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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

COMOROS: Inching towards resolution

JOHANNESBURG, 15 August 2003 (IRIN) - A senior Comoran diplomat on Friday said talks aimed at settling the ongoing constitutional crisis in the archipelago were promising, and it was hoped that a resolution to the political impasse would be found by Monday.

In her capacity as chairwoman of the African Union (AU) Executive Council of Ministers, South Africa's foreign affairs minister, Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma this week met with Comoros leaders in Pretoria. The meeting follows last month's visit by an AU delegation to the Indian Ocean islands, which aimed to address obstacles barring the way to free and fair parliamentary elections.

However, the AU returned empty-handed, having failed to get Comoran leaders to compromise on key issues.

"We are all working extremely hard so that this confusion does not continue for much longer. There is definitely a firm political commitment to finding a speedy solution so that we emerge from these talks with something concrete," Bacar Salim, Comoros charge d'affaires in South Africa told IRIN.

Since last year's devolution process, which saw the islands - Moheli, Anjouan and Grande Comore - elect their own presidents and govern most of their own affairs, a power struggle has ensued between Union President Azali Assoumani and the presidents of the three islands. At the heart of the problem is control over security, customs revenue and the country's budget.

"The talks have focused on trying to demarcate who is responsible for specific functions, and there has been progress on that. The idea at the moment is that the army will be under the control of the Union government, whereas the police will be under the control of individual presidents," Salim said.

Also under discussion was how the 2003/04 budget would be distributed among the islands.

"So far the proposal is that Grande Comore would receive 32.5 percent of the budget, with Anjoun and Moheli receiving slightly less because both islands are smaller. The Union government will receive 28 percent," Salim said.

The leaders had agreed that a provisional customs council be created, which would facilitate the fair distribution of revenue among the three islands. Tax collection has been the main point of contention between the Union government and those of the islands.

It is expected that the director-general of such a council would be appointed by the Union government, while the deputy-directors would come from the islands.

Themes: (IRIN) Governance

[ENDS]

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