After the fires targeting the town hall and police station in Koungou ten days ago, it is now the turn of the commune of Ouangani to fall prey to flames. This time the fires targeted vehicles belonging to elected municipal officials. In short, this is a new attack on the French Republic which has prompted MP Mansour Kamardine to react in a letter to our editorial staff:
“The increase in attacks on elected officials and communal property in Ouangani and Koungou is a reaction to the operations to reclaim the lost territories of Mayotte. The objective is, through the elected officials, to muzzle the population. Indeed, the Mahorais are asking for more efficiency against irregular immigration, more firmness against what looks like a real theft of their lands, more resolution in the reduction of slums. The violent pressure on elected officials aims to cut them off from the citizens and to dissuade them from joining the state in the proper conduct of police operations. This real blackmail is unbearable. It requires strong initiatives because “it is better to end it all at once than to put down the sword and be back at it every day” as Napoleon said. I therefore call for the continuation of the reclamation of illegally seized land with the firm support of the secular arm of Justice. First of all, I ask that a meeting be organized, as soon as possible, bringing together all the departmental councillors, the mayors and the presidents of the inter-communal bodies in order to promote a collective awareness and a commitment from all the actors to stand together, with unfailing firmness. The only response to the attackers is to hunt them down with the same efficiency as during the recent public threats to the lives of PAF agents, to protect the most exposed elected officials, to amplify and accelerate the operations to reconquer lost territories.” Mansour Kamardine Photo: LNM
