28 December 2000
OAU-MANDATED MEETING OF MINISTERS OF THE REGION CHAIRED BY DR NKOSAZANA DLAMINI ZUMA, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF SOUTH AFRICA ON 29 DECEMBER 2000
A meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Region, regarding the secession and constitutional crisis in the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros will be held on 29 December 2000 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. This meeting has been mandated by the Organization of African Unity and it will be chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, in her capacity as the Regional Coordinator.
The Secretary-General of the OAU, Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, as well as Ambassador Said Djinnit, Assistant Secretary-General of the OAU, and a team of OAU officials will also be present at the meeting.
This meeting of Ministers of the Region follows on the meeting of Senior Diplomats, Military and Security Experts of the countries of the region and the OAU Troika which took place in Pretoria on 11 August 2000. At this particular meeting, the measures aimed at putting an end to the separatist crisis on Anjouan were reviewed. These measures came into force respectively on 1 February 2000 and 20 March 2000.
The OAU Secretary-General's Special Envoy on the Comoran crisis, HE Minister Francisco Jos=E9 Caetano Madeira of Mozambique led an OAU delegation comprising the designated Diplomats and Military Experts, held a meeting from 10-16 December 2000. Included were the representatives from the countries of the region as well as the OAU's political secretariat. The OAU Experts' delegation has in the interim furnished its report to the Secretary-General of the OAU, of which its findings, observation and recommendations will be submitted to for further deliberation on the way forward.
Minister Dlamini Zuma wishes to avail herself of this opportunity to reiterate South Africa's unwavering commitment in assisting the OAU to facilitate the ending of the Comoran secessionist crisis, a return to constitutional order and democracy, as well as the preservation of the territorial integrity of the Comoros.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT BASETSANA THOKOANE
OFFICE NO. (012) 351 0174
CELL NO. 083 443 7740
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
PRIVATE BAG X152
Pretoria
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