Djibouti Guelleh: Internal and Regional clarifications

[Abu-Salman]

Head of State, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh, has recently granted a long interview with the weekly Jeune Afrique.

When asked by our famous colleague François Sudan, President of the Republic said bluntly that he would not stand in 2016 and he was doing was his third and final term.

Ismail Omar Guelleh also mentioned during the interview subjects as diverse as domestic politics, press freedom, or the problems of the region and Somalia in particular. We reproduce in full the interview the President.

 

 

Jeune Afrique: - The high winds of Spring Arabic blew up to Djibouti?

 

Ismail Omar Guelleh: - The Holy Qur'an speaks of the "trip of the summer and winter." The concept of spring is not among the Arabs.

 

Talking about revolution, if that suits you best. You know, last February, your batch of events, which called for departure. Did you feel the wind pass the ball?

 

No. This was the expression of a purely social unrest, some tenors of the opposition wanted to turn into a revolution, without success. They collected five to six hundred young and very quickly all this has degenerated into looting. One policeman was killed, another seriously injured. Ethiopian trucks loaded with grain were burned, windows broken. It was a little event, much smaller, the equivalent of what happened in London in early August. Except that there, if we are to believe the media, the British police would only restore order to face urban riots, whereas here we would brutally repressed peaceful demonstrations. It's pretty ridiculous. Djibouti does not tolerate disorder, but Djibouti is a country open to dialogue and to discussions The opposition parties tell and print what they want, including the most defamatory rumors. Try place Menelik and listen: everyone can say everything and anything.

 

Yet there is no TV or home independent radio and the press hostile to you comes down to a stapled few pages...

 

This is not an issue of censorship, but about money. There are no investors in Djibouti or advertisers in this area, and the potential readership is very small. Here, we prefer to talk heartily. We ourselves have had the greatest difficulty to get our newspaper, The Nation, running on a regular basis.

 

The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) released in early November a long statement denouncing the "all-out repression" and the existence of political prisoners in the jails of Djibouti. Your reaction?

 

I'm shocked, but I am not surprised. FIDH feeds on the drip of a local NGO (the Djibouti League of Human Rights, Jean-Paul Noël Abdi, Ed) who has no credibility in our eyes. Hence the fabric of nonsense. There are no political prisoners in Djibouti, and then all the thugs convicted in London after the riots were also politicians! The four people arrested in May while trying to go underground in Eritrea, with which we are in conflict, to fetch support on order of their leader, Aden Robleh Awaleh, they are not political prisoners. It is a matter for the security of the state.

 

And sixty people arrested Sept. 16 at Ali Sabieh for shouting "death to dictatorship" during the passage of your procession?

 

Lies! It did not happen that day Ali Sabieh. Neither event nor slogan nor arrests. Nothing, it's nonsense.

Regional elections will take place early 2012 and a year later legislative ones.

 

The opposition will take part ?

 

I hope. I invite to participate in the electoral commission. But I have no great illusion.

 

Why?

 

Because of the Djiboutian conception of democracy What these gentlemen are about is this: either we head or seeks to overthrow the leader. They have neither the will nor the patience to do the rest, which is nevertheless essential: build real party, convince people with real programs, etc.. in fact, I almost want to publish an ad: desperately looking opponents responsible. If they exist - and I believe they exist - I ask nothing better than to listen. The others, those who sabotage the democratic principle and boycotting the elections, it is always the same.

 

Most have at one time or another, worked with you. Aden Robleh Awaleh was your advisor and was one of your deputies ...

 

Can not talk to him! He only got insult and violence in his mouths. Moreover, he gets along with nobody.

 

Ismail Gedi Ared was your colleague during the term of your predecessor, Hassan Gouled Aptidon ...

 

He's the most reasonable, the most moderate of them.

 

Abdourahman Boreh was your financial consultant and you have placed him as the head of the port of Djibouti ...

 

And I regret it! His problem is the business. His opposition is not about politics. It is alimentary. I deprived him of his cash cow.

Only the former journalist Farah escapes this very personal reading.

He is very active. But he lives in Europe. For years he has not set foot in Djibouti. This can be seen, and some of his friends in the opposition do not miss to remind him of that. For all these people are shooting themselves in the legs, of course.

 

Why do you elicit such hostility?

 

Ibn Khaldun said that there are two ways of governing the Arabs with the sword or by the Prophet. I am neither a prophet nor a dictator, but President-elect. It is a category that clearly still escapes the understanding of some of my compatriots.

