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Difficult questions on Comoros incursion
2008-03-26 08:58:03
By Bilal Abdul -Aziz
Pundits of the Comoros politics predicted even before that African Union will score a relatively easy victory in Anjouan whose population is 300,000 and with a few hundred poorly armed troops.
Earlier reports emerging from Anjouan yesterday said AU backed Comoros Union government troops had already gained total control over Anjouan.
This is no surprise at all, as no one expected wonders from Mohamed Bacar, described by pro-Moroni analysts as ``renegade self-declared President.``
With 1,350 AU troops in support, the Union Government under current President Ahmed Sambi walked through the easy way to quickly topple Anjouan`s local leader, French-trained former gendarme Bacar, who allegedly clung to power in an illegal election last year.
After all, Bacar had made very clear from the beginning that he was not after war in defending his position, but vowed to protect the freedom and culture of Anjouan for the best interest of its people.
The Sambi-Bacar wrangle is very interesting really, especially when you find a generally peaceful country like Tanzania leading local troops under AU cover to apply force in settling an affair of a democratic nation.
Despite general backing around the region, continental heavyweight South Africa has expressed reservations about an assault on Anjouan, with Pretoria`s first-in-command, Thabo Mbeki saying dialogue would be preferable.
Mbeki, usually very smart on leadership ethics, however, did not go further to throw more weight in pushing for dialogue and he is now accused of being ``double faced`` on the matter.
His support to application of force hasn\'t been evident, though.
Views are conflicting even inside the Comoros itself.
For instance, the party of Comoros\' former national president Colonel Azali Assoumani also questioned the wisdom of an attack.
``The use of any force would attract the attention of the population of both Comoros and the international community to the groundless character of a fratricidal war whose motives are not convincing,`` said a party statement that was released before Tuesday\'s dawn incursion.
However, after the AU backed incursion on Anjouan, many difficult questions have emerged and they need appropriate answers, honestly.
Some elements in a divided Tanzanian opposition queried, just hours before the incursion, the validity of participation of Dar troops in the AU mission without the endorsement of the National Assembly, as required by the country`s Constitution.
The leader of the opposition camp in the Tanzanian parliament Hamad Rashid quickly countered the argument on a BBC interview on Tuesday evening.
He said ``in case of emergency the President could send troops and inform the House afterwards.``
This is so strange, honestly, because the Comoros political stand-off was not a matter of emergency as Hamad tried to imply. Bacar, as Western scores put `self-declared` Anjouan leader since mid last year.
On top of that the planning as well as military build-up for the mission was planned for months; therefore under normal circumstances, there was some room for executive to seek approval from parliament.
The conclusion here leads us to the first difficult question, which is why on earth; did the commander-in-chief order troops to the AU war mission before seeking House approval?
Is it because the Anjouan`s mission was a matter of emergency that could not wait any longer?
Difficult questions have also been surrounding validity of a questionable, extra-ordinary Tanzanian military presence in the AU mission on the Comoros. Holding presidency of the AU cannot explain it all.
Playing with numbers, some 750 troops in a few hundred soldier convoy, suggests some thing more, somewhere.
Besides, Tanzania appeared to push so much for a military solution than other countries.
Taking into account a poor economic background, with approximately 36 per cent of its people living below the poverty line, Tanzania was counted, and actually, was expected to be a least contributor to the AU mission.
A high-thinking class has therefore been suspecting a vested interest that Dar es Salaam sought to gain from the mission. Questions like, what if Tanzania sent no single troop like other AU members (over 50 of them!)?
What if our troops died or suffered injuries on the course of the mission? What are the benefits of Tanzanian troops taking part? What would be disadvantages, if they did not?
Biased reports on the Comoros over the last three weeks or so had little explanations on the underlying reasons that led the Comoros to the current state of affairs, really.
And most of news pieces and `analysis,` highlighted on a planned military action or its execution not gauging a disappointing history of the Comoros-a close friend to Tanzania for many centuries.
Before Tuesday`s incursion, Bacar was on record making clear he didn`t want to negotiate with the AU basing on the current line of approach, which gave Sambi an upper hand.
President Sambi, the current Comoros Union Government leader, has been successful in winning the backing of the AU and the Western powers, of course and the world almost now believes that Sambi is right and the innocent people of Anjouan are wrong.
As I said previously, there is no way the Comoros can be dressed up properly with a biased approach and much worse, a blind military incursion!
The Comoros, comprising Grande Comore, troubled Anjouan and Moheli, has endured 19 coups or coup attempts since independence from France in 1975.
In dealing with fragile political experience of a country like the Comoros, the AU, friend countries and the international community need to be very carefull, taking into account that there are thin lines of true elements of a long-standing political crisis, in which a seeming politically victorious camp (Sambi\'s) appears to be ruling the game.
The AU mission this week had been executed basing on Sambi\'s claims that his government has tried, through dialogue, to make Anjouan and Bacar respect the constitution of the Union of Comoros.
In a politically rivalry environment, relying on information given by a rival party against an opponent, is wrong.
The people of Anjouan should be left free to decide their future, and that cannot be achieved through military action.
Dialogue and freedom of choosing a destiny is democracy that cannot be achieving militarily.
Anjouan was an autonomous state before coming together with two other islands to form the Comoros.
As people, they have a natural right to decide on the future and destiny of their ancestors\' land, a chance they haven\'t been given, so far.
An AU incursion on Anjouan, cannot provide a lasting solution, but marks the beginning of a new chapter of a long historic book. Short-sighted solutions like these suggest many chapters yet to be written on the Comoros. History shall tell.
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