner the public order 
are measures liable to a condemnation by the courts in 
accordance with the laws in practice." The statement 
continued that if there are protests, the organizers and 
silent partners of the protest will be taken to court. The 
Minister then appealed to the people's sense of intelligence 
and understanding, aiming the appeal at the opposition 
leaders, to respect democracy and keep the campaign and 
election day calm as it has been in the past. The statement 
ended with "I invite you to maintain your boycott, as is your 
choice. I respect this decision in accordance with democratic 
rules, but nonetheless I invite you to avoid all actions that 
might disturb the electoral campaign, the vote, or the public 
order." 
 
4. (C) To date, there have been very few protests regarding 
the election or the Guelleh campaign. On March 26th, a 
protest followed Guelleh's campaign rally at the village of 
Doraleh in which the residents expressed their discontent 
with the lack of jobs at Doraleh port. According to 
unconfirmed statements from Embassy sources Guelleh and 
Abdourahman Boreh, one of the businessmen involved in the 
Doraleh venture, visited the following day and told the 
population that they would get what they want. On March 27th 
a protest reportedly took place involving Pole University 
students who claim their fellow students studying on 
government scholarships overseas had not received their 
stipends in several months. (Note: Although this protest was 
not directly related to the election, many in Djibouti 
believe that, during the campaign, protest demands are more 
likely to be met. End Note.) 
 
5. (C) Also on March 27th a protest took place by high school 
students wanting the date of the "practice" Baccalaureate 
exam moved to an earlier date. According to the opposition 
journal Le Renouveau, the Minister of Education announced on 
the radio that night that the practice exam would be moved. 
There were reports that during this protest an opposition 
party member, Houssein Robleh Dabar, was arrested. According 
to the opposition journals Realite and Le Renouveau, the 
arrest was prompted by his being affiliated with the 
opposition and near the protest. The journals both state that 
Dabar was held for 48 hours at the Central Commissariat of 
the Police before being taken before the procurer and 
subsequently being sent to Gabode Prison. There have been no 
reports of the length of his sentence. In a call to the 
Criminal Brigade to inquire into the charges and the veracity 
of the journals claims, Embassy learned that Dabar was 
charged with "Degradation of the well-being of others and 
violence." He was arrested, ostensibly, for throwing stones 
at cars and houses, including the residence of Aden Robleh 
Awaleh, President of the Djiboutian National Party (PND), a 
majority coalition party. Embassy has not yet found 
independent confirmation of the allegation. 
RAGSDALE