Comoros V. France

Along the east coast of Africa in the Indian ocean lie several islands, among which Madagascar is the largest island nation. The islands are home to migrants from East Africa, particularly the Bantu peoples, and over the years and centuries, their interaction with Arab (chiefly Oman and Yemen but based on the island of Zanzibar at the same time as the Portuguese first arrived there) and South East Asian (from Indonesia and the other islands off the coast of India) traders brought Islam and plantation slavery to the islands. Later, and with the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, and Germans, Christianity was introduced also maintained the existing plantation slavery. As it lost its colonies in Canada and the US to Britain, France became more engaged on the archipelago, crafting several administrative projects through ransom, coercion, and engineered conflicts between the smaller islands of Comoros and their larger neighbor Madagascar. The peoples of the Comoros began to feel estranged from France as the latter's attention was concentrated on the administration of Madagascar, and when Madagascar became independent in 1960, Comorians intensified their historic efforts for independence. However, in the period between WWII and 1960, France and other European colonists had declared their colonies as their Overseas Territories, and France devised administrative mechanisms to annex its colony islands of Madagascar and Comoros as Departements or districts of Mainland France. After 1960, a depopulation scheme of one of the islands of Comoros, Mayotte, was afoot to create a uniquely French enclave that would be vehemently against independence. Mayotte benefited from housing and other social infrastructure development at the expense of the other three islands as families were separated by deporting non-pliant Mayottans to the other islands.

The history of Comoros is not complete without an understanding of Madagascar, which is separated from mainland Africa via a rift and fissures, aided by the widening of the Mozambican canal of the Indian ocean. A series of flooding events inundated the valley created by the rift and further alienated the Malagaches from their African brethren in Mozambique. The Land covered by Indian ocean waters in the Mozambican canal has now almost quadrupled the visible land area of Madagascar, and this hydrologic separation of the peoples, and their interaction with Asian, Arab, and European seafaring traders and nomads combined to create the diverse peoples and current nations of Madagascar and Comoros.

Here's Dominique Landrein's narrative on Madagascar and a short history of the Island nation after 1800 with the arrival of South East Asians and the French:

Although France's minimalist development efforts were concentrated in Madagascar, there is not much to show for the effort even as late as 2018. Dominique's narrative illustrates the dominance of Christianity in Madagascar as opposed to Islam on the Comoros Islands, testament to the population movements among all the islands, voluntary or involuntary.

A decade after Madagascar's independence, the fervor for independence in Comoros reached a crescendo. Some of the Comorian veterans of France's foreign wars and WWII, who were neglected by liberated France, joined their fellow citizens to agitate for independence in a more disciplined and organized manner. When colonial administration and slavery-lite was no longer seen to be tenable, France agreed to an Indy-referendum in Comoros' four islands in 1974 and the campaign to coerce Mayottans to reject independence intensified. Some 95% of Comoros voted for independence while 5% either abstained or voted No, almost all of whom lived on the island of Mayotte. France devised a plan to hold another Referendum the next year, this time only for the residents of Mayotte, which scheme was rejected by Indy leaders on the other three islands of Comoros. Under the threat of balkanization, Comorian leaders precipitously and unilaterally declared the independence of the nation's four islands, and a Resolution of the UN certified the independence. France, as one of the founding members and Permanent Security Council member of the UN, decided to veto that Resolution and proceeded with its planned Referendum for Mayottans only. In 1975, the remaining population of Mayotte, comprising mostly women (Mayotte was systematically depopulated of its male citizens), voted overwhelmingly to remain a French Overseas Territory with the hope of voting again in the future to become an Administrative District of France.

To defend its continued occupation and colonization of Mayotte, France offers the abolition of slavery as its major accomplishment for the peoples of Comoros and embarked on engineering conflict among the peoples of Comoros setting Mayottans against their neighbors of the other islands, primarily of Anjouan, a good number of whose population live and or have family who live in Mayotte's more diminished communities called bidonvilles or squatters. France offered "True Mayottans" French citizenship and ID cards to access free healthcare, education, employment, and preferential travel to, and resettlement in France.

Here's a story on that abolition of slavery and circumstance:

Since Comoros declared its independence, France has also been engineering coups d'etats of successive Comoros governments with the help of Apartheid South Africa (South Africa had interests to contain the Mozambican government) and the French Secret Service via a former French Military officer cum soldier of fortune, Bob Denard, who was living in Switzerland at the time.

Here is the story of Bob Denard in the Comoros:

For greater perspective, here's how the archipelago of Madagascar and Comoros was traded between the Sultan and French Colonists in 1841. It is important to note that the indigenous population of Africans has always been considered property of the colonists, both Islamic and Christian, and therefore were never considered as owners of their land (property cannot claim title to property):

For some 300 years and counting, France has been exploting, pillaging, and raping in the Comoros. At each instance when the UN passed a resolution to vacate the archipelago, France has vetoed those resolutions on account it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. When it came time to expel Russia from the Security Council for its atrocities and genocide in Ukraine, the UN did not have enough gravitas or credibility to do so. Verily, how could you rely on a criminal to bring another criminal to account? Better yet, how would you justify Russia's expulsion as Permanent member of the UN Security Council when you have failed to remove France for the same atrocities over generations of Comorians??

The Berlin Conference held in 1884-5 at the behest of Portugal by Otto Von Bismark set the ball of wanton crime rolling. It legitimized unrepentant genocide and criminal occupation of lands and peoples by European nations for generations. The same EU that advises Mr. Pootine and China in propriety. No matter how much time elapses, there is no statute of limitation for such heinous crimes, and whatever goodwill follows the crimes, cannot bury the bones or indemnify the criminal. Britain has returned Hongkong to its rightful owners, and the territory of Taiwan belongs to China. The Kuomintang merely took refuge there and China, cognizant of the futility in crimes of genocide, has exercised tremendous restraint over the decades. For that, we are infinitely grateful to China. I encourage continued restraint regarding Taiwan, for I am confident the great peoples of Taiwan will come to, and voluntarily return impounded territory to China without a shot being fired from Beijing. Taiwan must not however rely on soit-disant alliances from Europe or the US for that matter, and continue to illegally occupy Chinese territory. They are best advised to seek refuge in Europe, America, or return back to China with the promise of amnesty.

Comoros is best advised to file suit at the Hague (FWIW) if that formality has not been completed already.

In the coming days, I shall seek audience with the leaders of Comoros and her neighbors, in order to brainstorm development efforts while we look forward to expel France from the archipelago, if it will not vacate peaceably. These efforts will include assurances and mechanisms to protect Mayottans who collaborated with France to commit crimes against their fellows of Comoros. The ruse that the great peoples of Mayotte fear reprisals if they join their fellow citizens of Comoros, if real, cannot justify France's continued criminal occupation of the Union of Comoros. A benign resolution of that fear is for the fearful Mayottans to vacate with France. To France. We shall see if France cares enough about Mayottans to countenance the repatriation of such Mayottans.

We must not make prosecution of crime more complicated than the crime itself.

Haruna.