Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Political Protests Spread to Djibouti

   Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa  February 18, 2011

   Anti-government  protests  have  spread  to  Djibouti,  the  tiny, but
   strategic   country   that  hosts  the  only  U.S.  military  base  in
   sub-Saharan  Africa.  Demonstrators  are  demanding that the president
   step down.
   Protesters marched down a Djibouti street Friday after Muslim prayers,
   demanding  that President Ismail Omar Guelleh give up plans to run for
   a third term.
   The  63-year-old  president  came to power in 1999 after replacing his
   uncle as head of Djiboutiâs ruling party. He is nearing the end of his
   second  six-year  term  in  office, but the countryâs constitution was
   recently amended to allow him to run again in elections set for April.
   Independent  observers estimated the size of Fridayâs demonstration at
   between  1,000  and  2,000. But Mohamed Daoud Chehem of the opposition
   Djibouti  Party  for Development said the numbers were much larger. He
   told  VOA  by  phone  from the protest site that demonstrators hope to
   follow  the  Egyptian  example  of  staying on the streets until their
   demands are met.
   "We  have come to stay here," said Chehem. "[This] freedom place. Like
   Egypt. We want to stay here."
   Djibouti  is  a  small  Horn  of Africa nation of about 750,000 people
   between Eritrea and Somalia, strategically located at the mouth of the
   Red Sea, just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen.
   It  is  considered a frontline state in anti-terrorism efforts, and is
   home  to  Camp  Lemonnier,  the  only  U.S.  military  installation in
   sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a small French base.
   Opposition leader Chehem said Fridayâs demonstration was modeled after
   the  political  rallies  currently  sweeping  Northern  Africa and the
   Middle East.
   "This  is  not  a strong regime," he said. "The people donât like this
   regime. Now we give encouragement to [kick] out this regime."
   Chehem  said  the  protests  had been peaceful, and that police at the
   scene had not used force.
   There  are no foreign journalists operating in Djibouti, and reporters
   who  arrived  at  the  airport  this  week  seeking visas to cover the
   demonstration were denied entry.

.