Document #1083321
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
The Union de mouvements
démocratiques (UMD) was formed in 1990 after a merger
between the former Front démocratique pour la
libération de Djibouti (FDLD) and the Mouvement national
djiboutien pour l'instauration de la démocratie (MNDID)
(Europa 1993 1993, 955). The UMD is headed by Aden Robleh
Awalleh and Muhammad Adoyta, who serve as co-presidents
(ibid.).
Information on the UMD's aims is currently
unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa, however, for a likeness of these
aims, please refer to the aims and objectives of the MNDID and FDLD
as stated on page 210 of the attachment from Political Handbook
of the World: 1992. The same source states that the UMD is an
ally of the Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la
Démocratie (FRUD), a coalition of opposition groups
"fighting to overthrow President Gouled's tribal dictatorship" and
install a "democratic, multiparty system" (ibid.). For information
on government attitudes toward the UMD, please refer to pages 75 to
79 of Country Reports 1993, currently available at your
Regional Documentation Centre, and to the attachments from
Freedom in the World 1993-1994 and Encyclopedia of the
Third World.
The most recent Djiboutian legislative
election for the 65-member Chamber of Deputies was held in 1992
(Africa Research Bulletin 1-31 Dec. 1992, 10815;
Frémy and Frémy 1994, 970; Europa 1993 1993,
951; The Indian Ocean Newsletter 26 Dec. 1992, 4;
Political Parties of Africa and the Middle East 1993, 77;
Keesing's Dec. 1992, 39226). All 65 seats were won by
candidates of the governing Rassemblement populaire pour le
progrès (RPP) led by President Hassan Gouled Aptidon
(ibid.). The 1987 legislative election which the RPP won, was not
contested by the other parties as the RPP was then the only legal
party in Djibouti (Frémy and Frémy 1994, 970;
Europa 1993 1993, 951; Political Parties of Africa and
the Middle East 1993, 77; Encyclopedia of the Third
World 1992, 490-92).
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Africa Research Bulletin:
Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. 1-31 December
1992. Vol. 29, No. 12. "Djibouti: First Multiparty Elections."
Encyclopedia of the Third World.
1992. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Edited by George Thomas Kurian. New York:
Facts on File.
The Europa World Year Book 1993.
1993. 34th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.
Frémy, Dominique and
Michèle Frémy. 1993. Quid 1994. Paris:
Editions Robert Laffont.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter
[Paris]. 26 December 1992. No. 556. "Djibouti: A Pointless
Election."
Keesing's Record of World Events
[Cambridge]. December 1992. Vol. 38, No. 12. "Djibouti: Total
Election Victory for RPP New Fighting."
Political Handbook of the World:
1992. 1992. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA
Publications.
Political Parties of Africa and the
Middle East. 1993. Edited by Roger East and Tanya Joseph. The
High, Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.
Africa Research Bulletin: Political,
Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. 1-31 December 1992. Vol.
29, No. 12. "Djibouti: First Multiparty Elections," p. 10815.
Encyclopedia of the Third World.
1992. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Edited by George Thomas Kurian. New York:
Facts on File, pp. 489-92.
The Europa World Year Book 1993.
1993. 34th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications, p. 955.
Freedom House. 1993. Freedom in the
World 1993-1994. New York: Freedom House, pp. 230-31.
Frémy, Dominique and
Michèle Frémy. 1993. Quid 1994. Paris:
Editions Robert Laffont, p. 970.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter
[Paris]. 26 December 1992. No. 556. "Djibouti: A Pointless
Election," p. 4.
Keesing's Record of World Events
[Cambridge]. December 1992. Vol. 38, No. 12. "Djibouti: Total
Election Victory for RPP New Fighting," p. 39226.
Political Handbook of the World:
1992. 1992. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA
Publications, pp. 207-11.
Political Parties of Africa and the
Middle East. 1993. Edited by Roger East and Tanya Joseph. The
High, Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK, pp. 76-79.