Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Muddle in Madagascar

Here is what really happened (for context):

"The Government ordered a crackdown on protests by unarmed people. The Army refused to fire on the citizens. Instead they told the President ~ backed by the USA ~ to resign. When he didn't they deposed him and allowed the Opposition Leader to take over. So the USA stopped aid. Typical American interference in the internal affairs of another country. Until Western interference some years ago Madagascar was a peaceful island." -- Wake the Flock Up

That explains all the news coverage (or lack thereof).

Related:
When Was the Last Time You Heard About.... Madagascar?

FLASHBACK:

"Leader backed by army in charge; In Madagascar, a new regime" by Associated Press | March 18, 2009

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar - Madagascar's top generals handed over control of this Indian Ocean island nation to the toppled president's rival yesterday, hours after the president stepped down and tried to put the military in charge.

In a ceremony broadcast from a military camp in the capital, Vice-Admiral Hyppolite Rarison Ramaroson said he and two other generals rejected a move earlier yesterday by the ousted president, Marc Ravalomanana, to transfer power to a military directorate.

Instead, Ramaroson said the military was installing opposition leader Andry Rajoelina as the country's leader. For months, Rajoelina - a disc jockey turned broadcasting magnate who had been mayor of the capital - has been pressing Ravalomanana to step down as president. His confrontation with Ravalomanana had led to deadly clashes.

After weeks of insisting he would never resign, Ravalomanana announced yesterday afternoon he was ceding control to the military. Almost as he spoke, Rajoelina was parading triumphantly through the capital surrounded by armed soldiers and an adoring crowd after seizing control of one of the city's presidential palaces.

Rajoelina had said in an interview with the French television station LCI that he had the support of "soldiers, government workers, unions, that is to say all the country's key groups."

"Power belongs to the people," Rajoelina said. "The people give power, the people can take it back."

Yes, I can see why this is troubling the globalists and their agenda-pushing papers.

Norbert Lala Ratsirahonana, a former chief of staff and former chief of the constitutional court, acted as master of ceremonies for the military announcement, lending the move legitimacy.

Rajoelina - at 34 too young to be president, according to the constitution - accuses Ravalomanana of misspending public funds and undermining democracy in Madagascar. This impoverished island off the coast of southeastern Africa is known both for its natural beauty and its history of political infighting and instability.

Over the weekend, Rajoelina declared himself president of a transitional government and promised new presidential elections within two years. On Monday, he called on the army to arrest the president, but soldiers refused.

Ravalomanana had said Rajoelina sought power by unconstitutional means. A breakaway army faction had claimed it was neutral and interested only in restoring order, but the split in the military had greatly weakened Ravalomanana.

Ravalomanana's rags-to-riches tale - he started out selling ice cream from a bicycle - was once a source of popularity. But Rajoelina, tapping into the dissatisfaction of this country's impoverished majority, was able to portray Ravalomanana as interested primarily in further enriching himself and increasingly out of touch with the suffering of ordinary people.

Rajoelina, though, comes from the wealthy minority that has had a stranglehold on Madagascar's politics.

Why do I get the feeling that the globalists have their man in place no matter what?

This article a cover for the coup?

Early yesterday, Rajoelina entered one of the capital's presidential palaces, welcomed by soldiers who had declared they would no longer accept orders from Ravalomanana, as well as by traditional healers who specialize in exorcism - the palace had been the site of a deadly clash between anti-government protesters and troops last month.

The soldiers had seized the deserted palace, usually used for ceremonial purposes, on Monday night. The president was in his official residence, surrounded by supporters and army guards.

Tensions have been rising since late January, when the government blocked an opposition radio station's signal. Rajoelina supporters set fire to a building in the government broadcasting complex as well as an oil depot, a shopping mall and a private TV station linked to Ravalomanana. Scores of people were killed.

Days later, soldiers opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing at least 25. The incident - at the palace seized Monday - cost Ravalomanana much of the support of the military, which blamed him for the order to fire at demonstrators.

Despite losing support at home, Ravalomanana had been backed by the international community because he was the democratically elected president, and because Rajoelina's tactics were seen as unconstitutional.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is "gravely concerned about the evolving developments in Madagascar," UN associate spokeswoman Marie Okabe had said earlier yesterday at headquarters in New York.

African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping told journalists earlier yesterday that if the military leadership handed power to Rajoelina, as it later did, that would violate the constitution. According to the AU's charter, coups or unconstitutional changes of government are cause for automatic suspension from the bloc. The country is only readmitted when constitutional order is restored, usually by elections.

--more--"

Well, the globalist institutions are worried so I assume they are not behind this coup; however, who knows? I'm certainly not going to find the answer in the newspaper -- although they did give me a hint with the omissions and obfuscations:

"US suspends assistance to Madagascar after shift" by Matthew Lee, Associated Press | March 21, 2009

WASHINGTON - The United States yesterday suspended millions of dollars in aid to the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar, saying the change of government there this week was unconstitutional.

The State Department said the Obama administration would cut all non-humanitarian assistance to the country because the ouster of President Marc Ravalomanana, who resigned after weeks of protests and handed power to the military, was "tantamount to a coup d'etat."

"The United States will not maintain our current assistance partnership with Madagascar," department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. The State Department and the US Agency for International Development could not provide the exact amount of aid to be suspended, but Madagascar participates in several US programs with several different agencies under which it receives significant development assistance.

One of those agencies, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said later it was putting a hold on a five-year, $110 million poverty reduction grant program with Madagascar. More than half of that grant had already been disbursed.

Under federal law, the United States must suspend non-humanitarian assistance to countries in which a democratically elected government is toppled by unconstitutional means, and Wood urged the restoration of legitimate leadership.

Like the law actually means anything to a nation that engineers covert coups.

"The United States has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the people of Madagascar and we call on them to immediately undertake a democratic, consensual process to restore constitutional governance culminating in free, fair and peaceful elections," Wood said.

Ravalomanana resigned on Tuesday and gave power to the military, which then named his political rival Andry Rajoelina as president. Rajoelina has accused his ousted rival of misspending public funds and undermining democracy.

He was OUR GUY all right!

--more--"

MBABANE, Swaziland - Southern African leaders suspended Madagascar from the SADC regional grouping yesterday and called on its new army-backed president to step down.

The Southern African Development Community said in a communique after a summit in Swaziland that leaders of the group would not recognize Andry Rajoelina, who took power in a move that has been condemned as a coup by the international community.

The nation's former president, Marc Ravalomanana, who quit under pressure from the military, briefed SADC leaders yesterday on the political crisis. The SADC stance further isolated Rajoelina, a 34-year-old former disc jockey. The African Union suspended the Indian Ocean island on March 20 and told the new administration to hold an election within six months as provided for in the constitution.

Rajoelina, who has set a 24-month transition, remains defiant. Yesterday, he said auditors hired by his government were reviewing all contracts with foreign investors because the country was receiving too little revenue.

Oh, his auditors are looking over the books!

That, of course, would have nothing to do with the recognition, would it?

--more--"