 

You have been re-elected in April last with just over 80% of the vote ...

 

Score politically incorrect, I agree. But, alas for my detractors, fully consistent with the truth of the polls.

 

Re-elected for five years, so until 2016, for a final term, do you swear, can we believe it?

 

Absolutely, I will not change my views this time. This last term, I did not want it. It is a mandate forced by the people who felt that is was not ready.

 

So you will enjoy this five-year period to prepare the sucession.

 

Yes, I'll try, discreetly, with the help of individuals chosen for their wisdom, their patriotism and disinterestedness, to identify who can best fulfill this difficult task. I think I taught how to live together in Djibouti and how to defend a country that was somehow born to die. I will continue to do so. But I'll be careful, because once a person is perceived as my successor, I know she will become a target.

 

Have you an idea?

 

Yes, approximately. But I will not tell you of course. The profile will appear gradually.

 

Will it be a family member?

 

Not in any case. I can swear

 

In this regard, a major French regional daily newspaper has been the echo at the end of October, of reports that your wife and your children have left to seek refuge in Saudi Arabia or Ethiopia. What?

 

How dare you ask me this question? My children are here, and my wife, you crossed her. I find it pathetic, and if not racist, the ease with which it allows itself to print any gossip when it comes to Africa.

 

After your departure from power, do not you risk to hamper your successor by intervening when he will decide on what you do not agree with?

 

This is a trend against which, fortunately, I'm vaccinated. I knew this because my predecessor, President Gouled Aptidon. I had to accompany him, without the face, with respect, so that they understand that it was him, and I was me. Once the transfer of power made, I will go, especially the first two years.

 

Will you be on call?

 

No. Certainly not.

 

A battalion of Djibouti is preparing to join the African Union forces in Somalia, AMISOM. Why do you work with your neighbor?

 

Because the Somali Transitional Federal Government urged us. And because I do not want people to say one day that Djibouti has sat idly by while soldiers of Uganda, Burundi, Kenyans gave their lives for peace to return to our Somali brothers.

 

Do you not fear that Islamist insurgents Shebab retaliated by exporting terrorism to you? Fifty thousand Somali refugees living in Djibouti, and Yemen has become a sieve ...

 

It's a risk I do not rule out. We are very vigilant. On the other hand, I do not overestimate the destructive capacity of Shehab. From their stronghold of Baidoa until there, it is 2000 km.

 

They have already hit in Kenya.

 

It's very different. There are six hundred thousand Somalis in Kenya, and Shebab are very established. They control the area of ​​remittances, they have their madrasas, their trade, manufacture of false documents, their physicians. Kenya, it is their support base. For this reason, the Nairobi government had to react.

 

The Kenyan authorities have they informed the countries in the region of the outbreak of military operation in southern Somalia, a month and a half ago?

 

No. But they have consulted the TFG in Mogadishu. Again, I understand them: the Shebab multiplied armed incursions for over three years and they lived in Kenya like fish in water. This could not last.

[Abu-Salman]

This intervention is it not likely to get bogged down?

 

It should be avoided. When they got here a few days ago the Chief of Staff and the Kenyan foreign minister, I advised them to limit their incursion into a buffer zone of one hundred kilometers and not seek to occupy the port Kismayo. Kenya trained and equipped for over two years a force of about three thousand Somali expected to form the backbone of the new security administration. It is up to this force to penetrate deeper into Shebab area. My partners have also agreed. Otherwise, the integration of the Kenyan contingent in AMISOM is a good perspective.

 

The Somali transitional government that you support has reputation for being inefficient and corrupt. This does not bother you?

 

Corrupted with what? They have nothing. Attempt to establish its authority over a country at war, no income, to be constantly asked, harassed by people who suffer, it is not easy. Instead, you should pity them ...

 

Djibouti is it affected by the phenomenon of piracy?

 

Of course, even if the pirates have not struck off our coasts. Many boats refuse to come here and prefer to unload their cargo in Jeddah or Hodeidah. Insurance premiums continue to escalate. I repeat: the solution to this problem is not at sea, it is down. It is essential to help the authorities of Somaliland and Puntland to develop units that prevent pirates boarding. If the international community does not, why would you want this activity, which has already generated more than $ 100 million (approximately EUR 74 million) just for the ransoms, to stop?

