12/08/10 (B564) SOMALILAND : Méfiez vous de Guelleh, c’est un dangereux diviseur et non un rassembleur – Ecartez-vous de cette entreprise de destruction. BEWARE OF ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH ! (Article en Anglais – Info lecteur M.H. – Ottawa)

The current head of state of Djibouti, ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH, is someone who does not like democracy .He abhors everything that is linked to the rights of freedom and critics coming from the opposition side are hushed down whenever he has the opportunity to do so. Since he took power, thanks to his late uncle HASSAN GOULED who transferred the power to him like a family legacy, Djiboutian people have been living under ruthless oppression.

The right for fair and free election has always been denied to them. Every election, whether presidential, parliamentary or council, has been rigged under Guelleh`s watch. It is a shame to say that but the republic of Djibouti has the sad record in the sub-Saharan countries to be the only country in which the opposition has no seat in the parliament let alone a free newspaper belonging to it .In a nutshell, Djibouti is a besieged country and its people are living like hostages under Guelleh `s rule.

Despite huge cash flow generated from foreign investors in the country –Djibouti hosts three key military bases belonging to high profile Western countries namely France , the USA and, Japan. It also houses the international center for fighting piracy. The country is the only maritime outlet for Ethiopia, a nation of 60 million consumers .

In a word Djibouti could be the Dubai of East of Africa had it been properly managed and well run. Instead it has become the hub for money laundering, chronic corruption and ill -governance .Rumors say it mister ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH to be one of the top three richest men in Africa. This money, scattered in different corners of the planet to avoid any probe or inquisitive eye, is of course the money stolen from Djiboutian people. Things are, unfortunately, going to worsen if president Guelleh clings to power beyond 2011 and the country could pay a heavy price for this lack of democratic change.

ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH would like to see all people, no matter which country they live in, to have the same lot as Djiboutian ones fearing the former would influence the latter one-day. That is why this democratic election of Somaliland triggered two different feelings in Djibouti .It filled Djiboutian people with joy and hope on one hand and it was a real devastating setback and slap on the figure of ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH and his cronies on the other hand. I am flat sure he almost had a heart attack and spent sleepless nights following this democratic victory of this neighboring province.

The noise of this democratic change from Somaliland came swiftly to knock the doors of GUELLEH and did shake his well-guarded despotic nest. Over crushed by what happened in this brotherly country and fearing a possible contamination upon Djiboutian people, ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH will do everything to derail this young democracy in Somaliland. And I am warning our Somaliland brothers: If you are not cautious with this man your democratic process is likely to become cropper because his hidden agenda is to make it fail.

He will use any necessary tools in his hands to disable you before your take- off .He will try to aground this full fledgling democracy. His tools to bankrupt you will go from fake friendship, underground lobbying, graft by using our public money of course. He will not even hesitate to carry out criminal acts inside this territory as he did in the past and still doing in whole region. He will try to turn you into puppets as he did with RAYALEH`S former government whenever it is possible.

Other ideal tools GUELLEH will use if he fails to disrupt Somaliland democracy directly .He is going to turn the border between Djibouti and Somaliland into an endless blackmail. This border, which is the bedrock for many Somali and Djiboutian businesses, is also a humanitarian corridor through which many people transit daily. It allows them to sustain their families and siblings by doing small businesses.

Despite this much needed border bond and instead of easing it to make it humane, mister GUELLEH gets it closed at least four times a year and transforms it into a nightmare for those innocent people just in the mere intention to have Somaliland authorities kneel down to his whims when they refuse to do what he wants them to do. Another tool but the least one mister GUELLEH will try to use is to poke clanic tensions between the different communities living in Somaliland for the sake of splitting your unity and destabilizing the country future in the long run.

Djiboutian people are expecting to get rid of GUELLEH `s regime in the forthcoming election of 2011.They are hoping things will pretty much look like to what happened in this year , that is to say a peaceful democratic change home so that the two people live side by side in good brotherhood and in a mutual respect as well.

Let us remember one last thing about ISMAEL OMAR GUELLEH: He is a dangerous divider rather than a uniter. He is bad-doer rather than a good- doer. He is destroyer rather than a builder. It is time to wipe this evil out of the horn of Africa so that the region resumes its legendry and peaceful harmony. Let us all of us stay away from GEULLE `s destructive enterprise!