A/35/PV.74 General Assembly

I s~ould like before beginning my statement, to express sincere sympathy with those who have suf- fered from the terrible earthquake in Italy. I hope that the people and Government of Italy will find in this the expression of the deep sadness and grief of the Government and people of Comoros, who feel that they share in what has happened to the brotherly people of Italy. 2. The question of the Comorian Island of Mayotte is a familiar one in the Assembly, which has debated it during earlier sessions. Indeed, the General Assem- bly had this problem before it for the first time at its thirty-first session, just after the Comoros was ad- mitted to the United Nations, and on 12 November last my country celebrated the fifth anniversary of that historic event: five years during which we have been able to assess from within the political maturity of the Organization and also the enormous opportunities it offers for action. 3. I should like to take this opportunity to express the gratitude of the Government and people of the Comoros for the constant support which the Assembly has always given to the Comorians and to the struggle we are carrying on to safeguard our unity and our territorial integrity. The Republic of the Comoros was admitted to the Organization as a State made up of four islands: Anjouan, Grande-Comore, Mayotte and Moheli, as provided in General Assembly resolu- tion 3385 (XXX). In taking this decision the Assembly based itself particularly on resolution 1514 (XV)-the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which guaranteed, inter alia, the national unity and territorial integrity of those countries. NEW YORK 4. ~~ance, the former administering Power, always adm.lnlstered th~ Com.o,ro Archipelago with respect for Its geographic, political, social and cultural unity and thus as an entity made up of four islands. There- fo~e there is good reason to wonder why, when the unity of the Comoros was never challeng-;d during ~he entire colonial period, one of the component Islands, Mayotte, should today suffer a different fate. The frontiers which France always recognized in the Comoros were never established, for simple reasons of administrative ease. They quite simply met the need for France to respect the unity of a territorial whole made up of a homogeneous people, sharing the same language and culture and practising the same religion that of Islam. Thus that unity was never challenged a~d on many occasion~ ~as ~olemnly reaffirmed by the highest French authorities fight up to the eve of inde- pendence. That independence had been meticulously p~epared for, .so that it might take place smoothly and without surprise, even though fate decided otherwise. 5. Indeed, in December 1972, that is to say, less than three years before the proclamation of indepen- dence, the Territorial Assembly of the Comoros, or t~e Ch~m~er of Deputies, the legislative body at that time within the framework of the status of internal self-government, adopted a resolution whereby it gave a ma~date !O the local government to study and to negotiate with the French Government the accession of the Comoros to independence. 6. In implementation of this desire of the people a delegation led by the head of the local government: Mr. Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane, the present Presi- dent of the Republic, went to Paris in June 1973. After long and detailed discussions between the two parties, the French and the Comorians, the Joint Declaration on the Accession to Independence of the Comoro Archipelago;' was signed and made public. This Declaration, also known as the Agreements of 15 June ~fter solemnly recognizing the Comoros' destiny or Independence, explicitly defined the conditions in which the accession of the Comoros to independence was to take place. 7. First, the period extending from the date of the publication of the Declaration of 15 June 1973 until the referendum on self-determination was described as a period of transition. During that period, certain powers that were within the exclusive competence of the French Government were to be transferred to the Comorian Government, particularly in the areas of management and over-all control of the financial system and oftechnical assistance personnel, and were to cover all four islands. With regard to other areas in particular national defence, the currency and diplo: tion satisfactory to all the parties concerned.3 In our view, this involved the application of resolution 1514 (XV) on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples. It involves, also, the applica- tion of a principle reaffirmed in the charter of the OAU: the inviolability of colonial frontiers. Finally, it involves commitments undertaken by the parties concerned to settle this question in a spirit of mutual understanding. 37.' Senegal, which has the advantage of enjoying very good relations both with France and with the Government of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, welcomes the talks undertaken between the two parties in order to find a just and equitable solu- tion to this question, in keeping with General Assembly resolution 3385 (XXX). 38. In conformity with our practice in international relations, we encourage the parties to engage in a dialogue in order to overcome misunderstandings and to promote a solution-which, of course, requires political will. 39. As was shown by the statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Comoros, the negotiations foresee and provide for a future of co-operation, as can be seen also from the various financial and eco- nomic agreements concluded in those areas between the Governments of the Comoros and France. 40. We are also happy to note that the dialogue between the two parties is beginning and is producing a climate of confidence. We hope that it will be pos- .-ible to overcome all the technical difficulties, so that the' unity of the Islamic Federal' Republic of the Comoros may be restored. In any case, my delegation believes that the contacts between the two parties should be maintained and encouraged. My delegation also feels that it is the duty of the United Nations to help the OAUin the search through its Committee of Seven for appropriate measures to promote a settle- ment of the question of Mayotte. 41. My delegation will continue to support the praiseworthy efforts of the parties concerned in their search for a just and lasting settlement of the question of Mayotte. 42. Mr. LEPREITE (France) (interpretation from French): A tragedy has just struck Italy. I should there- fore like, before I begin my statement, to express my delegation's C::~ep sympathy to the Italian people-our neighbour, our friend and our ally. 43. The facts in the case at present before us are not as simple as some pretend to believe. History has forged links among the various components of the Comoro Archipelago, but it has also forced links between France and each of the component parts of that archipelago. Although geography seems to , \ 44. . 'France bowed to the cardinalrule of self-deter- min~jion and allowed the inhabitants of the various islands of the archipelago, through democratic elec- tions, freely to choose their destiny. Everybody here is familiar with the circumstances in which the people of Mayotte, in full freedom, stated different views in 1974 and 1976 from the people of the other islands. It is hardly necessary for me to describe those events again, but the facts are there and they entail certain consequences. 45. The inclusion of item 25 in the agenda con- stitutes interference in the internal affairs of France and is contrary to the relevant provisions of the Charter. My delegation could not but oppose that decision, and we did so in the 1st meeting of the General Committee on 17 September. Ifwe are taking part today in this debate-for which there is no justifi- cation-it is in the interest of the truth and so as to provide the Assembly with information on which it can base its decision. We are not doing so in a polemic spirit. We should be pleased if reason prevailed over the temptations of sterile confrontation. 46. History shows that for a century France and the Comoros shared a common destiny. The first French settlements in Mayotte go back to 1843; contacts with the other islands came later. 47. While undergoing great change and while being influenced like other countries by new ideas, the Comoros kept their identity throughout the period. The four islands developed smoothly and without interruption. When the time for independence came the French Government, far from wishing to dissociate itself from Territories which it had brought together under a single unique administration, thought instead in terms of international sovereignty for a single State made up of four islands. As it happened, the Mahorais-for reasons that are no mystery-dearly expressed in their votes their unwillingness to belong to the Republic of the Comoros at the time of inde- pendence. In keeping with the democratic institu- tions which govern France, Mayotte decided to remain within the French Republic, just as freely as Mohel], Anjouan and Grande-Comore chose independence. 48. Some have held that the principle of territorial integrity was somehow transgressed. Need we observe that those who criticize that procedure here complain that it has not been applied elsewhere? The only reliable criterion is of course, the will of the peoples. 49. I shall mention only the theory of administrative attachment which, like geography, Can have con- tradictory consequences. The Comoros and Mada- gascar, for example, for a certain period of time were under the same administrative authority. 50. Despite these principles, these legal facts, these historical and geographical realities, the fact remains that the four islands of the archipelago have much in common. Since the independence of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, the French Govern- ment has refrained from any action whatsoever which

