Djibouti: The sub-clan of the Odahgob of the Issa tribe
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | DJI30132.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Djibouti: The sub-clan of the Odahgob of the Issa tribe, 1 September 1998, DJI30132.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ace310.html [accessed 19 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. |
The Indian Ocean Newsletter (ION) of 29 August 1998 states that Odahgob is the clan of former minister Moumin Bahdon Farah. He heads a non-recognized political party, Groupement pour la Democratie et la Republique (GDR), which he founded in August 1996, after being dismissed from the Popular Rally for Progress (RPP), now in power (ARB June 1998, 13118). After that he was sentenced to six months in prison and deprived of "his civic rights for five years" (ibid.).
Members of the Odahgob sub-clan complain that the current government of Djibouti is "increasingly" marginalizing them. Between eight and 14 non-commissioned Odahgob officers were arrested on charges of treason and/or with "endangering state security" (ION 29 Aug. 1998, 5 Sept. 1998). The authorities reportedly suspect ex-minister of justice Moumin Bagdon and ex-defence minister Ahmed Boulaleh, of morally, financially and materially supporting an alleged tentative coup d'etat by a section of the army, and the two were served with a summons to appear at the gendarmerie headquarters for questioning (ibid.).
The ION reported on 19 September 1998 that during the first hearing, the two ex-ministers and the military were given suspended sentences and fined for their part in preparing a "civil disobedience movement." According to this source "it was the fact that the former ministers belonged to the same clans as the allegedly 'mutinous' military (Issa Odahgob for most and Issa Fourlaba for some of them) which constituted the basis of the prosecution's charges." Furthermore, the ex-ministers did not have independent counsel as their French lawyer, Roger Vincent Calatayud was reportedly refused permission to practice in Djibouti (ibid.).
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
Africa Research Bulletin (ION): Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. June 1998. Vol. 35. No. 5. "Djibouti: Opposition Under Pressure."
The Indian Ocean Newsletter (ION). 19 September 1998. "An Opportune Plot." (NEXIS)
_____. 5 September 1998. "Military in Detention." (NEXIS).
_____. 29 August 1998. "NCOs Arrested." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential [London]. January-August 1998. Vol. 39. Nos. 1-17.
Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report 1997. 1998. New York: Amnesty International.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1997. 1998. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Vol. 44. No. 5.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, World News Connection (WNC).
Two oral sources consulted did not provide information on the requested subject.
