2nd Malagasy province secedes

2002-05-02 12:54

Antananarivo - A second province in Madagascar seceded on Wednesday as divisions deepened between rivals in a disputed presidential poll that has brought this Indian Ocean island state to the brink of civil war.

The governor of Madagascar's eastern Toamasina province declared his territory independent, a day after the wealthy northern province of Antsiranana seceded.

"The province of Toamasina declares its independence within a confederation of independent states of Madagascar," Governor Samuel Lahady said.

But he said he would rescind the move if the swearing-in of opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana as president does not go ahead at the end of the week.

"We are installing the structure of this independent state, but if Marc Ravalomanana decides at the last minute not to become president, there will not be an independent state," he said.

A constitutional court declared Ravalomanana president after a recount of a presidential vote held in December gave him 51.46% of the vote - an absolute majority - against long-time ruler Didier Ratsiraka's 35.90%.

Ravalomanana is due to be sworn in on Friday in Antananarivo, the capital of an island dangerously divided between two armed political camps and teetering towards civil war.

Four provinces controlled by Ratsiraka loyalists

Of Madagascar's six provinces, four - Toamasina, Antsiranana, Toliara in the southeast and Mahajanga in the northwest - are controlled by Ratsiraka loyalists.

The two densely populated central provinces of Fianarantsoa and Antananarivo, home of the capital and economic hub of the Indian Ocean island state, are controlled by Ravalomanana's backers.

The outgoing president set up his capital in the eastern port city of Toamasina after his election foe Ravalomanana declared himself president in February.

"We, the governors of the four provinces, are working together to set up a confederated state of Madagascar," said Lahady, without giving details.

On Tuesday, the governor of Antsiranana, one of Madagascar's richest provinces which derives its income primarily from vanilla and cloves, fishing and tourism, proclaimed his territory a "sovereign state, independent within the confederation of Madagascar".

"The province of Antsiranana is henceforth a confederated state," Jean Robert Gara, a Ratsiraka hardliner, said, a day after the High Constitutional Court (HCC) declared Ravalomanana president.

"This is not a game or a whim, because Ravalomanana has been hailed by a bunch of insurgents," he said.

'Above party politics'

"It is because we believe Madagascar's institutions must be restructured" to form a confederation of self-governing states, he added.

In northwestern Mahajanga province, Governor Etienne Razafindehibe warned on Tuesday that violence could erupt following the HCC's declaration.

But three high-ranking army officers eased fears of civil war when they said on Tuesday they will recognise Ravalomanana as chief of the armed forces as soon as he is sworn in.

"Once invested, he will legally become supreme commander of the armed forces and we will obey him," General Alban Rabarisoa Ririva, head of the 3rd office of the Madagascar general staff (CEMGAM), told reporters.

He was speaking in the name of two colleagues, General Bruno Rajaonson, number two in the army, and General Olaf Zafitsiarendrika, the third highest-ranking army official.

The three men claim to be above party politics and merely support whoever is legally in office as head of state.

Defence chiefs of staff loyal to Ratsiraka held talks over the HCC's announcement on Monday, but have not commented. Ratsiraka is a former admiral in the navy.

Unwritten agreement

Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka on April 18 signed a pact in Dakar aimed at ending their stand-off over the December election, in which Ravalomanana claimed he was robbed of outright victory by vote-rigging.

According to diplomats who helped to broker the Dakar deal and to backers of both of the presidential rivals, the official pact was accompanied by an unwritten agreement between Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka.

The two leaders reportedly agreed that the recount by the HCC would not produce a clear winner from the first round vote, Ratsiraka's backers have said.

The two men would then have fallen back on the written accord, which said that if the recount was inconclusive, a transitional government would be formed and a referendum organised to choose Madagascar's next president.

Decrying the pact as a sell-out, Ratsiraka's backers have stepped up a stifling blockade of Ravalomanana's stronghold, Antananarivo, despite the Dakar accord demanding that they dismantle their roadblocks. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA