VZCZCXRO5519
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHDJ #1191/01 2811441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081441Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0881
INFO IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DJIBOUTI 001191 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E AND AF/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO ECON KDEM SOCI EAID EINV ELTN PREL PHUM DJ
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI POLITICAL ROUNDUP: PARLIAMENT, OPPOSITION, AND A 
RARE MEETING OF THE TWO 
 
REF: 09 DJIBOUTI 755; 09 DJIBOUTI 1159 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  The Prime Minister opened Djibouti's 
parliamentary session October 1 with a speech highlighting the 
GODJ's significant ongoing investments in health, education, and 
poverty reduction.  Several days before the opening of parliament, 
the three-party opposition coalition which boycotted 2005, 2006, 
and 2008 elections issued a communique rejecting the idea of a 
constitutional amendment to allow President Guelleh to run for a 
third term in office, and calling for the formation of a 
transitional government of national unity.  Meanwhile, an Embassy 
public diplomacy program brought members of all legal political 
parties together for a seminar on proportional 
representation-gathering both majority coalition and opposition 
parties together in the same room for informal consultations, in 
what may be the first gathering of its kind in recent memory.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
PRIME MINISTER HIGHLIGHTS SOCIAL 
 
INVESTMENT AT OPENING OF PARLIAMENT 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) CDA a.i. and USAID Representative attended the formal 
opening of Djibouti's National Assembly on October 1.  Prime 
Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita's keynote speech highlighted 
largely social and development issues.  While noting that the 
continued deployment of Djiboutian forces along the 
Djibouti-Eritrea border demanded ongoing resources, the Prime 
Minister focused on Djibouti's social investment.  (NOTE. The GODJ 
devotes 25 percent of its budget to education and over 10 percent 
to health.  END NOTE.)  Main issues covered included: 
 
 
 
--ECONOMY AND GROWTH: The Prime Minister noted that the proposed 
2010 budget represented a ten percent increase over 2009, for a 
total of nearly 83 billion Djibouti francs (approximately 469 
million USD).  Almost two thirds of this amount was devoted to 
operational budgets, with the remainder dedicated to "investment." 
The Prime Minister attributed the relatively limited impact of the 
global financial crisis on Djibouti to "good financial management," 
and noted that the projected 6 percent growth rate would be mostly 
due to foreign direct investment, growth in the port and 
construction sectors, and macroeconomic reforms.  The international 
community, he said, had recognized Djibouti's "stability," and 
foreign direct investment was at 35 percent of GDP. 
 
 
 
--HEALTH AND EDUCATION:  The Prime Minister called health and 
education "social sectors essential for the future of our country." 
Upcoming priorities included the construction of a university and 
two new middle schools, as well as the establishment of 
professional training centers and sports playing fields. 
 
 
 
--RESEARCH AND DVELOPMENT: A new building is planned to house 
Djibouti's National Study and Research Center (CERD).  The first 
700 date plants in a CERD-run project to fight food insecurity 
through date palm cultivation are slated to go out to regions 
outside the capital in 2010. 
 
 
 
--TRANSPORT: A new deepwater port is to be constructed at the 
northern city of Tadjourah.  A new road from Tadjourah to Ethiopia 
through the now-remote northwestern towns of Dorra and Balho will 
complement an already-completed road between Tadjourah and the 
second northern town of Obock (ref A). 
 
 
 
--POVERY REDUCTION AND FOOD SECURITY: The Prime Minister 
highlighted the GODJ's over one billion Djibouti franc investment 
(approximately 5.6 million USD) in poverty reduction initiatives. 
Over 642 low-income housing units are slated for completion in 
 
DJIBOUTI 00001191  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶2010.  The Prime Minister also noted that Djibouti is stocking 
strategic food reserves, and working with regional 
partners-including Sudan, Ethiopia, and Malawi -to obtain land to 
grow grains for Djiboutian consumption. 
 