 

Where is your border dispute with Eritrea?

 

To a standstill. Qatar is pursuing his mediation, and the situation in Ras Doumeira is frozen, our respective troops being separated by a small force Qatari buffer. And then there is the problem of prisoners of war. We granted the International Committee of the Red Cross permission to visit the Eritrean soldiers held here. But the government in Asmara refuses to recognize our own. We know that a score of Djiboutians are locked in solitary confinement, north of Asmara, in appalling conditions.

 

Why do you appeal to strengthen international sanctions against the Eritrean regime?

 

Because with a character like Issayas Afewerki purely diplomatic sanctions have no effect, it must hit the purse. They tax their diaspora 2% of its revenue: you have to freeze these transfers. They say they have discovered large deposits of gold at home: do not allow any foreign investor to come and exploit them. Djibouti is a casualty of the aggressive policy that leads Eritrea against Ethiopia, this is not tolerable.

 

The Kenyan authorities accused Asmara of arming Somali Shebab clandestinely. Is it also your opinion?

 

I confirm. Nairobi has sent me the evidence of at least three very recent flights of Antonov cargo planes laden with arms and ammunition on the airport in Baidoa.

 

President Afewerki has just lost an ally in the person of Muammar Gaddafi ...

 

Yes. And it's not us, Djibouti, who will cry on Gaddafi. He did everything to punish us for hosting military Western bases on our soil. However, the image of his body tortured shocked me. I thought he would die sword in hand, as he had announced. But it was out of a tunnel, and he humbled himself by begging Misrata rebels to spare him because he could have been their father. He did not die a hero.

 

Your friend, Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh, he may witness the same fate?

 

I had the President Saleh by telephone on November 7, the day of Eid. He said, "everything you see on television on Yemen, everything you read in the papers, take a 30% or 40%. The rest is propaganda. "I told him that 40% was already a lot. In fact, the Yemeni problem is more complex than wat the media is saying, who see a revolution like the other Arab states. It's basically a competition between people of the same clan in the background with the project of a disputed succession dynamics between the president and his son. If you add to that the tribes, Al Qaeda and the latent tensions between North and South, we are far from the simplistic image of any democratic spring. That is why this situation has persisted and why President Saleh gave the impression to make a step forward and one step back. The other day he told a delegation of the opposition: "Okay, I'm going. But know that tomorrow, Yemen will be cut in half. So what do you suggest?" The opponents have not answered.

 

Does it worries you?

 

Of course. We had a first wave of refugees in Yemen in 1968, then a second in 1994. These are households who do not seek assistance. The risk, it is the settling of scores, the export of violence.

 

Now that Southern Sudan gained its independence, is it not the turn of your neighbor Somaliland?

 

It is not entirely comparable. South Sudan has reached this result after a long and difficult dialogue with the North. The Somaliland conducted things the opposite way, and I fear they have put the cart before the horse. They hoisted their flag, unilaterally declared independence and that they no longer discuss. I respect, I accept their passports and their representation in Djibouti. But I can not go further. They were too hurried, I told them.

 

Among the guests at your inauguration last May, was included Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. He went to Djibouti and of course you did not stop him while your state signed the Rome Statute, the founder of the court. Why this contradiction?

 

I consulted my conscience because I believe he does not deserve to be dragged before the ICC. I'm sorry, but Bashir is not what is said. He is the only Sudanese leader to have had the courage to negotiate with the South, up to accept the amputation of his country in the name of peace. Remember how his opponents today, starting with Sadek el-Mahdi, calling the southern Sudanese slaves! So, of course, in the case of Darfur, he was trapped through inventing the specter of a pseudo genocide, a story concocted by the lobbies and pro-Israel evangelicals. Yes, Djibouti is a signatory of the Statute of the ICC. But that does not stop me to say that the practice of this court, which is only interested in Africans is political and in final analysis unjust.

 

French and Americans, each have a base in Djibouti and they will pay an annual rent for it, 30 million euro for first, $ 30 million for the latter. Is it enough?

 

In total, this represents just under 12% of our budget revenue. But I'm not asking for an increase. Paris and Washington have their financial problems, we understand.

 

However, you are in full renegotiation with France ...

 

Exact. But rather than money, we want Paris to help us build the capacity of the Djibouti army, with the objective that we are able to defend ourselves alone. When Eritrea attacked us, the question of the interpretation of our defense agreements arose, and I can admit that the French soldiers do not want to die for Ras Doumeira. The French presence here must be primarily a deterrent.

