Comoros

Comoros An African state of islands in the Indian Ocean, of which the main islands are Grande Commore, Anjouan, and Moheli. A fourth island, Mayotte, voted twice against independence and has remained a French territory. The other three islands were under French influence from the 1880s, and were declared a French colony in 1912, administered from Madagascar. They became a French Overseas Territory in 1946, and were granted administrative autonomy in 1961. Independence was achieved on 6 July 1975, and Ahmed Abdallah Abderrahman was elected President. He was deposed, and replaced by Ali Soilih in 1976, who proclaimed a secular, socialist republic. Foreign mercenaries led by Robert Denard overthrew Ali Soilih in 1978, and reinstalled Ahmed Abdallah. In 1989 the latter was assassinated by Denard's mercenaries, who made Ali Soilih's half-brother, Mohamed Djohar, President. This caused the French to intervene and force Denard's group to leave the islands. Djohar readmitted political parties, but was widely accused of corruption in the 1990 elections. These had been held after being postponed four times, against a background of popular unrest. Djohar was deposed in a coup in 1995, and in March 1996, the veteran politician Mohammed Taki Abdoulkarim was elected President.

In 1997 the islands of Anjouan and Moheli seceded from Comoros, as they felt disadvantaged politically, while their inhabitants were discriminated against and even persecuted on the main island of Grande Comore. Following Abdoulkarim's death in office in 1998, the interim president was deposed in a coup in 1999, in which Assoumani Azali assumed the Presidency. In 2000, over 90 per cent of the population of Anjouan confirmed their desire for independence. In 2001 the different sides agreed to a fragile compromise which granted the breakaway islands internal autonomy within a new federal Constitution of the Comoros. The islands continue to be heavily reliant on French aid, which amounted to over 30 per cent of their Gross National Product in the 1990s.