An Interview with Ahmed Rayale: The spokes person of Djiboutian opposition

Editor’s Note: As the dust has settled in Djibouti and President Ismail Omer Gouleh embarked on a new third term in office; WardheerNews gained an exclusive access to the insides of the political life in Djibouti. WardheerNews has the pleasure to present to its readers an interview with Mr. Ahmed Rayale, the spokes person of Djiboutian opposition based in Europe and in Djibouti. The interview covers political, social, and economic issues facing Djibouti.
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WardheerNews (WDN): Could you please give us brief general background information about the political situation in Djibouti?

Ahmed Rayale

Mr. Ahmed Rayale:  From independence till to date the country is run by a single party known as the People’s rally for progress (RPP). The African people’s league for independence (LPAI) party that took office soon after independence renamed itself as RPP in 1979 and in 1981 altered the constitution to make the country a single party state. In 1991, front for the restoration of unity and democracy (FRUD) started an armed struggle in the north in response to the government’s rejection to make genuine democratic power sharing mechanism in place. At the height of the civil war in 1992 the ruling party drafted a new constitution, approved by referendum, which allows four parties to register. In September 2002, to accommodate the political reforms that FRUD demanded, the country was formally declared as Multi Party by lifting the constitutional restrictions on the number of parties.

WDN: Most of the people seem a bit confused about the number of opposition parties! Would you mind to educate the public about the number of active opposition parties that operate in the country?

Mr. Rayale: My pleasure, such confusion in the minds of the masses about the opposition parties’ policies and activities is direct outcome of the unrelenting media ban the RPP uses as a tool to suppress not only us but all thinking people in the country.
Following are the major opposition parties in Djibouti:

1. UDJ              Ismail Geedi Hared
2. MRD             Dahir Ali Farah
3. PND             Aden roble Awale
4. ARD             Ahmed Yusuf Houmed
5. PDD             Mohamed Daud Shihim

WDN: The opposition always accuses the president of the state as being a dictator that starves the opposition from all sorts of media coverage. Can you elaborate this issue?

Mr. Rayale:  To begin with the national media (TV, Radio and Print) is state owned, tightly controlled and monitored by RPP members. The president uses the national media to advance his party’s policies and to demonize the policies of the opposition. This monopoly of the media by the ruling party greatly disadvantaged the ability of the opposition to disseminate their messages to the public. Continued