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President Sambi hails Tanzania as liberator
2008-08-26 10:10:14
By Juma Thomas, Dodoma
President Ahmed Mohammed Abdallah Sambi of the Union of Comoros has said Comorians would forever remember the epic role Tanzania played in the struggle against separatist elements that threatened to tear his country apart.
``You were ready to offer your youths to lead the African Union mission to restore territorial integrity in my country. Comorians will always be grateful for that,`` Sambi said in a speech in the National Assembly here yesterday delivered in French.
Tanzanian troops took part in a special AU mission in March this year to depose rebel leader Mohammed Bacar, who had illegally declared himself president of Anjouan.
The Comoros is a union made up of three islands -Grand Comore, Moheli and Anjouan - each of which has its own president while all are responsible to the union president.
Mayotte, which is also part of Comoro, has remained under French rule since the independence of the archipelago.
The AU, whose current chairman is President Jakaya Kikwete, resorted to military intervention after Col Bacar refused to relinquish power and allow democratic elections to be held.
Tanzanian and Sudanese troops supported by Comorian soldiers made a smooth landing on Anjouan Island in late March, forcing Col Bacar to flee to Mayotte.
The rebel leader is now living in exile in Reunion, also under French rule, and the Comoros administration has since pleaded that he be sent back home to face justice but in vain.
President Sambi told the House that the AU forces’ intervention gave his country victory and liberated Anjouan Island without bloodshed.
He said Tanzania was held in very high regard in his country for having selflessly supported the liberation struggles of not only Comoros but also many of its neighbours.
The people of both Tanzania and Comoros were the same and shared the same culture, food and ways of living, he noted, adding: ``Kiswahili is now being taught in the University of Comoros, a clear indication that we are indeed the same people.``
Moving a vote of thanks, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda commended President Sambi for the part he was playing in strengthening relations between Tanzania and Comoros.
He observed that, by virtue of its holding the chairmanship of the AU, Tanzania had the obligation of making sure that all the continental bloc’s member countries were peaceful.
Pinda said that was the reason the country supported military intervention after the Comoros rebel leader refused to heed the AU’s call to relinquish the power he had usurped.
He called on Tanzanians to invest in Comoros and Comorians to invest in Tanzania, saying the government would afford both parties as much assistance as it could in making the dream come true.
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