| | When President Ismail Omar Guelleh was elected in April 1999 to succeed his uncle Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had been President of the Republic of Djibouti since independence in 1977, he faced four basic issues: two domestic and two external. First, how to retain the monopoly of power his Somali subclan1 has enjoyed since the French handed power to them, and to do this in the face of an Afar armed insurrection and a growing demand for democratization from the whole population.2 Second, how to manage an economy bankrupted by the 1991-1994 civil war with the Afar rebels of FRUD (Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie). Third, how to keep Djibouti's balance in an unstable regional environment. Fourth, how to deal with the French who do not like him, as much they did his uncle, but whose military presence (3,200 soldiers plus dependents) and economic aid are essential to the country's economy. |
