Freedom in the World 1999 - Djibouti

1999 Scores

Status: Partly Free
Freedom Rating: 5.0
Civil Liberties: 6
Political Rights: 4

Ratings Change

Djibouti's political rights rating changed from 5 to 4 due to the holding of the country's first free presidential election and the release of political prisoners.

Overview

Djibouti's ailing octogenarian ruler, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, stepped down in April 1999 after 22 years in power, opening the way for the country's first free presidential election since independence. The ruling Popular Rally for Progress (RPP) party candidate, Ismael Omar Guelleh, defeated opposition leader Moussa Ahmed Idriss, who reportedly had backing from former rebels of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD). Guelleh, who is Aptidon's nephew and a former head of state security, had long been considered the de facto head of government and president's heir apparent. The poll was marked by low turnout among the fewer than 200,000 eligible voters. International observers dismissed allegations of electoral fraud made by opposition supporters, and the vote was considered relatively free and fair. Guelleh, however, had the support of state resources.

Idriss complained of police harassment after the vote, saying security forces had surrounded his home to prevent his supporters from staging a protest march. Clashes broke out in September after he was detained over a series of articles that appeared in a newspaper he publishes. A court in October sentenced him and 19 of his supporters to four months in jail, accusing them of violence and interfering with the authority of the state. It was not immediately clear whether the group would actually spend time in jail.

Djibouti's people are deeply divided on ethnic and clan lines, and a simmering Afar insurgency continues in the north. The main schism is between the majority Issa (Somali) and minority Afar peoples. Legislative elections in 1997 returned the ruling party to power, thereby reinforcing the long dominance of the Mamassan clan of the majority Issa ethnic group. Djibouti was known as the French Territory of the Afar and Issa before receiving independence from France in 1977. Afar rebels of FRUD launched a three-year guerrilla war against Issa "tribal dictatorship" in 1991 with demands for an installation of a democratic, multiparty system. Ethnic violence has receded since the largest FRUD faction agreed in 1994 to end its insurgency in exchange for inclusion in the government and electoral reforms, but sporadic attacks continue by a radical wing of the group.

Aptidon controlled a one-party system until 1992, when a new constitution adopted by referendum authorized four political parties. In 1993, he was declared winner of a fourth six-year term in Djibouti's first contested presidential elections. Both the opposition and international observers considered the poll fraudulent. The election was boycotted by the ethnic Afar-dominated FRUD, and nearly all of the candidates were of the Issa ethnic group.

Djibouti risks becoming embroiled in the Ethiopia-Eritrea border conflict after initially attempting to mediate. It has borders with both countries and in November cut diplomatic relations with Eritrea after it was accused of backing Ethiopia. Djibouti accused Eritrea of supporting Djiboutian rebels and said the two countries were "almost in a state of war." Djibouti's Red Sea port is a vital lifeline for landlocked Ethiopia, with which it has close relations. Djibouti has also attempted to mediate an end to fighting in Somalia.

Approximately 3,500 French troops are among 10,000 French residents of Djibouti. French advisors and technicians effectively run much of the country, and France is highly influential in Djiboutian affairs, although Paris has announced a reduction in its military presence.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

The trappings of representative government and formal administration have had little relevance to the real distribution and exercise of power in Djibouti. The 1997 legislative elections were marginally more credible than the plainly fraudulent 1992 polls, but easily reinstalled the ruling RPP, which, in coalition with the legalized arm of FRUD, won all 65 national assembly seats. Aptidon had sought the appearance of ethnic balance in government by appointing Afars as prime ministers. FRUD leaders joined the cabinet as part of the 1994 peace pact. Guelleh won the April 1999 presidential election with 75 percent of the vote, compared to 26 percent for Moussa Ahmed Idriss. Although international observers declared the poll fair, the ruling party had the advantage of state resources to conduct its campaign.

Constraints on political activities have eased, and in May 1999 President Guelleh ordered the release of about 40 political prisoners. Freedom of assembly and association is nominally protected under the constitution, but the government has little tolerance for political protest. The judiciary is not independent owing to routine government interference.

Security forces commonly arrest dissidents without proper authority, despite constitutional requirements that arrests may not occur without a decree presented by a judicial magistrate. Prison conditions are reportedly harsh, although Red Cross delegates have been allowed access.

Islam is the official state religion, but freedom of worship is respected. Despite constitutional protection, freedom of speech is not guaranteed. The government closely controls all electronic media. Independent newspapers and other publications are generally allowed to circulate freely, but journalists exercise self-censorship. Authorities in August detained a former army chief of staff and a newspaper editor, accusing them of violating press laws after an article appeared that authorities said threatened the morale of the armed forces because it referred to them as "cannon fodder." The article, which appeared in a newspaper published by opposition leader Idriss, followed the downing of a helicopter allegedly carried out by the radical faction of FRUD. In October two French television journalists were expelled.

Despite equality under civil law, women suffer serious discrimination under customary practices in inheritance and other property matters, divorce, and the right to travel. Women have few opportunities for education or in the formal economic sector. Female genital mutilation is almost universal among Djibouti's women, and legislation forbidding mutilation of young girls is not enforced.

The formal sector in the largely rural agricultural and nomadic subsistence economy is small. Workers may join unions and strike, but the government routinely obstructs the free operation of unions. Wages are extremely low. The country's economy is heavily dependent on French aid. Efforts to curb rampant corruption have met with little success.