| May 15, 2008
The Comoros government has welcomed France's rejection of a
request for political asylum by Anjouan's toppled rebel
leader, Mohammed Bacar, but its refusal to extradite the
ousted Colonel has sparked outrage in the impoverished
Indian Ocean archipelago.
"We are relieved that France is not
granting asylum to someone like Bacar, but we do not
understand why they do not want to send him here," Comoros
government spokesman Abdourahim Said Bakar told UN
Integrated Regional Information Networks. The Comoros Union
government has accused Bacar of crimes against humanity and
wants him to stand trial either at home or in an
international court.
Mohammed Bacar refused to step down as
president of Anjouan, one of three main islands in the
Comoros, after a disputed election in June 2007. He fled
when a military operation backed by the African Union (AU)
allowed the central government to regain control of Anjouan
in March.
The rebel leader and about 20 key
aides escaped to the nearby French island of Mayotte. They
were arrested for illegally entering French territory and
being in possession of arms, and held in military custody on
Reunion, another French island in the Indian Ocean.
On 15 May the Reunion refugee
authority announced that France would not grant asylum, but
also would not return Bacar to Comoros for risk of
persecution. Government spokesman Bakar rejected the notion
that Mohammed Bacar might not face a fair trial.
"There are false accusations against
us. Yes, we have the death penalty, but ... we guarantee
Mohamed Bacar a fair trial," he said. "He should be punished
for the crimes he has committed; nothing more."
There are false accusations against
us. Yes, we have the death penalty, but ... we guarantee
Mohamed Bacar a fair trial
The Comoros government has applied for
Mohammed Bacar to be extradited and a court ruling on this
is expected at the end of May, but relations with France
have grown increasingly tense.
Many people in the Comoros believe the
French government may have played a role in the escape of
Bacar and his supporters from Anjouan, sparking widespread
anti-French sentiment and demonstrations in the national
capital, Moroni.
Their suspicions were compounded when
a French helicopter made an emergency landing on Anjouan
just days before the assault force landed. France said the
helicopter was on the lookout for illegal fishing activity
off the coast of Mayotte, but the incident remains shrouded
in mystery.
According to the Comoros government,
some 200 Bacar loyalists were imprisoned after the assault
and are now awaiting trial. The government spokesman said a
home trial for Mohammed Bacar would be symbolic, signalling
hope of better times to come.
Political
problems and poverty
With a population of 700,000, Comoros
is one of the poorest and most indebted nations in the
world. Incomes have been shrinking in real terms for the
past 20 years, falling to an average US$633 per capita in
2004.
The deep-rooted poverty and social
problems affecting most of Anjouan's 300,000 people have
mostly stemmed from years of general underdevelopment
throughout the islands, but worsened during the roughly
seven years of rule by the ousted Bacar government.
Political volatility has been a
hallmark of Comoros since the islands achieved independence
from France in 1975. To date the archipelago has weathered
about 20 successful and attempted coups.
A complex electoral system, brokered
in 2001 by the Organisation of African Unity, predecessor of
the AU, provides for a semi-autonomous government and
president for each of the three islands, with a rotating
presidency for the over-arching Union government.
A re-run of Anjouan's presidential
poll is due mid-June.
In March, just before the assault that
toppled Anjouan's rebel leader, Mohamed Bacar, aid
organisations warned that the offensive could have dramatic
humanitarian implications. However, government forces met
with minimal resistance and Bacar fled to neighbouring
Mayotte, a French administered island.
The United Nations has since received
US$534,000 to help Anjouan rebuild its administration and
cover basic humanitarian needs, according to Opia Kumah, the
UN Resident Coordinator in Comoros.
"We believe with this money we can
help Anjouan to cover its basic needs - that includes the
most needed medication as well as helping to re-establish a
fundamental administration." Kumah said government offices
were looted during the assault and the administration lacked
basic office equipment and documents.
Poverty and repression under Bacar
forced many skilled workers, including doctors and teachers,
to leave Anjouan, but the scale of the situation only became
clear after Bacar relinquished control in March, roughly
seven years after taking power in a coup.
"We lack basic medication on the one
hand, and on the other hand we have doctors and teachers who
worked during Bacar's period and have never been paid,"
Abdou Salami, in charge of education and health in Anjouan's
newly established transitional government, told IRIN.
The problems
were already there
Kumah said the island's deep-rooted
problems could not be attributed to the assault itself.
Instead, they mostly stemmed from years of general
underdevelopment throughout the country, but were
exacerbated on Anjouan under the rule of the ousted Bacar
government.
Years of political bickering and
simmering secessionism since independence from France in
1975 have worn away standards of living in the Comoros. The
population of roughly 700,000 is growing, but the economy
cannot keep pace: for the past 20 years average incomes have
shrunk in real terms.
According to the UN Development
Programme, which also monitors progress in emerging
countries, gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen by -0.5
percent annually since 1990, reaching $640 per capita in
2005. External debt is estimated at a whopping 72 percent of
GDP.
In October 2007, failing to negotiate
an end to the deadlock between Anjouan and the other two
Comoran islands, Grande Comore and Moheli, the AU Peace and
Security Council imposed sanctions against the leadership of
Anjouan, deepening the island's isolation and sparking
concern over the availability food and fuel for the
population.
In light of the cash-strapped
archipelago's problems, the funds are more than welcome. The
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development noted
that Official Development Assistance (ODA), on which the
Indian Ocean islands are heavily dependent, plunged from
around $60 million a year in 1990 to $25 million in 2005.
The trouble
with elections
Individual island elections in June
2007 sparked the latest spate of hostility between Anjouan
and the Union government, when Anjouan forces killed two
national soldiers trying to enforce a constitutional court
decision ordering Bacar to step down as Anjouan's president.
This marked a return to the political
volatility that has been a hallmark of Comoros since the
islands achieved independence. To date the archipelago has
weathered about 20 successful and attempted coups.
A complex electoral system, brokered
in 2001 by the Organisation of African Unity, predecessor of
the AU, in the wake of Moheli and Anjouan seceding from
Grand Comore in 1997 - when an attempt by the government to
re-establish control over the rebellious islands by force
failed - provides for a semi-autonomous government and
president for each island, with a rotating presidency for
the over-arching Union government.
According to Salami, the first round
of voting for the presidency of Anjouan will be held in the
second half of May, followed by a second round in the first
week of June. "We are now concentrating all our forces to
build a stable base here in Anjouan, so that after the
elections the new government here will have a good start."
France -
Comoros relations under strain
Bacar is now on La Reunion, another
French island in the Indian Ocean, where he has applied for
asylum. Comoros is demanding his extradition, and relations
with France, the former colonial power, have grown
increasingly tense.
Many people in the Comoros believe the
French government may have played a role in the escape of
Bacar and about 20 of his supporters to Mayotte. Suspicions
were compounded when a French helicopter made an emergency
landing on Anjouan just days before the assault force
landed. France claimed the helicopter was patrolling for
illegal fishing activity off the coast of Mayotte but the
incident remains shrouded in mystery.
The Comoros Union government wants
Bacar to stand trial either at home or in an international
court. Comoros government spokesman Abdourahim Said Bakar
told IRIN: "It [extradition] may take a long time, but we
will get Bacar back to the Comoros." |
