Soldiers oust separatist leader in Anjouan

The army on the break-away island of Anjouan have deposed colonel Said Abeid, who this year entered into a reconciliation agreement with the federal authorities in Comoros, diplomatic sources in the Comoros capital of Moroni told IRIN on Thursday. Sources said soldiers had encircled the presidency and arrested Abeid. “The situation in Anjouan is however reported to be calm and people are going about their business as usual,” a diplomatic source said. Reports from Anjouan indicate that a military junta led by Commandant Halidi, the commander of the Gendarmerie, was now running the affairs of the island. Reports added that the move coincided with the arrival on the island the past few weeks of a number of Anjouanais from the diaspora who were planning to query the “true intentions” of Abeid in the reconciliation process. “The gendarmerie have taken over this afternoon (Thursday),” an official from the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) was quoted in news reports as saying. The coup occurred as many of Anjouan’s political leaders were on the archipelago’s third island, Moheli, to look at a draft constitution formulated as part of plans to redefine relations between the three islands, which make up the Comoros federation. An analyst told IRIN that it was not yet clear what impact this latest development would have on the reconciliation process. “At this stage the new direction that the military of Anjouan want to take has not yet been made public,” the analyst said. “It is also hinted that civilians may be involved but names have not been disclosed yet. Depending on who these are, it could be a new turn and perhaps a serious blow to the reconciliation process. It could also help speed it up.” In August 1997, the Comoros was plunged into a political crisis when Anjouan broke away demanding independence from its sister islands of the Grande Comore. Abeid seized power in 1999, two years after Anjouan unilaterally broke away from the Comoros federation, and until this year resisted attempts to find a diplomatic solution backed by OAU sanctions.