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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Ravalomanana: ŽMadagascar governed by banditsŽ |
| 2009-05-28 |
| [Mail and Globe] Madagascar's ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana has accused France of supporting the Indian Ocean island's new president and said the former colonial power wanted to enslave the Malagasy people. Ravalomanana, who spoke on local radio late on Tuesday, stepped down in March and fled to Southern Africa after intense pressure from Rajoelina's popular movement and dissident troops. "Today Madagascar is governed by a group of bandits, led by Andry Rajoelina and supported by the French," said Ravalomanana. Ravalomanana said France was out to enslave the people of Madagascar and was acting only with its vested interests at heart. Ravalomanana allies have suggested French involvement in Rajoelina's rise to power since the outset of the crisis, but this is the first time Ravalomanana has pointed the finger. In recent years major foreign companies, including French oil giant Total, have poured into the world's fourth largest island to exploit its mineral and hydrocarbon reserves. The political instability that started in early 2009 and brought Rajoelina to power in March, has spooked foreign investors at the same time as low commodity prices are forcing companies to review investment plans. Cross-party talks to end the crisis, which has wrecked the $390-million-a-year tourism sector, were derailed at the weekend when one delegation quit and another said it would follow suit. "[The French] objective is to recolonise Madagascar and enslave the Malagasy people. Their goal is to provoke a tribal war," Ravalomanana said from exile in South Africa. |
| Posted by:Fred |