The South African Government has condemned the military take-over of the Government of the Comoros. It is particularly regrettable that this coup d'etat took place shortly after the Comoran inter-island conference in Antananarivo last week, where considerable progress was made in the search for solutions to the secessionist problems besetting the archipelago.
Following OAU mediation the parties signed the Antananarivo Accord, which provides for a new and decentralized constitutional dispensation, aimed at giving a large degree of autonomy as well as equal allocation of resources to all three islands.
The South African Government appeals to the military on the island of Grande Comore to return the island to civilian rule, to abide by the Antananarivo Accord and to observe human rights and the protection of property.
The South African Government furthermore calls upon the population of Anjouan and their representatives not to exacerbate the prevailing instability any further by delaying their consent to the Accord of 23 April 1999.
Latest reports suggest that the situation is calm and that South African tourists on Grande Comore are not in any immediate danger.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRETORIA
30 APRIL 1999