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Djibouti Essay, Research Paper

Despite 1992 constitutional changes that permitted the creation of four political parties, President Hassan Gouled Aptidon and the People’s Rally for Progress (RPP), in power since independence in 1977, continued to rule the country. Djibouti’s two main ethnic groups are the politically predominant Issa (the tribe of the President, which is of Somali origin) and the Afar (who are also numerous in Ethiopia and Eritrea). The Afar comprise the largest single tribe in Djibouti but are outnumbered by the Issa and other Somali clans (Issak and Gadabursi) taken together. The judiciary is not independent of the executive. In 1994, the Government and a faction of the Afar-led Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) signed a peace accord, ending 3 years of civil war. As part of the accord, the Government agreed to recognize the FRUD as a legitimate political party. The Government named two FRUD leaders to key cabinet posts in 1995, but no Afar has been named since then. The FRUD was legalized in March but a party congress had not been held by year’s end. The other two officially recognized opposition parties, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD) and the National Democratic Party (PND), do not hold parliamentary seats, in large part because the PND boycotted the 1992 legislative elections. As a result, the RPP won all 65 parliamentary seats. With the reelection of President Gouled in 1993, it now holds all significant government posts as well. The 8,000-member National Police Force (FNP) has primary responsibility for internal security and border control and is overseen by the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Defense controls the army and the gendarmerie, and a small intelligence bureau reports directly to the President. Civilian authorities generally maintain effective control of the security forces, but there were instances in which the security forces acted independently of the Government’s authority, and some members committed a number of human rights abuses. Djibouti has little industry; services and commerce provide most of the national income, which is largely generated by the foreign expatriate community of 12,000, including 3,300 French soldiers, and the state- controlled maritime and commercial activities of the Port of Djibouti, the airport, and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railroad. Only a few mineral deposits exist in the country, and the arid soil is unproductive–only 10 percent is pasture and 1 percent is forested. People are free to pursue private business interests and to hold personal and real property. That part of the gross national product that benefits citizens (and thus excludes the expatriates) is estimated at about $250 per capita. The Government’s human rights record remained poor despite a limited multiparty political system. Members of the security forces committed several extrajudicial killings. There were credible reports that some members of the security forces beat detainees and denied proper medical treatment to some inmates. The Government continued to harass, intimidate, and imprison opponents. It continued to arrest and detain persons arbritrarily, holding them beyond the 48 hours permitted by law, and to infringe upon citizens’ right to privacy. The judiciary is not independent of the executive. The Government permitted freedom of the press but cracked down heavily on union leaders and politicians critical of the President. Discrimination against women persists, and the practice of female genital mutilation continued to be nearly universal. Discrimination against ethnic minorities persists. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing Security forces were responsible for at least five extrajudicial killings. On January 9, while trying to break up a student demonstration over nonpayment of scholarships, the FNP in Ali Sabieh shot and killed 16-year-old Mohamed Idriss. Security forces killed two inmates at Djibouti’s main Gabode prison during a February 3 riot over poor prison conditions (see Section 1.c.). On May 2, the FNP in Djibouti City shot and killed a bystander while breaking up a demonstration over the detention of the Government’s former Treasurer. The Government has not punished the perpetrators of any of these killings. In January there was a credible report that 26-year-old Mohamed Abdillahi Ismail died in his prison cell after not receiving treatment for tuberculosis. There were political undertones in the July 13 death in custody of Mohamoud Mohamed Ali; Ali was a potential witness in a criminal case against a former high-ranking politician, Moumin Bahdon Farah. The Government claimed that Ali died from tuberculosis. There was no police investigation and only a superficial autopsy. Another prisoner died from tuberculosis due to official negligence (see Section 1.e.). There were no developments regarding the 1995 killings of Randa’s religious leader, Ali Houmed Souleh, and an associate, Said Aramis. The Government continued to hold 11 soldiers accused of taking part in the killings. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. There were no developments in the 1995 abduction of four persons by armed men in the north, or the 1995 kidnaping of a traditional Afar chief at Alalli Dada by unknown persons. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The Constitution states that no one shall be subjected to torture or to other inhumane, cruel, degrading, or humiliating punishments. Torture is punishable by 15 years in prison. However, there were credible reports that police and prison officials sometimes beat and otherwise physically abused prisoners and detainees. In January the PRD’s newspaper reported that Djama Hersi Omar, a security guard allegedly involved in a theft case, was punched, kicked, hanged by his

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