GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATION AND AFRICA STUDY MASTER PROGRAMME THESIS TITLE Mayotte: Stringent relationship between France and Comoros (1975-2015) KAABI MZIARANI: student number (100036991) Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mim Kemal Oke Istanbul, 2018 1 2 I-ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to put the light on the dispute between France and the union of Comoros on the Comorian island of Mayotte. This question as can be read in the twenty resolutions adopted by the United Nations between 1973 and 1994, causes misunderstanding on both sides and unnecessarily fuels passions. This question stems from the dispute between the French State and the Comorian State over Mayotte, when the latter gained full international sovereignty. While France has exercised sovereignty in the island of Mayotte since 1841, the Comoros, since its accession to independence July 6, 1975, claims the island on the ground that it and the other territories of the archipelago of the Comoros form a legal entity, apart from the effective exercise of French sovereignty. This research is based mainly on three important themes. One will be devoted to the reason of the Franco-Comorian conflict on the island of Mayotte, the other theme will show the positions of each party to the conflict (France, Comoros and the island of Mayotte), and in the end it will be necessary to talk about the assets resulting from Franco- Comorian relations. If we analyze this question through a legal approach, this is a question that does not raise any particular difficulty, since it is resolved, on the basis of international law, on the practice of the Organization of the United Nations and the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As a result, any argument to plead Mayotte's membership in the Comoros will not find any unquestionable legal legitimacy. 3 ÖZET Bu çalışmanın amacı, Fransa ve Komorlar Birliği arasındaki Mayotte Como adası ile ilgili ihtilafını aydınlatmaktır. Bu konu, 1973-1994 yılları arasında Birleşmiş Milletler tarafından kabul edilen yirmi kararda da görüldüğü üzere, her iki tarafta da yanlış anlaşılmalara ve gereksiz kızgınlıklara (öfkelere) neden olur. Bu konu, Mayotte, uluslararası tam egemenliğe kavuştuğunda, Fransa ve Komorlar arasındaki Mayotte ile ilgili anlaşmazlıklarından kaynaklanıyor. Fransa, Mayotte adasındaki egemenliğinin 1841 yılından beri geçerliyken, Komorlar, bağımsızlığa kavuştuğu 6 Temmuz 1975 tarihinden bu yana adanın, Fransız egemenliğinin etkin bir şekilde kullanılmasından öte, adanın ve diğer ada toprakları Komor Adaları'nın ayrılmaz bir parçası olduğunu iddia etmektedir. Bu araştırma esas olarak üç önemli temaya (konuya) dayanmaktadır. Biri, Mayotte Adası ile ilgili Fransız-Komor ihtilafının sebebi ile ilişkilendirilebilir, diğer tema her partinin ihtilafa bakış açısını gösterecek ve bu, Fransız-Komor ihtilaf sonucunu göstermekle son bulacaktır. Bu konuyu hukuki bir yaklaşımla analiz edersek, bu, uluslararası hukuka dayanarak Birleşmiş Milletler Örgütü'nün uygulamaları ve Uluslararası Adalet Divanı'nın (ICJ) içtihadı üzerine uluslararası hukuka göre çözülmediğinden, belirli bir zorluk çıkarmayan bir sorundur. Sonuç olarak, Mayotte'nin Komorlardaki üyeliğini savunmak için yapılacak herhangi bir argüman, tartışılmaz bir meşruiyet bulamaz. Anahtar kelimeler: Fransa ve Komorlar ilişkisi, Mayotte Adası ile ilgili ihtilaf, Birleşmiş Milletlerin kararları, Mayotte Adası'nın statüsü 4 II-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like express my hearty thanks and sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor Dr Mim Kemal Oke without her supports her help, this thesis could not be completed. Many thanks are also due to the Istanbul Commerce University for providing me facility and environment suitable to study. I offer my best regards and blessing to all of those who supported me morally and respectively during the completion of this hard work. Finally, I would like to thank to my dearest family, to my sister Amina Mziarani, my father Mr Mziarani Cherehi, my mother Mrs Hadidja Said Hassane and my brother Mradabi Mziarani for their support, love and encouragement throughout this study. , I would not have been able to accomplish this study without love, finances, encouragement and morally support provided by them. 5 III-Abbreviations AFD: French Development Agency AEFE: Agency for French Education Abroad CLAC: Cultural Center of Animation DOM-TOM: Oversea Territory RGPH: General Population and Housing Census CENI: National and Independent Electoral Commission UNDP: United Nation Development Program MENRAC: Ministry of National Education, Reseach, Art and Cultur OIF: International Organization of Francophone UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund FAO Food and Agriculture Organization UN: United Nations AU: African Union COI: Indian Ocean