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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 4, 2002

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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 4, 2002 Comoros Page 1 of 9 Comoros Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 4, 2002 The Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros is ruled by Colonel Azali Assoumani, who took power in a coup in April 1999. The country consists of three islands (Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Moheli) and claims a fourth, Mayotte, which is governed by France. Comoros has been prone to coups and political insurrection since its independence in 1975. In April 1999, army commander Colonel Azali staged a bloodless coup and overthrew President Tadjiddine Ben Said Massounde, the Interim President who had held office since the death of democratically elected President Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim in November 1998. In May 1999, Azali decreed a constitution that gave him both executive and legislative powers. In December 1999, in response to international criticism, Azali appointed a civilian prime minister, Bianrifi Tarmidi; however, Azali remains the Head of State and army Commander in Chief. In December 2000, Azali named a new civilian Prime Minister, Hamada Madi, and formed a new civilian Cabinet. When he took power, Azali said that he would step down in April 2000 and relinquish power to a democratically elected president, but by year's end, he had not done so. In response to pressure to restore civilian rule, the Government organized several committees to draft a new constitution, including the August 2000 National Congress and November 2000 Tripartite Commission. The opposition parties initially refused to participate in the Tripartite Commission, but on February 17, representatives of the Government, the Anjouan separatists, the political opposition, and civil society organizations signed a "Framework Accord for Reconciliation in Comoros," brokered by the Organization for African Unity (OAU). The Accord called for the creation of a new Tripartite Commission for National Reconciliation to develop a "New Comorian Entity" with a new constitution. Although the Commission set June as its goal for completing the constitution and December for national elections, disagreements over procedure and goals delayed completion of the draft constitution. In August representatives from each island in August debated the first draft. On December 23, the draft Constitution, which calls for the reincorporation of Anjouan, Grand Comoros, and Moheli into a new federation that would grant the islands greater autonomy, was approved overwhelmingly in a referendum described by international observers as free and fair. Under the terms of the new Constitution, President Azali had 7 days to decide to either lead the transitional government until elections in March 2002 or to stand in the elections himself; however, by year's end, he had neither stepped down from office nor withdrawn from the March 2002 election. The new Constitution provides for the continuation of an independent judiciary. In the past, both the executive and other elites influenced the outcome of cases; however, there were no reports of interventions during the year. The Anjouan secession crisis subsided after the August 2000 signing of the "Fomboni Declaration of National Unity" by Azali and separatist leader Lieutenant Colonel Said Abeid. The Fomboni Declaration provides for a loose confederation between the islands, giving each island the ability to maintain an army and conduct its own foreign relations. In August separatist soldiers, reportedly dissatisfied with pay and promotions, started protests that led to the overthrow of Abeid in Anjouan. A three-man military commission replaced him as leader of Anjouan; Abeid fled to Mayotte and was placed under house arrest. The new military commission pledged to support the reconciliation process begun by the February Accord. Between November 3 and 4, Abeid made an unsuccessful attempt to regain control of Anjouan by attacking forces loyal to the new military commission, but he quickly was defeated. The coup attempt did not appear to threaten the Fomboni Agreement. On December 19 on Moheli, 13 French mercenaries launched a coup attempt that the army defeated after several hours of fighting. Colonel Hassan Harouna, a defense official in the government of former President Abdoulkarim, was arrested the same day and accused of organizing the coup in order to prevent the December 23 referendum. The Comorian Defense Force (FCD) and the Gendarmerie are responsible for internal security and are under Azali's direct control. Security forces committed some human rights abuses. The economy of this extremely poor country is dominated by agriculture; the country's population is approximately 578,400. Revenues from the main crops--vanilla, essence of ylang-ylang, and cloves--continued http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8316pf.htm 11/26/2002 Comoros Page 2 of 9 to fall while the population has been growing at a rate of 2.7 percent annually. Per capita income was approximately $400 (226,500 Comorian francs) per year in 1997--the national accounts have not been updated since 1998. The country depends heavily on foreign assistance from the European Union, China, and Arab countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the United Arab Emirates. The Government's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit abuses. Citizens do not have the right to change their government. Prison conditions remained poor. Security forces and the separatist authorities on Anjouan used arbitrary arrest and detention. Authorities restricted citizens' privacy rights. There were infringements on freedom of the press and assembly and movement. The military Government limited freedom of religion, and security forces reportedly continued to threaten Christians. Societal discrimination against women and Christians continued to be serious problems. There were some instances of forced child labor. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life There were no reports of the arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life by security forces on Grande Comore or Moheli; however, during a December 19 unsuccessful coup attempt on Moheli, soldiers killed four invading mercenaries; two other mercenaries were lynched by a mob. No persons were killed during the November 3-4 unsuccessful coup attempt in Anjouan. In addition to the police and the military, there are many groups throughout Anjouan that are armed, including paramilitary forces, militias, and civilians. In 1999 battles between rival militias resulted in approximately 12 deaths; however, there were no such deaths reported during the year. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The new Constitution prohibits such practices, and there were no reports of security force brutality, and unlike in the previous year, police did not threaten Christians on Grande Comore (see Section 2.c.). In October 2000, police used tear gas to disperse forcibly a demonstration; some protesters were arrested, although all were released by year's end following various periods of detention. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that separatist security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused persons on Anjouan. In August 2000, separatist authorities on Anjouan arrested approximately 100 opponents of the Fomboni Declaration, following demonstrations against the agreement. There were unconfirmed reports that as many as 28 of those arrested, who primarily were members of the Comoros Red Crescent Society and the opposition party Group for the Recovery Initiative for the Anjouan Movement (GIRMA), were tortured, and, in one case, raped. By November 2000, the Government had freed all of those arrested; however, there were no reports of government action against those persons responsible for the abuses. In 1999 quasi-police authorities known as embargoes arrested, beat, and detained three local Christians; there was no further information on the incident at year's end. Prison conditions continued to be poor. A lack of proper sanitation, overcrowding, inadequate medical facilities, and poor diet are common problems. The military Government has not taken action to remedy these problems. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of deaths as a result of disease in prisons during the year. Female prisoners are held separately from male prisoners. Juveniles are not imprisoned; they are returned to the custody of their parents. Pretrial detainees are not held separately from convicted prisoners. The military Government permits prison visits by independent monitors, and two such visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Association Comorienne des Droits de l'Homme (ACDH) occurred during the year. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8316pf.htm 11/26/2002 Comoros Page 3 of 9 d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile The new Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, teenagers, who were considered "trouble makers," occasionally were arrested arbitrarily. In August Anjouan separatist leader Abeid fled to Mayotte after he was overthrown; he was placed under house arrest upon his arrival but was released on August 12 (see Section 3). In March Judge Omar ben Ali of the Tribunal de premiere instance ordered the arrest of an attorney on a charge of contempt of court, allegedly because he had not followed the proper procedures in registering himself as the attorney of record in the case. On April 12, the libel case was settled out of court, and the charges against the attorney were dropped immediately. In August 2000, authorities arrested four opposition politicians, including Cheik Ali Bacar Kassim, former Member of Parliament (M.P.) and owner of the opposition radio station Radio Tropique, for allegedly plotting to overthrow Colonel Azali. The four were detained in a military prison, despite a judge's order to transfer them to the civilian prison in Moroni (see Section 1.e.). In November 2000, one of the four escaped from prison. Two others then were released, leaving only Cheik Ali in prison.
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