EIU warns of continued repression

In its latest report, the Economist Intelligence Unit has warned that the "authoritarian instincts" of Dbijouti's new President Ismael Omar Guelleh are likely to dominate domestic politics. It had become evident that the government would not hesitate to use its police and legal system to silence opponents. Sensitivities over the 1991-94 civil war continue to linger, so that the government is unlikely to bring to trial accused rebels who have been held for two years. "With weak and divided domestic opponents - and a powerful regional ally in Ethiopia - there is little to stop the continuation of such repression and detention without trial," the EIU warned. However it believed France and other donors could apply pressure on Guelleh by linking political and human rights concerns to foreign economic assistance. Urban and rural poverty was acute, the EIU said, and the country was currently facing severe food shortfalls, partly due to drought but also to long-term erosion of food security and general living standards.