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Do you want the territory to become part of the French Republic under a new local government, the details of which have been brought to your attention? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Outcome | Remain and transformed into the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Results by district |
An independence referendum was held in French Somaliland on 19 March 1967. It was ordered by then President of France, General Charles de Gaulle, in response to rioting and demonstrations upon an official visit he made to the territory the year before. [1] [2] Voters rejected independence from France by a 22-point margin.
It was the second of three independence referendums. In the first referendum, the 1958 French Somaliland constitutional referendum, voters rejected independence by a 50-point margin. In the third referendum, the 1977 Afars and Issas independence referendum, voters near-unanimously backed independence.
In the lead up to the referendum, which the French referred to as a "plebiscite" to avoid the term "referendum", all sides, especially the French, made attempts to manipulate the results of the results. [3] [4] As with the previous referendum of 1958, the vote was marred by reports of vote rigging on the part of the French authorities, [5] with some 10,000 Somalis deported under the pretext that they did not have valid identity cards. [6] According to official figures, although the territory was at the time inhabited by 58,240 Somali and 48,270 Afar, only 14,689 Somali were allowed to register to vote compared to 22,004 Afar. [7] Somali representatives also claimed that the French had simultaneously imported thousands of Afar nomads from neighboring Ethiopia to further tip the odds in their favor. The French authorities denied this, suggesting that Afars already greatly outnumbered Somalis on the voting lists. [6]
The French also erected a barricade around Djibouti City to prevent "outsiders" from influencing the referendum. This blockade persisted into the night, during which French soldiers reportedly shot individuals attempting to enter the city and investigated people to verify their citizenship. Simultaneously, many opposition leaders were arrested by the government. [4]
A UN request to observe the vote was ignored by the French government. [8]
Initial results supported a continued but looser relationship with France, with 61% of the electorate voting for the status quo on a 95% turnout. [9] Voting was also divided along ethnic lines, with the resident Somalis by and large voting for independence, with the goal of eventual reunion with Somalia, and the Afars generally opting to remain associated with France. [1]
Choice | Votes | % | |
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Remain a territory in the French Republic | 22,555 | 60.60 | |
Independence | 14,666 | 39.40 | |
Total | 37,221 | 100.00 | |
Valid votes | 37,221 | 99.70 | |
Invalid/blank votes | 111 | 0.30 | |
Total votes | 37,332 | 100.00 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 39,312 | 94.96 | |
Source: African Elections Database |
Widespread riots erupted in the Shantytown district of Djibouti City immediately after the announcement of results. According to colonial governor Louis Saget, rioters from the densely populated and largely Somali neighbourhood were armed with guns, knives, and Molotov cocktails. Saget claimed they had been influenced by leaflets aimed at inciting rebellion and civil war. However, according to the Associated Press, journalists in the area only observed Somalis carrying stones. [8] The French government expected the riots and had reinforced the city with up to 7,000 French soldiers and policemen. With the support of armored cars and machine guns, French forces ruthlessly pushed against the rioters, dismantling their hastily constructed barricades within 20 minutes. About 12–20 Somali were killed in the clashes, while only three French officers sustained injuries. [8] In the aftermath of the riots, the African quarter of the city was placed under occupation by the army. A curfew was placed on the area and anyone breaking it was shot on sight. French soldiers went from house-to-house rounding up thousands of Somali men and women and sent them to a detention camp in the desert. There they were meant for deportation into Somalia, but the government refused to take them in. Instead, the governor decided to set up a perminited pernal camp for around 500 nationalists. Another 1,500 were to be sent to Ethiopia, and the other 3,000 were to eventually be freed. [8]
Saget claimed that the vote averted a potential conflict between the French government and Ethiopian, Kenyan,and Somali forces, claiming their armies were ready to pounce on the colony if a majority had voted for independence. If accurate, a war could have broken out between the US-backed Ethiopians and Kenyans and the Soviet-backed Somali forces vying for control over the colony. [8] In response to this perceived threat, the French government bolstered its military presence along the frontier. [6] [10]
Many of the 10,000 who were expelled from the colony joined the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast at the Somali border, where they launched a military campaign against the colonial government. [4]
Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa bordered by Somalia to the east, Eritrea to west and the Red Sea to the north, Ethiopia to the west and south, and the Gulf of Aden to the east.
