Ministers from the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) meeting in South Africa this week have urged the separatist island of Anjouan in the Comoro Islands to sign an agreement that is designed to keep the Indian Ocean archipelago intact. A statement issued by the OAU said: "The ministerial meeting urged the Anjouanse side to reconsider their intransigent position and sign the agreement without further delay so the processes provided therein can be implemented." The statement said that OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim had given the separatists until 1 February next year. OAU ministers at the meeting in Pretoria said that "serious measures" would be taken if the separatist leaders failed to sign the agreement. The agreement, according to media reports, sets out broad autonomy for each of the Comoro Islands under a national structure.
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