Amnesty proposed for dissident politicians

Djibouti's government on Wednesday decided to submit a bill to parliament which would give amnesty to five dissident political leaders imprisoned five years ago, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said. A statement issued by the council of ministers said the government intended to "establish a climate of sincerity and stability in order to establish a favourable environment for civil agreement and reconciliation", in the wake of a peace pact with a rebel movement. Under the amnesty, the five would be able to stand in legislative elections scheduled for October next year.

In August 1996, five top politicians belonging to the ruling Rally for Popular Progress (RPP) were sentenced to several months in prison and stripped of their civil rights for offending former head of state Hassan Gouled Aptidon, AFP said. Those to benefit from the amnesty include former Foreign Minister Moumin Bahdon Farah, former Interior and Defence Minister Ahmed Boulaleh Barreh and former Youth and Sports Minister Ali Muhammad Houmed. Ismael Guedi Hared, the former director of Hassan Gouled's cabinet, and a former member of the RPP central committee, Abdillahi Guirreh Rayaleh, would also benefit, AFP said.