Media of the Comoros

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As recently as the early 1980s, the Comoros had no national media. State-run Radio Comoros, transmitting from Grand Comore, was not strong enough to send clear signals to the republic's other two islands.

Comoros Sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean

The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an island country in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique, the French region of Mayotte, and northwestern Madagascar. The capital and largest city in Comoros is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population is Sunni Islam.

Grande Comore Autonomous island in Comoros

Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two shield volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the country's highest point at 2,361 m (7,746 ft) above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, with the federal government being much reduced in power. The name Ngazidja is sometimes seen in the now nonstandard form Njazidja.

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In 1984 France agreed to provide Radio Comoros with funding for an FM (frequency modulation) transmitter strong enough to broadcast to all three islands, and in 1985 made a commitment to fund a national newspaper after a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) study revealed that the Comoros was the only UN member lacking print and electronic media. A state-owned newspaper, Al-Watwan, began operations in July 1985, first as a monthly and soon afterward as a weekly. There are now a number of publications, either daily, such as La Gazette des Comores, or weekly, such as L'Archipel, an independent weekly which began publishing in 1988 and now appears intermittently. Al Balad, a daily published by CGH, is now defunct.

UNESCO Specialised agency of the United Nations

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) based in Paris. Its declared purpose is to contribute to promoting international collaboration in education, sciences, and culture in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter. It is the successor of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

Al-Watwan is a Comorian daily newspaper published in French and Arabic, headquartered in Moroni, Comoros.

A news agency, Agence Comores Presse, is based in Moroni.

In addition to national broadcasts on FM in Comorian, Swahili and French, Radio Comoros in 1993 broadcast internationally on the shortwave band in Swahili, Arabic, and French, but shortwave services have now been suspended. There are a number independent commercial FM radio stations in the country, Radio Tropique FM, one of the first, began broadcasting in 1991, although it and its director, political activist Ali Bakar Cassim, have occasionally been the object of government ire.

The ORTC (Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores), whose studios were funded by the Chinese government, now broadcasts both radio and television both free to air nationally and by cable and satellite in France.

In 1989 the Comoros had an estimated 61,000 radios and 200 television sets.

Freedom of Speech

Representatives of the independent media have occasionally been rounded up along with other critics of the government during the republic's recurrent bouts of political crisis. However, freedom of speech is generally respected and outlets such as Radio Tropique FM and L'Archipel, which is noted for its satirical column, "Winking Eye", continue to provide independent political commentary.

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The history of the Comoros goes back some 1,500 years. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.

In large part thanks to international aid programs, Moroni has international telecommunications service. Telephone service, however, is largely limited to the islands' few towns.

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Moroni, Comoros Place in Grande Comore, Comoros

Moroni is the largest city, federal capital and seat of the government of the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Moroni means "at the river". Moroni is the capital of the semi-autonomous island of Ngazidja, the largest of the three main islands of the republic. The city's estimated population in 2003 was 41,557 residents. Moroni, which lies along the Route Nationale 1, has a port and several mosques such as the Badjanani Mosque.

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The official languages of the Comoros are Comorian, French and Arabic. Comorian is a Bantu language closely related to Swahili. It is by far the most spoken language in the country, 96.9%. However, Comorian is confined almost exclusively for oral use. Before and during the colonial period, no official recognition was granted at all to Comorian. Before the French colonisation, Arabic and Swahili were the languages used by the political powers and by education. Arabic was the language of religion, and a language of commerce. As a result of colonisation, administration and education are now in French. The Comoros is a full member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and of the Arab League.

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References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ .

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