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Comoros: Raid to Proceed, Says Tanzania
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The Nation (Nairobi)
18 March 2008
Posted to the web 18 March 2008
Levina Kato
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania has rebuffed attempts by South Africa to halt military action to depose President Mohamed Bacar of tiny Comoros island of Anjouan.
Foreign affairs minister Bernard Membe said Tanzania was pushing ahead with the African Union decision to strike against Anjouan despite opposition from President Thabo Mbeki.
"The military offensive begins tomorrow (today) and there is no going back," Mr Membe told The Citizen in a phone interview.
He said Tanzania was surprised and taken aback by President Mbeki's change of heart for the invasion that had received blessing from AU.
The invasion of the tiny Island that has declared independence from Comoros has received tacit support from the international community including from US and France.
Mr Membe's remarks came after reports emerged that the South African leader had written to President Jakaya Kikwete last Friday asking him to shelve the military intervention in the Comoros.
President Kikwete is the current chairman of AU and Tanzania is playing a leading role in the planned attack to eject Mr Bacar from office, and end one of the longest running political crisis in the Island.
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The minister said South Africa's defence of the leadership of Comoro's rebel leader was unacceptable.
Tanzania has sent 750 soldiers, the largest from a single country on the front line. Senegal, Sudan and Comoros itself are to provide the balance of the 1,800 strong contingent of soldiers to be deployed.
For some time South Africa has been involved in efforts to resolve the Comoros crisis and Mbeki's overtures were renewed after the department of foreign affairs received a letter this week from Mr Bacar.
I hope we are not sending our TPDF armies to fight this war. Tanzania has paid enough price getting involved in these kinds of wars. We paid a heavy price providing support, logistics, men and arms to the liberation forces of Africa for over three decades. We paid a heavy price fighting Iddi Amin Dada to put Obote back in power in Uganda and for what? We still have our own wars on poverty and HIV/Aids and Malaria. Our country is resource rich but developmentally still quite poor. We cant afford to squander more resources to get rid of another... [Read Full Text]
Renegade Government in Anjouan which does not have any respect to International Law, and survive on smuggling business is not only a threat to Comoro; it is the threat to all of African countries in and along Indian Ocean and could pose the threat to the world.
AU has taken the right decision to support Comorian Government Military intervention after unsuccessful initiative to solve the problem peacefully. Those who oppose this intervention, do they want to wait until they see another Rwanda or to see the Island becomes another Eastern Congo?
believe or not but this is an important step forward to the stability even shorter period.the african troops and comorian force did good job! it would rather be that way instead see intruders come over our islands.we have so much in our plate.french as mbeki will never stand up for nothing. now we are intersting to know why french would accept asylum to this renegade into the comorian territory in mayotte. that is big shame to france and south africa. is this is not some thing fishy? the french patrol over the offshore in anjouan and myotte helped bacar... [Read Full Text]
How can Mbeki the leader of South Africa chicken out of the plan majority of the AU members agree to? Peace and stability to the Island Nation and all parts of African is more permanent then any ONE leader in Africa. South Africans should be ashamed. I'm not sure if Mbeki is fit for leadership in continental Africa. If the leaders in the AU can not speak with one voice, how can anyone speak of African Unity? Mbeki’s decides to back a rebel leader Mohamed Baca; who will not follow the rule of law. Do Mbeki have any place... [Read Full Text]
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