Comoros, a poor micro-state in the Indian Ocean

The Comoros, where a controversial constitutional referendum is scheduled to take place on Monday, has been agitated for a long time by coups and separatist crises.

The Union of the Comoros, home to nearly 800,000 inhabitants, groups the islands of Grande-Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli, and is one of the poorest countries in the world.

– "Islands of the Moon" –

Of a total area of ​​1.870 km2, the Comoros Islands (" Moon Islands ", in Arabic) are located at the mouth of the Mozambique Channel, off East Africa, in the Indian Ocean.

The Karthala Volcano, overlooking the capital Moroni on the island Grande-Comore, culminating at 2,361 meters

Islamized since the twelfth century, the Comoros has 99% Muslim, mostly Sunni. The new Constitution submitted to referendum on Monday removes the notion of secularism and consecrates Islam as a state religion.

The country is also a member of the Arab League.

– Mayotte, source of tensions with Paris – [19659003] In 1974, in the referendum on the independence of the archipelago, Mayotte, the 4th island of Comoros, is the only one to vote for its maintenance in the French fold.

Still claimed by Moroni, supported by several UN resolutions, the island of Mayotte has since nourished tensions between the Comoros and France.

The archipelago is only 70 km from the coasts of French department, and its inhabitants are many to risk the crossing on makeshift boats to immigrate to Mayotte.

– Coups d'Etat and separatism –

Less than one month after independence in 1975, the first President Ahmed Abdallah is overthrown by opposition leader Ali Soilih. In 1978, French mercenary Bob Denard, at the head of a commando, forcibly returned power to former President Abdallah and became commander-in-chief of the army.

In 1989, President Abdallah was murdered in his presidential palace, under mysterious circumstances. Bob Denard, then chief of the presidential guard, tries to take control of the country before leaving Moroni after a French military intervention.

The Comoros then know several years of a double crisis: separatist, with the secession of Anjouan in 1997 – which joined the other islands only in 2001-, and institutional, after the coup that brought Azali Assoumani to power in 1999.

– Controversial Reform –

In December 2001, a the new Constitution is adopted by referendum, creating the Union of Comoros in place of the Islamic Federal Republic of Comoros.

It gives each of its islands a large autonomy and establishes a rotating presidency system between the three islands.

In 2016, the ex-putschist Azali Assoumani (1999-2006) is elected president, after a ballot dotted with incidents.

His decision this year to hold a constitutional referendum raises strong tensions . The text strengthens the powers of the president and allows him to stand for a second consecutive five-year term, while the current Constitution prohibits a head of state to represent himself at the immediate end of his mandate to make room to a president of another island

– Girofle and ylang ylang –

Devoid of big tourist infrastructures, contrary to Mauritius or Seychelles, the archipelago is a country of fishing and agriculture.

Vanilla, clove and especially ylang ylang – plant with the yellow flower sought for its essential oil and used in the composition of perfumes – constitute the main source of foreign currency of the country.

The Comoros, ranked 160th (out of 188) in the UN Human Development Index in 2016, must fight starvation and malnutrition, according to the World Bank.

The country is financially dependent f oats sent by the Comorian diaspora, particularly from France (200,000 to 300,000 people).

According to the World Bank, economic growth accelerated moderately, from 2.2% in 2016 to 2.5% in 2017, mainly due to improved electricity supply and increased remittances from its diaspora.