Republic of Djibouti

The task at hand is a daunting one. An overview of basic statistics and data regarding the economic and political environment of Djibouti is essential if the challenges that face this republic are to be understood. Equally important, a synopsis of important events in DjiboutiÆs recent history will be necessary as the key political and ethnic disputes that have plagued this country are discussed. Ultimately, the small nation of Djibouti, blessed with a strategic location on the Horn of Africa, will need to press every advantage as it fights to subdue the many threats to peace, tranquility and wellbeing that have cropped up in recent years.

The French Territory of the Afars and Issas, so named for the predominant two ethnic groups comprising the region, became the Republic of Djibouti in 1977. Located in Eastern Africa adjacent to Somalia to the Southeast, Ethiopia to the West and Southwest, and Eritrea to the North, Djibouti also enjoys 314 km of coastl

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e in and around Djibouti reveals a complicated web of racial intolerance and political avarice. Once a pocket of peace in the troubled Horn, by 1991 the hostility between the Issa and the Afars had come to a head. The Afar-based Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) took up arms against then-President Hassan Gouled Aptidon and his Issa tribe (The Economist 46). The FRUD movement, armed and organized by 1991, took control of many towns and villages in northern Djibouti, and moved towards the capital. At this time, Gouled requested military assistance from France in effort to repel the rebellious faction. Gouled described the FRUD movement as one comprised of foreign aggressors, and asserted that FRUD officials were motivated and controlled by foreign interests. The FRUD officers-in-command, many whom were in fact trained in Ethiopian military camps, protested the ôforeignö classification and insisted that its aim was to secure fair political representation for all ethnicities in Djibouti. In 1992 Gouled, succumbing to intense pressure from the French Government, moved to draft a new constitution which would restore a multi-party system and provide for free elections. After a cease-fire broke down and the G
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Approximate Word count = 2320
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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