Commission FAZSOI: Force of South Indian Ocean Zone IMF: International Monetary Fond ADB: African Development Bank SNPSF: National Society of Poste and Telecommunication AIMPSI: International Airport Moronic Prince Said Ibrahim COM-AIR: National Aerienne Company MA-MWE: National Company of Water and Electricity ONICOR: National Office for the Importation and Marketion of Rice CSCHR: Society of Hydrocarbury of Comoros 6 OCOVA: Comorian Organization of Vanilla BCC: Central Bank of Comoros BIC: Bank of Industry and Trade OIF: International organization of Francophone COMESA: Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa BIRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development AFDB: African Development Bank IDB: Islamic Development Bank IMO: International Maritime Organization IOC: International Olympic Committee UNEP: United Nations Environment Program RFIC: Islamic Federal Republic of Comoros ODA: Office, Development and Assistance FSPASACA: Support to Airport Security on the African Continent ETI: International Technical Expert IOM: International Organization for Migration W.H.O World Health Organization UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund 7 IV-TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract...............................................................................................................I Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….II Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………..IV Table of contents……………………………………………………………….III List of figures……………………………………………………………………V CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction……………………...…………………………………………6 1.1. Statement of the study…………………………………………………….10 1.2. Purpose of the study………………………………………………………..12 1.3 Research questions…………………………………………………………14 1.4. Objective of the study……………………………………………………..15 1.5. Research methodology…………………………………………………….16 1.6. Literature review……………………………………………………………17 CHAPTER 2: GENERAL INFORMATION ON COMOROS 1. The strategic location of Comoros (geographically)……………………..19 2 Socio economic aspects……………………………………………………..21 2.1 Populations………………………………………………………………….22 2.2 The Comorian society………………………………………………………24 2.3 The economic dependency………………………………………………….27 2-3.1. The historical context………………………………………………………27 2-3.2. The private sector…………………………………………………………..30 2-3.3. The public sector……………………………………………………………31 8 3 Political aspects in Comoros………………………………………………32 3.1- Comoros during pre-independence…………………………………………32 3.1.1 Political power in the pre-colonial period…………………………………..32 3-2. The protectorate system…………………………………………………….34 3.3- The 6th July 1975…………………………………………………………..35 3.3.1 The independence of Comoros………………………………………………36 3.4- The government system in Comoros………………………………………..39 CHAPTER 3: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FRANCE AND COMOROS ON MAYOTTE ISSUE 1 Diplomacy context……………………………………………………………..42 1.1 United Nation on the issue of Mayotte ………………………………………..42 1.1. Admission of Comoros to the United Nations………………………………...43 1.2 African union on the issue of Mayotte………………………………………..47 1.3 Others internationals and regionals institutions on the issue of Mayotte……..50 1.3.1 League Arab states……………………………………………………………50 1.3.2 The movement of non- aligned countries……………………………………..50 1.3.3 Islamic conferences……………………………………………………………51 1.3.4 The European Union…………………………………………………………...51 3. Juridical contexts……………………………………………………………..52 3.1 The Comorian constitutional law……………………………………………...52 3.2 The French constitutional law…………………………………………………53 3.3 The international constitutional law…………………………………………...55 2 Political context………………………………………………………………..58 2.1 Negotiation as the only option to resolve conflicts…………………………….58 2-1.1 Social dialogue in Africa an ancestral practice…………………………………..58 2-1.2 France Comoros: the turnaround of France……………………………………...60 9 2.2 The Comorian government's position on the franco-comorian dispute……..63 2-2.1 Historical…………………………………………………………………………63 2-2.2 Bilateral level…………………………………………………………………….66 2-2.3 Multilateral level………………………………………………………………….67 2-2.4 Condemnation of France to the UN and the AU by the Comoros………………..67 2.3 The position of French government on Mayotte issue........................................71 2.3.1 The strategic importance of Mayotte……………………………………………...71 2.3.2 Divide the Comoros to rule in Mayotte…………………………………………...73 2.3.3 Down with the “Balladur visa”……………………………………………………75 2.3.4 When France invents a law and misunderstands of the UN………………………77 2.4 What does the Mahorian population want? ……………………………………….79 CHAPTER 4: THE OUTCOME OF FRANCO-COMORIAN RELATIONSHIP 1 France Comoros’s Socio Economic Relationships................................................81 1.1 Economic cooperation………………………………………………………………81 2.1 Socio cultural relation………………………………………………………………84 2.1.1 Technical