 
 
--SOMALIA:  "Djibouti's political direction in this area has not 
changed," said the Prime Minister, "it's about giving the means to 
Somalis to take charge of their destiny and their development." 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
--------- 
 
OPPOSITION COMMUNIQUE CALLS FOR KEEPING TERM 
 
LIMITS, GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
---------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) The opposition coalition UAD (Union for a Democratic 
Alternance) issued an "Appeal to the Djiboutian People and the 
International Community" dated September 26.  UAD (ref B) regroups 
the UDJ (Union for Democracy and Justice), ARD (Republican Alliance 
for Democracy) and MRD (Movement for Democratic Renewal).  The MRD 
was banned by presidential decree in 2008, after its leader was 
accused of inviting Eritrea to invade Djibouti. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) In the communique, the UAD argued that the international 
community had not recognized the "gravity" of the situation in 
Djibouti, and that President Guelleh was interpreting this 
"attitude" as "support."  The UAD rejected the idea of a possible 
constitutional amendment allowing President Guelleh to run for a 
third term in office, calling it an "irresponsible and dangerous" 
initiative that could "open the way for a presidency for life." 
The parties warned against "serious risks" of "social explosion" 
and "civil war" in Djibouti, but reiterated their own commitment to 
a "peaceful fight."  The UAD called the Djiboutian people to unity 
and a "decisive mobilization against dictatorship," and appealed to 
the international community to "use all its influence to make 
President Guelleh see reason." 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The UAD proposed the formation of a transitional 
government of national unity, with participation from the 
opposition, the ruling coalition, and civil society.  Inter alia, 
the UAD asserted that this government should establish a true 
multiparty system, advance the decentralization process, guarantee 
an  independent and operational justice system, re-examine the 
constitutional council, establish an independent national electoral 
commission with equal numbers of opposition and government members, 
respect fundamental liberties and human rights, and allow free and 
equal access for all political parties to public media.  In 
conclusion, UAD closed by quoting President Obama's statement in 
Accra that "Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong 
institutions." 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
EMBASSY SPEAKER GETS BOTH SIDES TO 
 
SIT DOWN TOGETHER AND DISCUSS 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) At the close of a week of programming with 
parliamentarians, local elected officials, and other audiences, a 
visiting Africa Regional Services (ARS) speaker on election systems 
met with all legal political parties in Djibouti on October 3. 
Ambassador had previously met with selected opposition leaders to 
urge that they participate in this event.  ARS Speaker gave a talk 
on proportional representational systems to a packed audience of 
nearly 25 political party members, including every party from the 
ruling coalition and both legal opposition parties.  Several party 
 
DJIBOUTI 00001191  003 OF 003 
 
 
presidents participated.  Proportional representation is under 
discussion at the National Assembly, and remains one of the 
opposition's longstanding demands.  Discussions, while occasionally 
heated, were civil and lively, and participants from across the 
spectrum agreed that dialogue was important.  A representative from 
the President's RPP (People's Rally for Progress) party noted that 
the RPP was "open to discussions" and had an "open door."  Several 
participants thanked the Embassy Public Affairs Section for 
organizing the event, and for enabling a simple "hello" between the 
political parties.   The event was covered by government-run 
newspaper and television. 
 
 
 
--------------- 
 
COMMENT 
 
--------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) In Djibouti's close-knit society, actors from ruling 
coalition and opposition political parties are very likely to know 
each other socially, or to share ties of neighborhood or kinship. 
Nevertheless, it remains significant that key players from these 
two "camps" were willing to participate together in a formal, 
public event covered by national media.  It is also significant 
that participants universally declared themselves ready for 
dialogue.  The sharp rhetoric of the opposition coalition's 
communique must also be read in light of their willingness to sit 
down with the majority coalition partners-and by the willingness of 
coalition partners to at least meet them part of the way.  Looking 
toward 2011 presidential elections, Post will continue to look for 
ways to engage all political parties, and to provide venues for 
parties to initiate dialogue among themselves.  END COMMENT. 
WONG