Djibouti: Hamareiteh and Hared factions within the Parti de la rénovation démocratique (PRD), their respective positions and organizational structures
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | DJI29266.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Djibouti: Hamareiteh and Hared factions within the Parti de la rénovation démocratique (PRD), their respective positions and organizational structures, 1 May 1998, DJI29266.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab638c.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A 10 May 1997 article published in the Indian Ocean Newsletter states that Kahireh Allaleh Hared, (a member of the Furlaba, a sub-sub-clan of the Issa clan, part of the Dalol sub-clan) was designated at the end of April 1997 as an official candidate for the presidential elections by the national bureau of the Parti de la rénovation démocratique (PRD). The decision created a crisis within the ranks of the PRD which had to find a successor to its former leader, the late Mohamed Djama Elabe. The article explains the situation as follows:
Khaireh Allaleh is a former interior minister who was pushed into resigning in Spring 1991 over his opposition to Ismail Omar Gelleh, chef de cabinet of head of state Hassan Gouled Aptidon. He has a solid reputation as an upright man, but although he has a long-time background in political opposition, he joined PRD only much more recently. Opposition to his nomination as the party's official candidate for the top job is currently led by the present secretary general Maki Houmed Gaba, who is defending the candidatures of two lesser-known militants, Abdillahi Hamareiteh and Idriss Agader. All are members of the Furlaba clan and the whole affair carries a whiff of settling clan accounts. There is also an aspect of personal loyalty to the PRD founder as Kahired Allaleh [Hared] was an old friend of Djama Elabe and has the backing of his widow Amina Ismail.
A 24 May 1997 article published in The Indian Ocean Newsletter provides the following additional information regarding the tensions arising in the PRD with regards to Hared's nomination:
The recent decision of the PRD national bureau to designate as party candidate for the next presidential election the former interior minister Kaireh Allaleh Hared (Issa, Fourlaba) was badly taken by several party old-time militants who feel Kaireh Allaleh Hared is a newcomer. The current led by PRD secretary general Maki Houmed Gaba (Afar) analyzed the choice of Kaireh Allaleh as stemming from a Fourlaba clan policy. Furthermore, Kaireh Allaleh is seen by his critics as some kind of pilot-fish for Groupe pour la Démocratie et la République which groups former dignitaries of the regime who defected last year from Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progres (governmental), such as Moumin Bahdon Farah and Ismail Gedi Hared. The latter appear to be trying to get control on PRD by getting themselves nominated directly on to the national bureau. In this context, the support of Djama Elabe's widow for the candidature of Kaireh Allaleh can be explained, critics say, both by a clan policy and by the backroom influence of wives of GDR dignitaries in contact with her.
A 31 May 1997 article published in The Indian Ocean Newsletter states that a faction of the PRD held a congress on 23 May 1997 and designated Abdillahi Hamareiteh as chairman and that a meeting organized on 28 May 1997 by the PRD faction led by Kaireh Allaleh Hared and Mohamed Kassim in the Arriba neighborhood of Djibouti was banned by the ministry of the interior. The article also states that
Tussles broke out with police, causing several light injuries, and several dozen militants were arrested. Most were rapidly released but three, including Haissama, were detained and brought into court in Djibouti the following day. They were charged with "troubling public order and illegally demonstrations" but were released on bail.
According to the article, the congress of the Hared faction of the PRD which was scheduled to take place at the home of Mohamed Djama Elabe's widow on 30 May 1997 was also banned by the ministry of the interior. The Djiboutian authorities provided the following official explanation
...as a PRD congress had been held on May 23 and had designated a management committee (with Maki Houmed Gaba as first vice chairman and Oblik Carton Dibeth as second vice-chairman) with names and statutes correctly deposited at the interior ministry, the other PRD faction had to work under the same structure. Otherwise, the government was not willing to recognize its legal existence.
On the position of the Hamareiteh faction of the PDR, the article says the following:
The congress of the PRD faction led by Abdillahi Hamareiteh has adopted a low profile towards the régime, indicating in substance that it wants to become a constructive opposition movement and to judge the government on its acts, and sending its best wishes for success to the international fund donors conference assembled by the Djibouti regime in Geneva this week.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 31 May 1997. "PRD faction banned." (NEXIS)
_____. 24 May 1997. "Confusion Reigns in PRD." (NEXIS)
_____. 10 May 1997. "Khaired Allaleh Hared (Djibouti)." (NEXIS)
