UNITED
NATIONS, April
29 -- You
might think
that the UN
would have
something
to say when a
country bans a
political
figure from
“making any
political
statement or
participating
in any
political
rally” But
you'd be
wrong.
On
April 26 at
noon, Inner
City Press
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
about
Madagascar:
Inner
City Press:
About Lalao
Ravalomanana,
the wife of
the Marc
Ravalomanana,
she returned
to the country
in March,
apparently she
was asked to
commit to the
Government of
[Andry]
Rajoelina that
she
wouldn’t make
any political
statements as
a condition of
returning
and visiting
her ailing
mother. Now,
she is
announcing
that she is
going to run
for President,
so a lot of
people saying,
since the UN
has had some
involvement in
this, what did
the UN think
of this
condition on
her return,
and do they
believe that
she has an
absolute
right to make
political
statements and
to run for
office? What’s
their position
on this
growing crisis
as some call
it?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I’ll check. I
don’t think we
have any
immediate
position on
that, but I’ll
certainly
check for you,
Matthew.
Seventy
two
hours later
there was no
response. As
noted, it
wasn't that
the
Department of
Political
Affairs did
not work -- as
Inner City
Press
reported, DPA
met on April
26 with the
Western
European and
Other
Group, which
then met with
Qatar about
its Syria
resolution.
(Spoiler
alert: WEOG
sources tell
Inner City
Press they
demanded
changes to an
Operative
Paragraph.)
But there no
response from
DPA or Ban's
office.
Until
the afternoon
of April 29.
Then, the UN
sent Inner
City Press
this
response:
Subject:
Your
question on
Madagascar
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Mon, Apr
29, 2013 at
3:31 PM
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Regarding
your
question from
last week on
Madagascar: It
is up to the
Special
Electoral
Court, which
is in charge
of receiving
electoral
disputes
and
proclaiming
the final
results of the
presidential
and
legislative
elections, to
decide on the
validity and
qualifications
of all
prospective
candidates.
The court has
been
established by
the
Malagasy
authorities.
The Court has
been receiving
candidatures
for
the
forthcoming
presidential
elections
since 8 April
2013 and the
deadline for
the submission
of candidates
expired on 28
April. The
Malagasy
authorities
have been
complying with
the 2011 SADC
Roadmap.
Tellingly,
there
is nothing on
freedom of
speech, of
assembly or of
expression.
But as to the
Special
Electoral
Court, which
is slated on
May 3 to
decide on all
48 people who
have submitted
applications
to be
candidates for
president.
The
head
of the Special
Electoral
Court,
Jean-Michel
Rajaonarivony,
was head
of the High
Constitutional
Court (HCC)
when this
court approved
the
power transfer
to Andry
Rajoelina in
March 2009,
thus
officializing
Rajoelina’s
Coup d’Etat.
We learn from
Wikileaks
that in
officializing
the transfer
of power to
Rajoelina,
“The High
Court
(HCC) told
SADC [Southern
African
Development
Community]
that it
deliberately
took a
political
decision …
when it
falsely
declared
the March 17
decrees to be
constitutional”.
As
head of the
HCC,
Jean-Michel
Rajaonarivony
also approved
the
constitution
that was voted
on in a
referendum in
November 2010
and
put into
practice in
December 2010:
“neither
the opposition
nor most of
the
international
community
recognized the
constitution
due to
considerable irregularities
both in its
drafting and
in the conduct
of the
referendum”
So
in March 2009
Jean-Michel
Rajaonarivony
ignored his
mandate to
uphold
the
Constitution
when he
approved
transferring
power to Andry
Rajoelina for
political
reasons. As
for the
November 2010
constitutional
referendum, he
decided that
international
standards
for free and
fair elections
were not
necessary in
order to do
what
Rajoelina
wanted. France,
for its part,
supported the
2010
constitution
by saying
it “is a
political
reality that
the
international
community must
take into
consideration”
Lalao
Ravalomanana
and former
president
Didier
Ratsiraka are
two potential
candidates for
president who
on the surface
do not seem to
meet the
requirement
that
candidates
reside in
Madagascar for
6 months prior
to the
election.
Lalao
Ravalomanana
is arguing
that she
returned in
July 2012, but
was kicked out
manu-militari
by the
Rajoelina
security
forces in a
way that
violated her
human right to
return to her
country. The
UN condoned
her forced
exile by
keeping silent
about
this incident.
What
is the UN
becoming?
We'll have
more on this.
, 
