Aden Robleh Awaleh
Encyclopedia
Aden Robleh Awaleh is a Djibouti
an politician and President of the National Democratic Party
(PND). He is currently a member of the National Assembly of Djibouti
.
Awaleh, an Issa
, was born in Ali-Sabieh. Opposing French colonial rule in Djibouti, he went to Somalia
in 1969 and became the leader of the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast (FLCS). As a result of his activities, he was convicted of "endangering state security" in absentia
by the French authorities in 1970 and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He was later arrested in Somalia in 1975 for "anti-revolutionary" activities and spent a year in solitary confinement there. He was attacked and injured on June 24, 1977, three days before Djibouti became independent from France; his injuries caused him to be hospitalized for a year.
In the period following independence, he was a member of the government, Vice-President of the Popular Rally for Progress (RPR) ruling party, and a member of the RPR Political Bureau. He was included in the first post-independence government, named on July 15, 1977, as Minister of the Port, and he was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Commerce, Transport, and Tourism in 1978. He was also elected to the National Assembly in 1982. In 1983, he denounced the authoritarianism of the RPR's single-party regime and resigned from his government and party positions.
A book written by Awaleh, Djibouti: Key to the Red Sea (Djibouti Clef de la Mer Rouge), was published in February 1986. He clandestinely left Djibouti in May 1986 and went into exile in France. As an exiled opposition leader, he founded the Djiboutian National Movement for the Establishment of Democracy and the Union of Democratic Movements while in France. In Djibouti, he was accused of "attempting to destabilize the government and murder senior officials" and was sentenced in absentia to life in prison on September 7, 1986, along with two others.
In 1992, Awaleh founded the National Democratic Party (PND) in Paris
. Immediately after a successful referendum was held on the introduction of multiparty politics, Awaleh announced on September 7, 1992 that he intended to return to Djibouti within days and would seek the legalization of his National Democratic Party (PND). The PND was then established in Djibouti on September 13, 1992. He received 12% of the vote in the May 1993 presidential election
, placing third; along with the other opposition candidates, he denounced the election as fraudulent.
On October 27, 1995, a PND protest was broken up by the police and Awaleh was among those arrested. Accused of organizing an illegal protest, he received a suspended sentence
of one month imprisonment in November 1995. At this time, he was the head of an opposition coalition, the Union of Democratic Movements. He stood as the first candidate on the PND's candidate list for Ali Sabieh Region
(the only district in which the party presented candidates) in the December 1997 parliamentary election
, but the party did not win any seats.
The PND experienced internal division in the late 1990s. In May 1997, Awaleh suspended PND spokesman Farah Ali Wabert from the party, a move that reportedly exacerbated the situation. By November 1998, a rival leadership under Mahdi Ahmed Abdillahié controlled the PND headquarters, and in December 1998 Awaleh was reported to be missing. The factions apparently reconciled by 2002.
In September 1998, Awaleh accused Ismail Omar Guelleh
of working to make Djibouti a colony of Ethiopia
. Awaleh and the PND supported opposition candidate Moussa Ahmed Idriss in the April 1999 presidential election
; Guelleh officially won the election with 75% of the vote, but Awaleh alleged that this was due to "massive fraud" and said that Idris had actually won. During the election, he served on the district supervision commission in Ali-Sabieh District as Idris' representative. Awaleh was denied a passport
on June 5, 2000, preventing him from travelling to Nigeria
for an African Leadership Forum.
In April 2001, Awaleh was convicted and given a six-year suspended sentence for alleged involvement in a terrorist attack at the Cafe du Paris in Djibouti in 1990; although prosecutors said that Awaleh was the leading figure in the plot, he was given the lightest sentence of the four defendants.
Awaleh and the PND left the opposition and participated in the January 2003 parliamentary election
as part of the ruling coalition, the Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP), which won all the seats in the National Assembly. Awaleh was included as the seventh candidate on the UMP's candidate list for the District of Djibouti
and therefore won a seat.
