US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI1069

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001069 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/E; 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER; 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, DJ 
SUBJECT: BORREL ANNIVERSARY: UNHEALED WOUNDS REOPENED 
 
REF: A. 2004 DJIBOUTI 1372 
 
     B. 2004 DJIBOUTI 1084 
     C. 2004 DJIBOUTI 585 
 
Classified By: Erinn C. Stott for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: The Borrel Affair has been a recurring drama 
between France and the Djiboutian Government for the past ten 
years since the discovery of French Judge Bernard Borrel's 
burned corpse just outside Djibouti City on October 19, 1995. 
Initial conclusions in the investigation into Borrel's death 
ruled it a suicide. However, Judge Borrel's wife has never 
believed the suicide theory and has kept the investigation 
open in France. To coincide with the tenth anniversary of her 
husband's death, Elisabeth Borrel reportedly invited major 
French networks to a press conference to debate the case. The 
media blitz that ensued in France has once again disquieted 
the Djiboutian Government and has prompted a backlash from 
the state-run media in Djibouti. It has re-ignited the issue 
for the Government of Djibouti and renewed its sparring with 
the French media and judicial system. 
 
2. (C) This year's retaliation for the French media coverage 
of the Borrel Affair was an official announcement October 
21st by Attorney General Djama Souleiman Ali, that Djibouti 
would sever its agreement of judicial cooperation with 
France. Past retaliations by the Djiboutian Government have 
included terminating Radio France International broadcasts 
into Djibouti, the expulsion of six French cooperative 
advisors, accusing the French Government of trying to 
destabilize Djibouti and requesting the French Government 
"reign in" the French media. Post believes the recurring 
nature of the Borrel Affair does not indicate more 
degradation and dangers than usual to Djibouti-France 
relations. Rather its an issue reignited each time Borrel 
issues surface in the public domain in France. End Summary. 
 
3. (C) October 18, 2005 marks the tenth anniversary of French 
Judge Bernard Borrel's death just outside Djibouti City in 
1995. Since the declassification of French Military documents 
pertaining to the case in March 2004, the Borrel Affair has 
been one of the most tense issues between the French and the 
Djiboutian governments. The Government of Djibouti has in the 
past urged the French government to control its media, 
believing much of the reported content to be slanderous 
towards President Guelleh and the Government of Djibouti. At 
one point in 2004, Djibouti accused France of trying to 
destabilize Djibouti with blasts made by the French media 
(Ref C). 
 
4. (C) The Borrel Affair returned to the forefront of 
Djibouti-France tensions in August 2004 with President 
Guelleh's scheduled official visit to commemorate the 60th 
anniversary of allied landings during WWII (Ref B). Following 
the request of Elisabeth Borrel's lawyers to question Guelleh 
while he was in country, the French Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs announced that Guelleh would be guaranteed immunity 
from questioning during his visit. Borrel resurfaced again in 
September 2004, when the Court of Versailles summoned 
Djibouti's Attorney General, Djama Souleiman Ali, to respond 
to a complaint entered by Elisabeth Borrel (Ref A). Souleiman 
refused the summons and stated "French magistrates forget 
easily that Djibouti is an independent and sovereign country. 
They still think Djibouti is a French territory. There is a 
judicial agreement between Djibouti and France since 
September 27th, 1986 and if they want to call me, they have 
to go through that procedure." Following the massive media 
attention that this issue received, the French Ministries of 
Foreign Affairs and Defense issued a joint statement 
clarifying their positions towards Djibouti and the Borrel 
case. The French Minister of Justice also made a statement on 
Radio France International reminding judges of the 
presumption of innocence and admonished them to not rush to 
judgment. This statement appeared to appease the Djiboutian 
government and this incident did not spark the usual 
French-media bashing in the local government-run newspaper. 
 
5. (C) In May 2005, President Guelleh made his first official 
visit to France after winning the Presidential election on 
April 8th. During this visit he was summoned by French courts 
for questioning. This summons was not fulfilled because of 
Guelleh's diplomatic immunity as a head of state. However, 
the summons, combined with the scheduling of an investigative 
report by TV5 on the Borrel Affair during the visit, led to 
apparent retaliatory actions once again from the Djiboutian 
government. This time transmissions into Djibouti by Radio 
France International (RFI) were cut and Djibouti expelled six 
French technical advisors. 
 
6. (C) In honor of the tenth anniversary of her husband's 
death, Elisabeth Borrel invited major French media stations 
October 19 to a press conference, reportedly to debate the 
case. Anticipating a major media blitz from the French Press, 
the Djiboutians decided to counter this coverage with their 
own stories in the local government-run newspaper, La Nation. 
With more than three full pages of coverage, including one 
quarter of the front page, the articles were heavily slanted 
against the French media, and in some cases, insulting. 
Articles and editorials frequently bad-mouthed the Djiboutian 
witnesses living in exile in Europe, calling one "a 
megalomaniac liar" and his testimony "crazy." La Nation also 
ran political cartoons poking fun at Elisabeth Borrel and the 
number of times she's exhumed her husband's body for 
autopsies. It also reproduced  a letter from the Presidential 
Affairs Press Service to the French Conseil Superieur de 
l'Audiovisuel (CSA), dated August 8, 2005, in response to the 
CSA's letter addressing the complaints from the Presidential 
Press Service regarding a TV5 story run in May 2005 on the 
Borrel Affair. The Presidential Press Service stated it would 
continue to believe that the arrangements of the television 
program were manipulative and sensationalist, and did not 
favor a climate of friendship and understanding between the 
French and Djiboutian people. 
 
6. (C) An Agence-France Presse article of October 21, 2005 
reported that Djibouti has suspended its judicial cooperation 
with France over the Borrel investigation. It quoted 
Djiboutian Attorney General, Djama Souleiman Ali as saying 
"The treaty of cooperation between the Republic of Djibouti 
and France is now null and void." He continued "We have 
fulfilled our responsibilities regarding the French justice 
system and we are waiting to hear from them the truth of this 
case." Ali also stated that no French investigators would set 
foot on Djiboutian soil until Djibouti received the full case 
file regarding the Borrel Affair. 
 
7. (C) Comment: Djibouti's actions in response to the many 
reappearances of the Borrel Affair, especially the media 
coverage, have in the past appeared to be the Government 
simply flexing its sovereign muscles in efforts to show that 
Djibouti will not bend to the wishes of the French at the 
drop of a hat. However, its recent reactions to media 
coverage include frequent urgings that the French government 
"control" its media, in the firm belief that it is within the 
Government of France's capability to do so. It has also 
indicated a growing nervousness or concern that this case 
will not go away and may blow wide open with damaging 
implications for Djiboutian principals. The documents 
declassified in 2004 were only those prior to 1997 and 
according to some news reports are not the documents that are 
most telling about the possibility of Djiboutian government 
involvement. If indeed there are documents that clearly 
implicate President Guelleh in the death of the French judge, 
the ramifications could be extremely damaging to his 
political image in and out of Djibouti. 
RAGSDALE