Draft agreement resolves impasse

A Comoran diplomat confirmed on Tuesday that talks in South Africa between African Union (AU) representatives and the archipelago's leaders at the weekend ended with a draft agreement which could mean an end to months of political deadlock. "All the parties in attendance signed the draft document. The leaders agreed to compromise over the allocation of resources and security arrangements. It is expected that there would be a follow-up meeting to finalise just exactly how the agreement will be implemented," Comoros charge d'affaires in South Africa, Bacar Salim, told IRIN. Since the devolution process last year, in which the islands of Moheli, Anjouan and Grande Comore were granted their own local presidents, tensions have heightened over how the separation of powers between the local presidents and the Union president would work. Overall President Azali Assoumani's Union government controls defence, finance and the archipelago's security apparatus. Under the provisions of the draft document, the Union will maintain control over the country's army, but the police will be administered by local presidents. Another key compromise, Salim said, was the decision to set up a provisional customs council to facilitate the fair distribution of revenue among the three islands. Tax collection has been the main bone of contention between the Union government and those of the islands. In June traders took to the streets to protest paying double taxation, as both the islands' and Union governments claimed the right to tax them. "The council will ensure that each island has the right to collect taxes, but the Union government will also receive a portion of that which would go towards administration," Salim said. Parliamentary elections set for March were indefinitely postponed due to the disagreements. "As soon as the leaders sign the implementation plan we can then move ahead and organise the local elections. This, we hope, will bring the political stability we have been working towards," Salim said.