Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
10 May 2001
A meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Region as mandated by the Organisation of African Unity and chaired by the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr NC Dlamini Zuma, in her capacity as the Regional Co-ordinator regarding the secessionist and constitutional crisis in the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, will be held on Friday 11 May 2001 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The meeting will also be attended by the Assistant Secretary General of the OAU, Amb Said Djinnit as well as the Secretary General's Special Envoy on Comoros, HE Minister Francisco JC Madeira and a team of OAU officials.
The meeting of Ministers of the Region on 11 May 2001 follows on the previous meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Region and the OAU Troika, which took place in Pretoria on 29 December 2000 regarding the secessionist and constitutional crisis in Comoros. It will be recalled that the Ministerial Meeting of 29 December 2000 mandated an OAU delegation of senior diplomats and experts to visit the Comoros in order to facilitate ways and means of ending this crisis. The delegation was chaired by the Secretary General's Special Envoy on Comoros, HE Minister Francisco JC Madeira of Mozambique. The visit of this delegation commenced on 7 January 2001 and included representatives from South Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius.
The delegation engaged in intensive talks with all parties on all three islands and facilitated the all-party talks which culminated in the signing of a Framework Agreement on 17 February 2001, by all parties, which stipulates phases and mechanisms aimed at bringing about national reconciliation, free and fair elections and the restoration of the territorial unity and integrity by the end of 2001. The May 11 Regional Meeting of Ministers will further deliberate on ways and means of assisting the Comoran people in this process.
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: Mr Ronnie Mamoepa: Cell No: 082 9904853 Or Ms Basetsana Thokoane: Cell No: 083 443 7740