The only excuse which my delegation will offer for speaking on this item is that my Government maintains the most friendly and co-operative relations with the Governments of both the Comoros and France. We wish to make-a very brief statement on this item in order to avoid any pos- sible misunderstanding with the Government of France. SS. We have before us a draft resolution [A/35/L.31 and Add.Ti. My delegation will, along with the over- whelming majority of our colleagues from the third world, and from the non-aligned movement in par- ticular, vote in favour of that draft resolution. 56. Why will we do so? We will do so on the ground that when a colonial Territory, such as the Comorian Archipelago, which has been administered as one integral unit by the colonial Power evolves to inde- pendence it should do as -an integral unit and not be dismembered. 57. The preceding speaker, the representative of France, has rightly reminded us that in a free referen- dum the people of the island of Mayotte voted to remain with France and not to join the other three islands of the archipelago in independence. The ques- tion of principle before the Assembly is, therefore, whether the principle of self-determination should apply only to the population of a colonial entity as a whole, or whether it should also apply to segments of it. The conflict has sometimes been characterized as a conflict between territorial integrity and self-deter- mination.

First of all, I wish to convey the deep sympathy of the Government and delegation of the Republic of Zaire to the Government and people of Italy in the tragedy which has overtaken them. 62. As a friend of France and the Republic of the Comoros, the Republic of Zaire cannot fail to be sympathetic to those two countries in the problem confronting them and to hope that they will reach a settlement of that problem that will safeguard both the fine relations of co-operation they have always enjoyed and respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. 63. In this connexion, the delegation of Zaire would like to express its appreciation to the Secretary- General for the clarity of his report on the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte. The delegation of Zaire would also like to thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Co-operation of the Comoros for the useful supplementary information he has kindly given us to facilitate our understanding and appreciation of this problem. 64. The delegation of Zaire also welcomes the talks that have taken place between the Governments of France and the Comoros in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, in particular, General Assembly resolution 34/69 of 6 December 1979, on the unity and territorial integrity of the archi- pelago of the Comoros. 65. My delegation is especially pleased to learn that in the course of work between the French and Co- morian delegations in Moroni concrete steps were agreed on for immediate implementation and that those measures are designed to develop the infra- structures among the four islands of the archipelago, to develop communications and co-ordinate customs tariffs in order to translate into reality the natural complementary nature of the four islands of the archi- pelago. This proves, if proof were needed, that the The meeting rose at JJ.55 a.m. ... The delegations of Banglade.sh,Guyana and the United Repub- h~ of Cameroon subsequently informed the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as having been in favour of the draft resolution.