On March 10, 2004, Awaleh was chosen by the National Assembly as one of Djibouti's five members of the Pan-African Parliament
(PAP); as a result, he was present for the opening of the PAP later in the month, and he was elected as a member of the Pan-African Parliament's ad hoc committee responsible for verification of powers. In the National Assembly of Djibouti, he has served as a member of the Legislation and General Administration Commission.
Awaleh and the PND supported Guelleh in the April 2005 presidential election
. On February 21, 2007, Awaleh was re-elected as President of the PND. He was a member of the general staff of the UMP's campaign for the February 2008 parliamentary election
. In the same election, he was the fourth candidate on the UMP's candidate list for the District of Djibouti. He was re-elected to a seat, and after the election, he was designated as the representative of the National Assembly in the Pan-African Parliament on 25 February 2008.
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
an politician and President of the National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party (Djibouti)
The National Democratic Party , is a political party in Djibouti. It was founded as an opposition party in 1992 by Aden Robleh Awaleh, who remains the party's president. It is currently part of the ruling coalition....
(PND). He is currently a member of the National Assembly of Djibouti
National Assembly of Djibouti
The National Assembly is the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Djibouti.-Overview:It consists of 65 members – 30 Somali and 30 Afar – elected to serve five-year terms in multi-seat constituencies...
.
Awaleh, an Issa
Issa (clan)
The Issa are a Somali clan, a sub-clan of the Dir. The Issa primarily reside in Djibouti, the extreme northwestern fringe in the Awdal district of Somaliland in northern Somalia, as well as the Shinile Zone located in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.-Lineage:...
, was born in Ali-Sabieh. Opposing French colonial rule in Djibouti, he went to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
in 1969 and became the leader of the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast (FLCS). As a result of his activities, he was convicted of "endangering state security" in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
by the French authorities in 1970 and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He was later arrested in Somalia in 1975 for "anti-revolutionary" activities and spent a year in solitary confinement there. He was attacked and injured on June 24, 1977, three days before Djibouti became independent from France; his injuries caused him to be hospitalized for a year.
In the period following independence, he was a member of the government, Vice-President of the Popular Rally for Progress (RPR) ruling party, and a member of the RPR Political Bureau. He was included in the first post-independence government, named on July 15, 1977, as Minister of the Port, and he was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Commerce, Transport, and Tourism in 1978. He was also elected to the National Assembly in 1982. In 1983, he denounced the authoritarianism of the RPR's single-party regime and resigned from his government and party positions.
A book written by Awaleh, Djibouti: Key to the Red Sea (Djibouti Clef de la Mer Rouge), was published in February 1986. He clandestinely left Djibouti in May 1986 and went into exile in France. As an exiled opposition leader, he founded the Djiboutian National Movement for the Establishment of Democracy and the Union of Democratic Movements while in France. In Djibouti, he was accused of "attempting to destabilize the government and murder senior officials" and was sentenced in absentia to life in prison on September 7, 1986, along with two others.
In 1992, Awaleh founded the National Democratic Party (PND) in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Immediately after a successful referendum was held on the introduction of multiparty politics, Awaleh announced on September 7, 1992 that he intended to return to Djibouti within days and would seek the legalization of his National Democratic Party (PND). The PND was then established in Djibouti on September 13, 1992. He received 12% of the vote in the May 1993 presidential election
Djiboutian presidential election, 1993
Presidential elections were held in Djibouti on 7 May 1993. They followed the constitutional changes approved in a referendum the previous year, which re-introduced multi-party democracy, and were the first presidential elections to feature more than one candidate...
, placing third; along with the other opposition candidates, he denounced the election as fraudulent.
On October 27, 1995, a PND protest was broken up by the police and Awaleh was among those arrested. Accused of organizing an illegal protest, he received a suspended sentence
Suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
of one month imprisonment in November 1995. At this time, he was the head of an opposition coalition, the Union of Democratic Movements. He stood as the first candidate on the PND's candidate list for Ali Sabieh Region
Ali Sabieh Region
The Ali Sabieh Region is one of the six Regions of Djibouti. The Region borders the Arta Region to the north, the Dikhil Region to the west, the Ethiopia to the south, and Somalia to the east....
