科摩罗再次上演了一场夺权大战

Coups, I did it again
我再次要发动政变

Another power grab in the Comoros
科摩罗再次上演了一场夺权大战

The president wants to change the constitution to stay in power longer
科摩罗总统要修宪延长任期 

ON AVERAGE, someone attempts a coup in the Comoros every two years. The impoverished country, consisting of three Indian Ocean islands and 800,000 people, has also weathered secession attempts in its turbulent 43 years since independence. Its two smaller islands, Moheli and Anjouan, broke away in 1997, resentful of domination by the main island, Grande Comore. In desperation, they asked France to recolonise them. France refused.  
科摩罗平均每两年会上演一场政变。科摩罗是个穷困的国家，拥有3座印度洋岛屿和80万人口，在独立43年来的动乱中经受住了分裂的考验。莫埃利岛（Moheli）和昂儒昂岛（Anjouan）是该国两个相对较小的岛屿，因不满主岛大科摩罗岛（Grande Comore）的统治，在1997年脱离了主岛。绝望之下，两岛希望归属法国，但遭到了法国的拒绝。

The flimsy union was stitched back together in 2001 with an agreement to rotate the presidency between the islands. But a referendum to amend the constitution on July 30th has put the country back on edge. It would extend the presidential term limit from one to two five-year stints and do away with the rotating presidency. This would allow President Azali Assoumani, elected in 2016, to rule for another decade.
据2001年达成的协议，总统职位由各个岛屿的人士轮流担任，才使这个脆弱的联盟重新组合起来。但是7月30日的修宪公投让这个国家的局势再次紧张起来。新宪法将使总统任期由5年延长到10年，并取消轮值总统的任职。这将使2016年当选的总统阿扎利•阿苏马尼(Azali Assoumani)能再次执政10年。

The opposition regards the referendum as merely a power-grab. It has staged weekly protests in the capital, Moroni, demanding that the vote be called off. Even one of Mr Azali’s vice-presidents, Ahmed Said Jaffar, has turned against him. In a letter to the African Union (AU), signed by the governors of Grande Comore and Anjouan, he wrote that the referendum “risks plunging the country into a deep crisis”.
反对派认为公投不过是夺权。他们每周都在首都莫洛尼举行抗议活动，要求取消投票。阿扎利政府的副总统艾哈迈德•赛义德•加法尔（Ahmed Said Jaffar）也对总统表示反对。在由大科摩罗和昂儒昂州长签署的致非盟（Afican Union）的一封信中，他写道，公投“可能让国家陷入深度危机中”。

Mr Azali’s recent behaviour does not inspire confidence. He suspended the constitutional court in April, ostensibly because it was short of judges. Critics say he did it to pre-empt a legal challenge to the referendum. Opponents have been arrested and Mr Azali has suggested that he may call an early election, resetting the clock on his mandate.
阿扎利最近的行为并没有鼓舞人们的信心。4月份，他解散了宪法法院，表面上是因为它缺少法官。批评人士表示，此举是为了先发制人，避免公投遭遇法律挑战。大量反对者已被逮捕。阿扎利建议提前举行选举，重设本人的任期。

Outside observers worry that the country could slip back into turmoil. An assassination attempt on Moustadroine Abdou, another vice-president, on July 21st, is ominous. Renewed instability would be bad news for France, which is trying to stem the flow of Comorian migrants to the nearby French overseas territory of Mayotte. (Its population is already 42% Comorian. )
外部观察人士担心，科摩罗可能会再次陷入动荡。7月21日，科摩罗另一位副总统穆斯塔德•阿卜杜（Moustadroine Abdou）险遭暗杀便是动荡的预兆。重新出现的不稳定对法国而言是个坏消息，法国正试图阻止科摩罗移民涌入附近的法国海外领土马约特（Mayotte）（科摩罗国籍的人员已占总人口的42%）。

The AU, which sent a force to invade Anjouan in 2008 to quell a secession attempt, has issued a statement calling for “dialogue without delay”; it “strongly emphasises the need to permanently respect” the 2001 agreement. Of all people, Mr Azali should know that Comorian presidents need to watch their backs. He led a coup himself in 1999.
2008年，非盟派遣一支部队入侵昂儒昂岛，以平息分裂企图，并发表“立刻对话”的呼吁声明；它“强调了长期遵守2001年协议的重要性”。阿扎利最应知道，科摩罗的总统应当提防背后。他本人曾在1999年发动了政变。

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/07/26/another-power-grab-in-the-comoros

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