Comoros: The Opposition Is Already Castigating The Outlines Of The Dialogue Announced By Azali
The Comorian head of state, in response to a letter sent to him by the opposition, said he was in favor of opening discussions with political forces and economic players to create the conditions to guarantee a transparent presidential election in 2024. But the approach does not suit its opponents who demand above all the release of political detainees, including the former president, Sambi.
The Expanded Common Front continues to maintain pressure on Azali Assoumani, the President of the Union of the Comoros. Despite the eagerness he has shown to respond to the letter from this coalition of opponents, he still fails, according to observers, to give pledges of his goodwill. On Friday, in a statement made at the National Assembly mosque, he expressed his readiness to open talks for the holding of a peaceful election. “I would therefore like to renew my sincere thanks to the members of the opposition and to reiterate to them my full availability to receive them in order to examine with them and the political, economic and civil society leaders of our country, all the possible ways likely to guarantee free, transparent and democratic elections in our country for next year”, he declared, during a brief address to the nation delivered on March 25, on the occasion of the beginning of the “sacred” month of Ramadan.
If he thought, with these words, to reassure his opponents by making them understand that he too was concerned about the upcoming electoral deadlines, the tenant of Beit-Salam will therefore have missed his shot. Indeed, this statement was not at all to the taste of the opposition, which issued a rather harsh press release the next day. “The Common Front against the dictatorship, a political body, remains inflexible, is, will never be willing to participate in yet another dialogue that Azali intends to organize, nor respond to an invitation from him”, insists, Ahmed Hassane El- Barwane, Executive Secretary signed the statement.
” False Declaration “
The coalition has given its reasons. “We recall contrary to his false declaration in the house of Allah, the Almighty, that we do not see in this man any tangible act that can bring us closer by talking about strengthening peace in the country which he destroyed against the best living together in our society”, specifies the document published on Saturday evening. For the Comorian opposition, there is no question of taking part in discussions without the release of political prisoners, in particular the former raïs, Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, who will celebrate his five years of imprisonment within three months. Sentenced to life imprisonment, the ex-president also lost his civil rights, in the so-called economic citizenship case, the trial of which was held in November. At the end of this same hearing, Mohamed Ali Soilihi, current leader of the opposition exiled in France, took twenty years in prison. As for Abdou Salami, former governor of the island of Anjouan, he is serving a twelve-year sentence in another case of insurrection. These three leaders as well as the other political detainees judged definitively must first be released, demand the opponents. Without this, no dialogue is possible, it is clarified on the side of the Common Front, which on March 16 sent Azali Assoumani a series of proposals intended to promote the holding of a transparent election in 2024.
Invitation From Economists
On March 21, the Comorian head of state acknowledged receipt of this letter while ensuring that he would not fail to initiate an initiative in this direction. The problem is that the contours announced during his recent speech consisting in inviting economic actors into the talks have already been rejected by the opposition. “From Assoumani’s speech, it is clear that he wants to once again create some semblance of dialogue. Otherwise how is it that in a purely political debate, we call on economic actors, for what. It’s just a way to bamboozle people and drown out the problems,” said Common Front spokesman Ibrahim Abdourazak Razida. According to the latter, the only step that would open the way to a beginning of appeasement would be the following: “He only has to release the political prisoners, period. And we will then sit down to discuss how to organize transparent and democratic elections,” said Razida, one of the fiercest opponents of President Azali Assoumani, who since February 18 has led the African Union. A status on which the opposition seems to want to take advantage of it to obtain guarantees.
In the same vein, the opposition is calling for international mediation if ever a dialogue is organized.
This article is originally published on mayottehebdo.com
