Revamped Comoros state to be set up in deal to end crisis

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) -- The republic of Comoros will be overhauled, getting a new name, flag and constitution as part of a deal to end a three-year secessionist push by one of its three islands, a senior government official said.

The reconciliation deal was signed Saturday by military ruler Col. Azali Assoumane and separatist leader Lt. Col. Said Abeid Abderemanein, the secretary general in the president's office said Tuesday in a telephone interview from the capital, Moroni. The secretary general, Mahmoud Saleh, said the overhaul will take place within the next 18 months.

"A lot is to change in Comoros, including symbols of the state such as the name of the republic, the national flag and constitution," Saleh said. "But our internationally recognized borders and unity are to remain intact, and to get Anjouan to accept that was an achievement."

Announcement of the deal sparked clashes in Anjouan between supporters and opponents of the declaration, Saleh said. "According to our reports, at least 11 people, including elements of the local militia, have been arrested, and fighting has stopped," he said.

On Saturday, Assoumane's government unilaterally lifted the travel, communications and economic sanctions the Organization of African Unity had slapped on Anjouan after the island failed to abide by an OAU-brokered agreement. But Anjouanese residents on Grande Comore, the main island, told The Associated Press that the situation in Anjouan remains tense and many were scared to travel to Anjouan despite the lifting of the sanctions.

With an estimated population of 692,000, Comoros lives off exports of vanilla, ylang-ylang flowers for perfume and cloves and remittances from Comorians living abroad, mainly in France. The three-island republic has been plagued by coups, assassinations, military rule and secession attempts since independence from France in 1975.

The separatist crisis erupted in July 1997 when Anjouan and Moheli announced plans to secede. Since then, the OAU has used diplomacy and sanctions in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade Anjouan separatists to renounce independence claims.

In April 1999, representatives of the three islands met in Madagascar under OAU mediation. Grande Comore and Moheli agreed to a peace plan, but Anjouan representatives said they had to consult other islanders first. Assoumane assumed power in a military coup later in April after violent demonstrations in Moroni against Anjouan residents there.

Many in Grande Comore are skeptical about the motives behind the separatist leader's decision to return to the fold.

"I do not believe the separatist leadership is ready for normalization of political life in Anjouan and restoration of a democratic process because they have lost the goodwill of the population," Thineya Mwinyi said by telephone from Moroni.

Under the plan, the constitution would grant the three islands considerable control over their own internal affairs. The central government would have jurisdiction over external affairs, external defense, currency and religion, the joint declaration said.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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