Officials in the capital of the Comoros islands, Moroni,
rejected a request to march over the kidnapping of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls
from children’s rights group Maeecha, saying "it is not possible to grant
you permission to walk in the streets of the capital, for reasons related to
the circulation of traffic."
But, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accused the
government of the Indian Ocean island of trying to silence debate on the
actions of Islamist radicals.
The non-governmental Solidarity Association of the Indian Ocean
Islands had appealed to the government to speak out on the kidnapping by the
Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, but met a wall of silence.
According to the group, the authorities asked them to wait
because "it concerned a sensitive topic, religion."
Boko Haram, whose name loosely translates as “Western
education is forbidden”, kidnapped the girls from their dormitory on April 14,
has claimed they converted to Islam and has threatened to sell them.
The rights group’s Nasser Assoumani said: "No verse in
the Koran, no religious principle justifies this kidnapping. Boko Haram is an
enemy of Islam which does not follow the prophet’s doctrines."
With a long history of political violence, including more
than 20 coups, the Comoran authorities suggested Maeecha issue a statement
rather than march in protest at the abduction.
It might interest you to know that Comoro Islands or Comoros form an archipelago
of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of
Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar
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