French Territory of the Afars and the Issas

Djibouti, 1967–1977. Draft, not yet reviewed

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. In 1966, France rejected the United Nations recommendation that it should grant French Somaliland independence. On 19 March 1967, a second plebiscite was held to determine the fate of the territory. A third independence referendum was held in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas on 8 May 1977, and a landslide 98.8% of the electorate supported disengagement from France.

Seat of power: Djibouti

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• Its name derives from the Afar people of Djibouti and the Somali Issa clan.
• Voting was also divided along ethnic lines, with the resident Somalis generally voting for independence, with the goal of eventual reunion with Somalia, and the Afars largely opting to remain associated with France. However, the referendum was again marred by reports of vote rigging on the part of the French authorities, with some 10,000 Somalis deported under the pretext that they did not have valid identity cards.
• The French Territory of Afars and Issas also differed from French Somaliland in terms of government structure, as the position of Governor General changed to that of High Commissioner.
• During the 1960s, the struggle for independence was led by the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast (FLCS), who waged an armed struggle for independence with much of its violence aimed at French personnel.

Picture

Hassan Gouled Aptidon was a Djiboutian politician who served as the first President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999.

Image: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Sources

• French Territory of the Afars and the Issas (Wikipedia)
• French Territory of the Afars and the Issas (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.