On
Madagascar,
Feltman Says
UN Only Favors
Voting Change
If By
Consensus
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 8 --
Days after the
UN refused
Inner City
Press' request
for a read-out
of Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
February 4
meeting with
Madagascar's
Andrei
Rajoelina (click here for photo op video),
Ban's
political
affairs chief
Jeffrey
Feltman held a
press
conference.
Inner City
Press asked
Feltman what
the UN thought
of Rajoelina
moving the
presidential
election back,
seemingly into
July, and
perhaps
running to
hold the prime
minister spot
until
re-running for
president in
2018. Video
here from
Minute 40:16.
Feltman
replied that
it's
“important
that any
change in the
current
arrangement be
done by
consensus...We
in the UN have
stated we want
to see
elections take
place on time.
There was a
generally
accepted order
for those
election to
take place,
that's the way
to go, unless
there is a
clear
consensus to
change that."
Video
here, from
Minute 42:43.
So is that
what Ban
Ki-moon told
Rajoelina in
the meeting?
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
told Inner
City Press
there would be
no read-out,
and not to
read into
that. How not?
Inner
City Press
asked Nesirky:
Question:
Yeah,
Madagascar, I
wanted to ask,
I, probably I
should have
asked this
before, but it
seems like a
good day to
ask it, is the
current
president,
Rajoelina, he
blocked the
wife of the
former deposed
president,
[Marc]
Ravalomanana,
from coming
back and, and
that was
something that
she seemed to
have a right
to come back,
many people
say it may be
an attempt by
the current
transitional
president to
remain on
either as a
prime minister
or
otherwise.
So, I wanted
to know,
without
pre-judging
what will be
said this
afternoon,
what is the
UN’s position
on the
blocking of
the wife of
the deposed
president from
returning to
the country,
and to the
possible
switch in 8
May* elections
from
presidential
to
parliamentary?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesriky:
I think we’d
have to wait
to see what
comes out of
the meeting to
be able to
brief you on
what happens
in that
meeting, which
is later this
afternoon.
I don’t have
anything
specific on
the return
question; I’d
have to check
further.
But four days
after the
meeting, no
read-out has
been issued.
Nor any any
answer been
given on "the
return
question" or
the other
questions set
out in Inner
City Press
February 3
piece on
Madagasar.
Back
in May 2012,
the UN
was partnering
with
Rajoelina's
Ministry of
Communication
to celebrate
World Press
Freedom Day in
Madagascar. On
this same day
Reporters
without
Borders
directly criticized
the Minister
of
Communication
for
threatening to
shut down
Radio Free FM
and for his
part in the
detention of 2
Free FM
journalists.
Then
after evidence
of abuse
including gang
rape and the
burning of
twenty-some
villages in
southern
Madagascar
emerged, the
transitional
prime minister
-- whose place
Rajoelina now
reportedly
seeks to take
until he runs
again in 2018
-- said an
investigation
would be
launched. But
has it?
Sources
tell
Inner City
Press that
Rajoelina's
agenda may be
to seek Ban's
support to
change the
order of
elections to
have
legislative
elections
happen on May
8 rather than
presidential
elections.
Now that
Rajoelina has
given in to
pressure and
declared
himself out of
the running
for president,
there is
public speculation
that he wants
to set up a
stand-in to
run for
president in
2013 with
Rajoelina as
Prime Minister,
then Rajoelina
runs for
president in
2018.
Rajoelina has
already
declared his
candidacy for
2018.
France
has
publicly stated
that it may
support a
candidate in
Madagascar’s
upcoming
presidential
election ("si
nous
encourageons
une
candidature,
ce sera aussi
discrètement
que possible").
Perhaps as
part of this
support, the new
French
ambassador
recently
declared
that
ousted-president
Ravalomanana
should not be
allowed to
return to his
country before
the election.
So France
favors forced
exile counter
to Article 20
of the SADC
roadmap for a
way out of the
crisis which
states that
Ravalomanana
should be
allowed to
return to his
country
unconditionally.
Vive
la France.
Regardez cette
site.
, 
