On August 29, Daher Ahmed Farah, president in exile of the Djiboutian party Movement for Renewal and Democratic Development (MRD), announced the imminent resumption of his party’s political activities.
After the MRD had been dissolved by authority in 2008 on the initiative of the Djibouti government, its president had taken refuge in Brussels, where he had continued his political activities, addressing in particular the UN Human Rights Committee.
The UN had accepted the request of the MRD on January 8, ordering the Djibouti government a deadline of 180 days to legally rehabilitate the party and allow its political activity.
The deadline granted by the UN to the Djibouti authorities expired on July 8, without them having expressed any opinion on the rehabilitation of the MRD, thus creating a situation of uncertainty for the party’s leadership. Daher Ahmed Farah, in fact, while on the one hand announces that he feels legitimized to resume political activity in Djibouti, on the other is aware of the real risk of arrest that he would run in the event of his return to Djibouti and, above all, of his resumption of political activities.
At the same time, however, he announces the imminent resumption of the party’s activities, claiming not to fear the government’s repressive action and, indeed, to want to organize in Djibouti within a short time a first congress of the MRD.
