Madagascar: Violence Breaks Out as Rival Camps Clash

28 February 2002
allAfrica.com
By Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Johannesburg — The authorities in Madagascar are reported to have imposed a night-time curfew in the capital, Antananarivo, with tension running high in the city after demonstrations turned ugly and violent on Wednesday.

After seven weeks of largely peaceful opposition protests, rival supporters of the incumbent and self-proclaimed presidents clashed and fought pitched battles with stones, sticks and clubs on the streets of the capital.

The violence erupted when followers of President Didier Ratsiraka marched into Antananarivo, which largely backs the opposition leader and self-proclaimed president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana. He is also the mayor of the city. Ravalomanana’s supporters challenged their rivals and running street battles ensued.

Up to a dozen people were reported injured, but reliable casualty figures were difficult to acquire and other reports, on pro-government radio, of two deaths could not be confirmed.

Ever since the disputed December 16 presidential election, which Ravalomanana says was rigged by Ratsiraka and the Malagasy government, opposition supporters have been organising daily demonstrations without challenge. So the bid by Ratsiraka supporters to stage their own counter-protest enraged Ravalomanana’s backers, who stormed a government ministry. Rioters were reported to have forced their way inside and destroyed portraits of Ratsiraka, after which Ratsiraka’s supporters, vastly outnumbered, turned tail and retreated.

Demonstrations in the Indian Ocean island were outlawed under new emergency powers on Friday. On Wednesday, nuns and representatives from religious groups tried to ease the tension by positioning themselves between rival camps and singing hymns, to try to calm the simmering violence.

This is the first time that the recent mass protests and a crippling strike organised by the opposition in Antananarivo have degenerated into unrest. They have had a distinctly 'carnival' and optimistic atmosphere until now.

By evening, the situation in the capital was reported calm, although pro-Ravalomanana roadblocks were still erected. Reports said the army presence on the streets of Antananarivo was increased, but remained low-key to avoid exacerbating the situation.

Last week, the military in Madagascar said it would remain neutral in the political stand-off between Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana and would only protect the citizens of the country. On Wednesday, the still internationally recognised president held an emergency cabinet meeting. A government spokesman said a 9pm to 5.30am curfew had been declared.

Last Friday, Ravalomanana unilaterally had himself sworn in as president, saying he was fed up with the government’s inability to run the country and deal head on with the dispute over election results. He still claims that he won the election presidential outright, though government results gave neither Ravalomanana nor Ratsiraka the majority they needed to win in the first round.

On Tuesday, Ravalomanana went on to appoint a prime minister as a prelude to forming his cabinet, in defiance of sweeping new security laws and a state of emergency imposed by the Ratsiraka authorities late Friday.

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) had earlier brokered a deal to hold a second round run-off of the presidential poll in Madagascar on 24 March, postponed by a month. But Ravalomanana pulled out of the agreement.

The millionaire mayor’s move to proclaim himself president has been condemned by the OAU, the United Nations and a number of African and Western governments, who urged the two sides to talk and try to resolve the political impasse that has gripped Madagascar for weeks.

On Wednesday, the OAU announced from its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that it would once again be sending envoys to Madagascar to try to help negotiate an end to the crisis.

In the midst of the chaos on Wednesday, the Malagasy foreign minister, Lila Ratsifandrihamanana resigned. She was not a member of Ratsiraka’s governing party, but observers see her departure as a sign of cracks in government unity. Ratsifandrihamanana had voiced her support for contested official results of the presidential poll to be compared with the vote count compiled by the opposition.

Madagascar’s minister of telecommunications, Ny Hasina Andriamanjato, is also reported to have stepped down late Wednesday.

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