Politics of Djibouti takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the National Assembly. The party system and legislature are dominated by the socialist People's Rally for Progress. In April 2010, a new constitutional amendment was approved. The President serves as both the head of state and head of government, and is directly elected for single six-year term. Government is headed by the President, who appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the latter. There is also a 65-member chamber of deputies, where representatives are popularly elected for terms of five years. Administratively, the country is divided into five regions and one city, with eleven additional sub-prefecture subdivisions. Djibouti is also part of various international organisations, including the United Nations and Arab League.
Somali, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. The country was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, and according to most scholars, it was the seat of ancient Land of Punt that thrived during bronze age. During the classic era until the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali states and port towns dominated the regional trade, including the Sultanate of Mogadishu and the Ajuran Sultanate, both centered around the port town of Mogadishu. Additionally, the port towns of Barawe and Merca played significant roles in this commercial network which were part of the Azania city states during classic era. Preceding these medieval states were ancient civilisations such as the legendary Macrobian Kingdom, noted by Herodotus for its wealth and wisdom, and the Barbario civilisation, an early pre-Islamic civilisation that helped lay the foundations for the region's prosperous trade routes.
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa. Located on the easternmost part of the African mainland, it is the fourth largest peninsula in the world. It is composed of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Although not common, broader definitions include parts or all of Kenya and Sudan. It has been described as a region of geopolitical and strategic importance, since it is situated along the southern boundary of the Red Sea; extending hundreds of kilometres into the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Indian Ocean, it also shares a maritime border with the Arabian Peninsula.
Obock is a small port town in Djibouti. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. The town is home to an airstrip and has ferries to Djibouti City. The French form Obock derives from Arabic "Oboh", which is a deformation of Oboki, a name given to a local wadi.
French Somaliland was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. The Republic of Djibouti is its legal successor state.
The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas was the name given to present-day Djibouti between 1967 and 1977, while it was still an overseas territory of France. The area was formerly known as French Somaliland. Its name derives from the Afar people of Djibouti and the Somali Issa clan.
Hassan Gouled Aptidon was the first President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999.
Greater Somalia sometimes also called Greater Somaliland is the geographic location comprising the regions in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited.
Djibouti is the capital city of the Republic of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.
The Somali Republic was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate administrations, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly and Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic. On 22 July 1960, Daar appointed Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as prime minister. On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, Somalia ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960. The new constitution was rejected by Somaliland.
Dikhil is a town in the western Dikhil Region of Djibouti. Lying east of Lake Abbe, It is situated about 122 km (76 mi) southwest of Djibouti City and 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the border with Ethiopia. It serves as the administrative centre of the Dikhil Region, and is home to the Afar and Somali ethnic groups. The town develops gardens and fruit trees.
Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland, was a short-lived independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former British Somaliland for five days between 26 June 1960 and 1 July 1960, when it merged with the formerly Italian administered Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
The Djiboutian Civil War was a conflict in Djibouti, lasting from 1991 to 1994 and resulting in thousands of fatalities. The uneven power sharing between the Issas and the Afars led to the Civil War that ravaged the country for three years.
Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of 23,200 km2 (8,958 sq mi).
The Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast was a nationalist organization, and later a guerrilla group that fought for the independence of Djibouti from France. The Front de Libération de la Côte des Somalis (FLCS) was recognized as a national liberation movement by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which participated in its financing. FLCS was able to obtain support from Arab countries such as Algeria.
Mahamoud Harbi Farah was a Djiboutian politician of Somali ethnicity. A pan-Somalist, he was the Vice President of the Government Council of French Somaliland from 1957 to December 1958, during Djibouti's pre-independence period.
A referendum on the new constitution of France was held in French Somaliland on 28 September 1958 as part of a wider referendum held across the French Union. The new constitution would see the country become part of the new French Community if accepted, or result in independence if rejected. It was approved by 75.24% of voters.
The military history of Djibouti encompasses the major conflicts involving the historic empires and sultanates in the territory of present-day Djibouti, through to modern times. It also covers the martial traditions and hardware employed by Djiboutian armies and their opponents.