Mar
23
Bloodshed ahead of mutiny showdown on African island paradise
March 23, 2008 | | 2 Comments
By Penny (7)
More troops from the Africa Union arrived on the Comoros island of Moheli on Good Friday joining several hundred other troops from Tanzania, Senegal and Sudan for a military offensive to retake the rebel held Comoran island of Anjouan.
The Comoros is an impoverished three-island Indian Ocean archipelago comprising of Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan, located between Madagascar and Mozambique. Each island is semi-autonomous with its own president and institutions.
In June 2007, Anjouan rebel president Mohammed Bacar was re-elected but central government President Ahmed Abdullah Sambi and the African Union declared the election “illegal” as they had ordered Bacar not to hold local elections. In the coming days, the Comoros federal National Development Army of 400-strong and 1,000 African Unity troops are expected to take part in an amphibious invasion of Anjouan.
Since Comoros gained independence from France in 1975 there have been 19 coups or coup attempts due to political instability and inter-island bickering, between the semi-autonomous islands of Anjouan and Moheli and the central government based on Grande Comore.
Government officials say Bacar wants to separate from Comoros but the rebel leader says he wants more autonomy for Anjouan rather than independence. Already the current situation has led to the deaths of 10 rebel troops and authorities have said that Colonel Bacar will be arrested if he does not leave Anjouan. He will face Comoran courts charged with treason usurpation of power, torture and war crimes. The Comores central government has also promised that Anjouan will hold new elections in May.
In contrast to the tension of continual inter-island bickering, Dubai World Africa, a subsidiary of Duabi World has announced that it is to invest US$70 million in developing a five-star hotel on Grand Comore. The project will redevelop the island’s leading hotel Le Galawa Beach, near the capital Moroni, More than 100 luxury residential villas and townhouses will be added to the development.
Although impoverished, Dubai Africa World believes that Grande Comore has the potential to become a holiday paradise because of its pristine beaches, unspoilt reefs and hiking on the world’s largest active volcano. Already 17,000 tourists mostly from France and South Africa visit the Comoros islands each year.
Apart from tourism, the Comoran people are heavily dependent on foreign aid. Natural resources are in short supply and the islands’ chief exports – vanilla, cloves and perfume essence – are prone to price fluctuations.
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I wonder what the latest is on this…
On Friday 4 April, Mohamed Bacar and 22 supporters were jailed on the nearby French island of Reunion at the request of the Comoros authorities. It’s the first step toward obtaining the men’s extradition. Comoros has 30 days to file the extradition request, which a Reunion court will evaluate. Meanwhile, Bacar and his men have applied to France for political asylum. French officials are studying the requests.