 

Otherwise, all is well with Paris? More court records under the table?

 

No, nothing. All is well.

 

The possibility of an election of François Holland in May 2012 Are you concerned about it? ...

 

This is a French issue.

 

However, your sympathies are not particularly on the part of socialists ...

 

My sympathies are not supposed to prevent me from being pragmatic.

 

You have four and a half years in office. What will you have accomplished on April 2016 on the economic and social development fronts?

 

Djibouti has reached the threshold of energy self-sufficiency, with the commissioning of four geothermal power plants - for which funding is completed - and the completion of a wind farm. Djibouti has almost solved the problem of water supply with the construction of two desalination plants, one by the French financed by OPEC-Kuwait Fund, the other by the Chinese. Djibouti has significantly increased its port capacity, with the extension of the container terminal in the capital, the construction of those in Doraleh and Tadjourah. Djibouti is more than ever the hub for the Ethiopian economy in full growth, with the modernization of the railway Addis-Djibouti and the completion of the Tadjourah-Mekele line. Djibouti will finally be one of the beneficiaries of the road being built between the South Sudan border and the Ethiopian network with which we are connected, allowing us to meet the demand for import-export of this new country that is the Southern Sudan.

 

And youth employment?

 

This is another struggle of my last term. The public service corps is not scalable, so I want the maximum support for a vibrant private sector. I created a Ministry of SME, a development fund and guarantees and credit lines for investment, I signed training agreements with Indian universities specializing in the fields of the sea. I explain tirelessly to young graduates that they can not forever aspire to become civil servants. And I tell them that if they share my dream of Djibouti who stand up without help or crutches, they have to help me achieve it

 

 

(Adi.dj, translation)

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

God bless president Geele

[STOIC]

^^^A close friend of mine (former classmate in undergrad) recently returned from a trip back home in Djibouti.He was disappointed at how things were run in his home country.How the man you are blessing is a dictator-a man driven by meglomania.I was not familiar with that tiny country till my friend explained it to me how corrupt his birth country has become.The man have exploited the state through corruption and nepotism.My friend was disappointed how the country didn't insure its citizens a broader range of personal freedom unless you are from the inner circle of the president entourage.I was shocked to learn that the internet and all communication is monopolized by the government.A country with no guarantee opportunities for discussions or deliberations of free and open press shouldn't be praised.Among desirable qualities we all want to see in any leader is honesty,courage and fairness..MY friend din't witness this in his birthplace..He was really disappointed and had many positive things to say about that unrecognized tiny place called Somaliland than Djibouti....

[kingofkings]

Djibouti

[Carafaat]

[Abu-Salman]

STOIC;762630 wrote:

^^^A close friend of mine (former classmate in undergrad) recently returned from a trip back home in Djibouti.He was disappointed at how things were run in his home country.How the man you are blessing is a dictator-a man driven by meglomania.I was not familiar with that tiny country till my friend explained it to me how corrupt his birth country has become.The man have exploited the state through corruption and nepotism.My friend was disappointed how the country didn't insure its citizens a broader range of personal freedom unless you are from the inner circle of the president entourage.I was shocked to learn that the internet and all communication is monopolized by the government.A country with no guarantee opportunities for discussions or deliberations of free and open press shouldn't be praised.Among desirable qualities we all want to see in any leader is honesty,courage and fairness..MY friend din't witness this in his birthplace..He was really disappointed and had many positive things to say about that unrecognized tiny place called Somaliland than Djibouti....

 

Nepotism and corruption are products of the general dilution of values, acculturation brought by colonialism and consumerism.

 

I'm sure you would find much more shocking forms of discriminations and abuses in Hargeysa though (especially against the groups outside established clans).

It seems we are often much less critical of our ancestral regions, I wouldn't be surprised that your friend is from there too (in terms of origins).

 

The French favored elite has destryed hope all accross Africa but I like Guelleh sensible role in Somalia though, just like the diminishing French influence (he's more arabophile)...

 

 

 

PS: many of the corrupt ones are critical once they fall out of favor or go abroad, sometimes with the loot...

[Jacaylbaro]

His sympathy of the dictators (Qadafi, Saleh) worries me .....

[Carafaat]

All Somali's should oppose Omar Guelleh. The last Somali dicator still standing.