Recently on June 5, journalist Kassim Nouh Abar was standing in front of his house in Ali-Sabieh poised to do his job. Abar is a reporter for La Voix de Djibouti (LVD), a Paris-based independent media outlet in Djibouti, the only remaining medium in the country not controlled by the country’s dictatorship, which is known for clamping down on press freedoms and human rights. On this day, Abar was holding no visible work material so as to not be seen by the police. Instead, he was simply relying on his mobile phone to film the event but was nevertheless swiftly and violently arrested by police.
The proceedings that Abar was attempting to document that day was a rare public rebuke of the Omar Guelleh regime, which has been in power since 1999, one of the longest-ruling dictatorships in the world. The peaceful demonstration was in support of an Air Force Officer, Fouad Youssouf Ali, who had fled the country in March to Ethiopia – in which he sought political asylum – before being extradited back home on April 11. Ali’s crime was publicly denouncing the discrimination and corruption in the country. Later, a video posted to social media on June 3 showed that he was being held in degrading and inhumane conditions, which ignited anger across Djibouti. His lawyer said recently that “[Ali] could die at any moment” due to the torture he has endured while in detention.
From the very outset, police stormed the Ali-Sabieh peaceful protest, turning it into a violent clash in which demonstrators, both young and old, were beaten and arrested. Countless others were injured by military officers who were backing up the police. Live ammunition was also used on those who had assembled – a common occurrence in Djibouti. We do not know the full extent of the damage, the arrests and the assaults because independent journalism has been criminalized in the country – as Kassim Nouh Abar can attest to.
On the same day, and later in the capital city, other massive gatherings were brutally dispersed by Djiboutian authorities, and numerous arrests were made. Beforehand, the US Embassy went so far as to issue a security alert, noting specifically a “strong security force presence” and advising U.S. citizens to avoid the area. One brave reporter, Mohamed Ibrahim Waiss – a Reporters Without Borders correspondent – managed to file a report before he too was arrested in his office. Several other journalists, including Osman Yonis Bogoreh and Charmarke Said Darar, went into hiding for fear of being arrested and mistreated, as they have on multiple occasions in the past.
Nevertheless, dissent seems to be on the rise. During this same week, Deka Issa Douhour – a non-commissioned officer of Djiboutian Republican Guard and mother of a seven-month-old boy – publicly resigned from the military in support of Ali and the protesters. For her actions, Douhour was arrested and thrown into a dirty jail cell where she remains as of this writing.
Despite this excessive use of force and intimidation protests persisted, drawing some rare global attention, including articles in the New York Times, as well as traditional French outlets like Le Monde and Radio France International. This atypical attention, and the condemnations that rightly came with them, certainly did not help the Guelleh dictatorship. The next week, Djibouti lost its bid for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (it lost to Kenya by 67 votes). The previous day, Djibouti also lost its pursuit of representation at the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Today, protests in Djibouti have persisted, though at a low intensity amid a strong police and military presence. As such, journalists and our country’s human rights defenders remain at dire risk of being brutally and arbitrarily arrested, or potentially worse.
With an aging and obstinate dictator at the helm, Djibouti is more than ever at a crossroads. Events transpiring in the country need broader attention in the media and elsewhere. Public shaming and losing prestige – at the United Nations, for example – is apparently one of the few languages that the Guelleh dictatorship understands. In this way, Djibouti’s pro-democracy forces need the world’s help to end our dictatorial nightmare and open the long-dreamed era of democracy and the rule of law. We deserve nothing less.
Dr. Daher Ahmed Farah is a published author, novelist and leading Djiboutian politician. He is the elected head of the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), Djibouti’s main pro-democracy opposition party. Dr. Farah currently lives in exile in Belgium due to persistent arrests and threats against his personal safety by Djiboutian authorities.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Vanguard Africa or the Vanguard Africa Foundation.