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Madagascar The Military and the Government
Until independence, Comoros had no armed forces. Since
then,
the government has maintained a small military
establishment,
which, by international standards, possesses minimal
capabilities. However, despite the lack of a strong
military
tradition, the armed forces has played a significant role
in the
country's political life. In particular, the GP, which is
the
best trained and best armed of all security services, has
repeatedly intervened in politics and eventually
controlled
Comoros. Such activities understandably have attracted
considerable attention, especially because the GP includes
European mercenaries in its ranks and in senior positions.
Over
the years, there have been numerous reports, some of which
remain
unconfirmed, that foreign powers such as France, Britain,
or
South Africa provided these mercenaries with money and
weapons.
By the early 1990s, most Western observers believed that
as long
as French military forces remained in the islands, the
Comorian
armed forces were unlikely to maintain a high political
profile.
Little information exists about Comorian defense
economics.
In 1987, the most recent year for which figures were
available,
the government budgeted about 910 Comoros francs (for
value of the
Comoros franc--see Glossary)
for defense expenditures.
Data as of August 1994
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