Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Antananarivo (Agenzia Fides) - "It's an episode that remains unclear and there is no doubt that twenty people were arrested and charged with planning a coup," Fides was told by a journalist at Don Bosco Radio from Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, where yesterday, 19 April, local authorities announced they had arrested, on Sunday, April 18, twenty people on charges of preparing the assault on the palace of the Prime Minister. For about a year now, Madagascar has been going through a severe crisis as a result of political confrontation between the President of the High Transitional Authority, Andry Rajoelina, and former President Marc Ravalomanana. The latter was forced to resign in March 2009 under pressure from the military and the opposition led by Rajoelina.
"Among those arrested are soldiers and some civilians, who are members of the reserve in an army unit," says the source of Fides. According to a senior member of the government of the High Transitional Authority, former President Ravalomanana supposedly financed the alleged coup, a fact denied by Ravalomanana himself, who is in exile in South Africa.
"The official version has caused some skepticism in the country, as is also noted in the interviews that we have aired," says the editor of Don Bosco Radio. "Some say that the report of the attempted coup and subsequent arrests were an excuse used by Rajoelina to avoid travel to South Africa to meet with Ravalomanana.”
The meeting between the two Malagasy leaders planned for April 24 (see Fides 14/4/2010) has been shifted to April 28. Moreover, they are now considering inviting even former presidents Ratsiraka and Zafy. "In this case, comments Fides' source – there would be a return to the disastrous negotiations of Maputo and Addis Ababa, which have produced agreements that were not implemented, however.
The agreements signed in recent months in Maputo (Mozambique) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) among the 4 movements, belonging respectively to Rajoeina, Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka, and Zafy, provide for the creation of a government of national unity that would lead the country to elections. However, disagreements arose about the composition of the executive branch, which led Rajoelina to unilaterally form a government. The African Union has condemned Rajoelina's decision and imposed sanctions on him and a hundred malagasy political figures.
For weeks, there have been rumors around the country of a military coup, fueled by the forced resignation of Defense Minister General Noel Rakotonandrasana (see Fides 17/4/2010). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/4/2010)
