Comoros

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The Union of Comoros is a group of three islands located off the west coast of Africa northeast of Madagascar. The islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin. The total land mass of the archipelago is slightly smaller than Rhode Island (2,170 square kilometers; 840 square miles). Comoros has one of the world's most underdeveloped economies, based primarily on agriculture. Most of the agricultural output on the islands is for domestic consumption. A combination of a traditional landlord elite and transnational corporations owns most of the land.

Comoros has a population of about 652,000 as of 2004, and 90 percent or more of the population is unemployed. The people of Comoros are of mixed African, Arab, and Malagasy descent. The population is overwhelmingly Muslim (98%), and Islam plays a strong role in everyday life of the people of Comoros.

Formally a colony of France, Comoros declared its independence in 1975. Since then, there has been much political instability, with twenty coups or attempted coups. After over a quarter-century of virtual political chaos, which featured coups by French mercenaries and domestic military forces, the two southernmost islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from the Union in 1997. However, Anjouan was ruled by opposing factions that agreed on secession but disagreed on whether to join France. Fighting broke out on the island, which spread throughout the islands.

Finally, in April of 1999 Colonel Assoumani Azzali (b. 1959) seized power from President Mohamed Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde (1933–2004). Azzali sought to end the bloodshed and the secessionist crisis by adopting a confederal form of government called the 2000 Fombrini Accord. Azzali was subsequently elected president with an overwhelming 75 percent of the vote. However, in the legislative elections held in April 2004 opponents of Azzali, who supported greater island autonomy, gained power, which reinforced the devolution process set in motion by the president.

The new constitution, which is a hybrid of French and Shari'a (Islamic) law, was implemented in 2001 and approved in the subsequent legislative election. The president serves as both the head of state and the head of government, and the office rotates every four years among the elected presidents of each of the three islands. The legislature is unicameral with thirty members, half of whom are chosen by the islands' local assemblies, with the other half chosen through universal suffrage. This arrangement gives considerable power to the individual islands, which are largely autonomous in the confederal arrangement.

The Supreme Court consists of seven members: two are appointed by the president, two by the Federal Assembly, and the remaining three by the legislative council of each island. This court is independent of the legislative and executive branches and reviews the legality of legislation.

Despite its tradition of political instability, Comoros is an emerging democracy, although it is still in its infancy. In 2004 Freedom House ranked Comoros as being "partly free." Numerous provisions in the constitution call for the protection of human rights; prohibit arbitrary arrests, torture, and inhumane forms of punishment; and allow for freedom of press and freedom of speech. Furthermore, the elections held during the early 2000s, in which the political opponents of the president gained strength, were an encouraging sign for those who support democracy. Still, with the extremely high unemployment rate, lack of domestic land ownership, and relatively high illiteracy rate (43.5%), it is clear that many challenges remain for the Union of Comoros.

Federalism; France; Shari'a.

Arab.Net. Comoros. <http://www.arab.net/comoros/&#x 003E;.

"Comoros." In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/cn.html>.

Freedom House. "Comoros." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2004/countryratings/com oros.htm>.

McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of African History, 2d ed. Hong Kong: Penguin Books, 1995.

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