(the only district in which the party presented candidates) in the December 1997 parliamentary election
Djiboutian parliamentary election, 1997
Parliamentary elections were held in Djibouti on 19 December 1997. The Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy, which had boycotted the last election, ran joint candidates with the ruling People's Rally for Progress. Together, they won all 65 seats in the National Assembly, with the PRP...
, but the party did not win any seats.
The PND experienced internal division in the late 1990s. In May 1997, Awaleh suspended PND spokesman Farah Ali Wabert from the party, a move that reportedly exacerbated the situation. By November 1998, a rival leadership under Mahdi Ahmed Abdillahié controlled the PND headquarters, and in December 1998 Awaleh was reported to be missing. The factions apparently reconciled by 2002.
In September 1998, Awaleh accused Ismail Omar Guelleh
Ismail Omar Guelleh
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the President of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He is often referred to in the region by his initials 'IOG'....
of working to make Djibouti a colony of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Awaleh and the PND supported opposition candidate Moussa Ahmed Idriss in the April 1999 presidential election
Djiboutian presidential election, 1999
Presidential elections were held in Djibouti on 9 April 1999. Following the retirement of Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had served as President since independence in 1977, his nephew Ismail Omar Guelleh won the nomination of the ruling People's Rally for Progress...
; Guelleh officially won the election with 75% of the vote, but Awaleh alleged that this was due to "massive fraud" and said that Idris had actually won. During the election, he served on the district supervision commission in Ali-Sabieh District as Idris' representative. Awaleh was denied a passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
on June 5, 2000, preventing him from travelling to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
for an African Leadership Forum.
In April 2001, Awaleh was convicted and given a six-year suspended sentence for alleged involvement in a terrorist attack at the Cafe du Paris in Djibouti in 1990; although prosecutors said that Awaleh was the leading figure in the plot, he was given the lightest sentence of the four defendants.
Awaleh and the PND left the opposition and participated in the January 2003 parliamentary election
Djiboutian parliamentary election, 2003
The 2003 Djiboutian parliamentary election took place in Djibouti on the 10 January 2003 to elect the National Assembly of Djibouti. The ruling coalition of President Ismail Omar Guelleh won all 65 seats in the election defeating an opposition coalition....
as part of the ruling coalition, the Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP), which won all the seats in the National Assembly. Awaleh was included as the seventh candidate on the UMP's candidate list for the District of Djibouti
Djibouti (city)
The City of Djibouti is the capital and largest city in the Republic of Djibouti, a nation in the Horn of Africa. The biggest settlement on the Gulf of Tadjoura, it lies on a peninsula that separates that basin from the Gulf of Aden.-History:...
and therefore won a seat.
On March 10, 2004, Awaleh was chosen by the National Assembly as one of Djibouti's five members of the Pan-African Parliament
Pan-African Parliament
The Pan-African Parliament , also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union and held its inaugural session in March 2004. The PAP exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, lasting for the first five years...
(PAP); as a result, he was present for the opening of the PAP later in the month, and he was elected as a member of the Pan-African Parliament's ad hoc committee responsible for verification of powers. In the National Assembly of Djibouti, he has served as a member of the Legislation and General Administration Commission.
Awaleh and the PND supported Guelleh in the April 2005 presidential election
Djiboutian presidential election, 2005
The 2005 Djiboutian presidential election took place on the 8 April 2005. The incumbent President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, was re-elected to a second six year term in an unopposed election.-Background:...
. On February 21, 2007, Awaleh was re-elected as President of the PND. He was a member of the general staff of the UMP's campaign for the February 2008 parliamentary election
Djiboutian parliamentary election, 2008
A parliamentary election was held in Djibouti on 8 February 2008. There were 65 candidates running for the 65 seats in the National Assembly, with all of the candidates coming from the ruling coalition, the Union for the Presidential Majority...
. In the same election, he was the fourth candidate on the UMP's candidate list for the District of Djibouti. He was re-elected to a seat, and after the election, he was designated as the representative of the National Assembly in the Pan-African Parliament on 25 February 2008.