VZCZCXRO6903
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAN #0198 0820920
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230920Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2229
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000198 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND AF/FO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV EAID CN FR
SUBJECT: France's Last African Colony Votes 
 
REF: 08 ANTANANARIVO 716 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The island of Mayotte, governed by France but 
claimed by the Union of the Comoros since independence in 1975, will 
vote March 29 in a "consultation" to become a French Overseas 
Department.  Most observers expect the overwhelming majority of 
Maorais to vote in favor of becoming a Department, preferring 
subsidies to autonomy.  Comorans on the three independent islands 
will protest to express their outrage. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Mayotte is France's last colonial territory in Africa, 
governed under "Overseas Collectivity" status which is neither 
Territory nor Department in the French system.  Mayotte's population 
of 200,000 includes "European" and Reunionais minorities, indigenous 
Maorais and ethnic Comoran French citizens, and tens of thousands of 
illegal immigrants from the Comoros.  Mayotte has a high degree of 
autonomy, with much Shari'a Law incorporated into legal codes, 
tolerance of polygamy, local language instruction in schools, and 
significant authority of local government under the Prefect and 
General Council.  Most observers expect the vote to pass by a wide 
margin, indicating Maorais willingness to give up autonomy for the 
increased subsidies from France that are expected to come with 
Department status.  According to the French Ambassador to the 
Comoros, Paris has attempted to inform Maorais voters of the 
potential negative consequences that may come with diminished 
autonomy.  Ambassador Hallade also told Comoros Officer, contrary to 
Comoran press reports, that even in the event of a "yes" vote, it 
will take many years for Mayotte's laws and institutions to be 
reformed to qualify to be a Department -- at great expense to the 
GOF (REFTEL).  According to French colleagues in the Comoros, a 2000 
French National Assembly resolution granted Mayotte this right of 
self-determination. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The vast majority of Comorans on the independent islands of 
Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Moheli maintain an emotional claim that 
Mayotte belongs to the Comoros.  One former Minister recently 
quipped, "We raise our children from an early age to believe France 
stole Mayotte from us."   Comorans are virtually unanimous in their 
belief that international law is on their side and Mayotte should be 
returned to them.  Signs around Moroni declare "Mayotte is Comoros 
and will be forever," and there is an active "Mayotte Committee" 
that constantly pressures the Union Government to do more to 
pressure France to give the island back. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Under this popular pressure, President Sambi has mentioned 
Mayotte in his speeches to the UN General Assembly, but foreign 
ministry contacts have told us the proper procedural steps have 
never been followed to even request to have Mayotte officially on 
the UNGA agenda.  Comoran officials often site the 1976 draft UN 
Security Council Resolution that would have granted Comoros 
sovereignty over Mayotte; it was vetoed by France.  During the 
recent Inter-Comoran Dialogue to address chronic institutional, 
governance and constitutional problems in the Comoros, several 
speakers blamed all of the country's problems on the Mayotte issue. 
One civil society speaker passionately exclaimed, "Once France 
returns Mayotte to the Comoros, we will be stable and prosperous!" 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Mayotte issue permeates all aspects of Comoran life.  A 
mere 34 years since the islands parted ways, Mayotte's standard of 
living is about 10 times higher.  Comorans resent needing a visa to 
travel to Mayotte (although Ambassador Hallade said 95 percent of 
these applications are approved).  They protest illegal Comoran 
immigrants being expelled from Mayotte; officials at the port of 
entry often refuse to accept them upon return.  Hundreds of Comorans 
die every year attempting to cross the treacherous seas between 
Anjouan and Mayotte to illegally immigrate.  Another contact noted 
that in pre-colonial history the inhabitants of Mayotte were 
inferior to Grande Comore, even slaves, thus Grande Comorans resent 
these "lower castes" enjoying all the benefits in the Collectivity. 
As bizarre is the widely held Comoran belief that France has 
deliberately destabilized Comoros so that the country could never 
mount a serious claim to retake Mayotte. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Post has heard many hypothetical "strategic" reasons for 
which France kept Mayotte in 1975; none of them is very convincing. 
With La Reunion a French Department in the Indian Ocean, what need 
is there for Mayotte's costs and headaches?  Perhaps the presence of 
a minority of European Catholics in Mayotte persuaded Paris to 
maintain Mayotte after 1975 and they have been stuck with it ever 
since.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
MARQUARDT