Justice versus reconciliation

Madagascar is treading a difficult path between justice and reconciliation as the country tries to come to terms with last year's political crisis in which 70 people were killed and hundreds of thousands lost their jobs. For six months the country was split, and looked to be heading towards civil war, between supporters of incumbent president Didier Ratsiraka, and the man who insisted he had won the disputed December 2001 election, Marc Ravalomanana. Now things appear to be looking up. In April 2002 Ravalomanana was finally sworn in, and went on to win the backing he wanted in the parliamentary elections in December 2002. His party TIM (which stands for "I love Madagascar") gained such a large majority that pushing through his programme of "rapid and sustainable development" should be relatively easy. Ravalomanana has also managed to get the backing of a previously sceptical international community, which now seems willing to invest in Madagascar. Recent visits by senior figures from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have confirmed this. "Madagascar is ready for take-off," Ravalomanana told a press conference a few weeks ago. TIM's massive majority means that it is not encountering much opposition in parliament. AREMA, Ratsiraka's party, won only three seats in last December's elections and is in the political wilderness. More moderate figures in AREMA have been considering how best to relaunch the party, and even came up with a possible new name - "Mature AREMA". But most Malagasy think it will take more than a name change to restore the party to anything like its former glory. Members of the former regime have joined forces with an organisation known as CRN, which is calling for national reconciliation in the postcrisis period. CRN is headed by another former president, Albert Zaffy. What national reconciliation means in practice is that those who used to be in power do not want to live in fear of persecution by those now in office. "Justice should apply to everyone, but at the moment it only applies to some," Zaffy told IRIN. "In order to have national reconciliation we must ensure that all crimes committed - by those on the side of Ravalomanana as well as those on the side of Ratsiraka – should be laid bare, sanctioned and pardoned." But Elie Rajaonarison from the University of Antananarivo, who is also a senior figure in the Ravalomanana regime, believes that justice must come first. "You cannot just assume that these people are innocent," he said. "There can be no pardon unless there is first a trial. Those who call for national reconciliation talk about forgiving and forgetting, but we cannot forget or give pardon unless justice takes its course." Already some two hundred political prisoners, including the former prime minister, Tantely Andrianarivo, are being held in jail and face charges ranging from corruption to endangering the state. Supporters of CRN say reconciliation is a vital part of healing the wounds of the past and often cite the South African model as a successful example. Ravalomanana's opponents say the current regime is cracking down on them for political motives and that they will never face fair trials. But pro-government supporters say those who brought the country to the brink of civil war should not go unpunished. A report by Amnesty International earlier this year stated that both pro-Ratsiraka and pro-Ravalomanana supporters committed human rights abuses during and after the crisis. They particularly pointed the finger at instances of detention without trial and arbitrary arrest. These allegations angered the government and it fiercely denied any such abuses. The one would-be political prisoner who is most notable by his absence is Ratsiraka, but doubt still remains over whether he will actually be extradited from France, where he has been in exile since July last year. Some want to see him serve the rest of his life in a Malagasy jail, while others think his return would only reopen wounds that have just begun to heal. But the lack of formal political opposition does not mean unrest is over. In March six people were injured in violent anti-government demonstrations as police clashed with protestors in the southwestern town of Tulear. Riot police used tear gas to disperse the crowds after thousands had gathered to voice their objections to what they said was an increasingly undemocratic regime. It was perhaps ironic that the president, who came to power largely through massive street protests against the former regime in 2002, had himself resorted to force. One local newspaper said that "democracy had fallen to its knees in Tulear". Around the same time, students in the capital set fire to a building at the University of Antananarivo in protest against a lack of accommodation. There were fears that the students could turn their anger into a broader political campaign against Ravalomanana's administration. But perhaps the biggest anti-government demonstration was on 13 May, when a meeting attended by around 10,000 people ended in complete chaos. The date is significant in Madagascar, as it commemorates the overthrow of the first president, Philibert Tsiranana, following demonstrations in 1972. This year a political opposition movement, known as the KMMR, wanted to use the anniversary to voice its criticisms of the current regime. But the crowd never got to hear from them. Unruly teenagers set fire to banners and then started tearing up the podium, where members of the opposition were due to speak. It was alleged that people had been paid by the government to disrupt the demonstration. Onlookers in the crowd expressed their disgust at the violence. "This is much worse than in the past, even Ratsiraka did not do these things," one student told IRIN at the time. "I am sure there are elements here working for the authorities. I can see people from the president's party, TIM. And the military is not doing anything at all to intervene. I'm not sure why, because when there is disruption like this they should stop it." But the president's adviser, Didier Rakotorisoa, denied that the government had been behind the violence. "This was a spontaneous and uncontrollable reaction in a crowd that became more and more heated as time went on," he said. "I don't think what happened was orchestrated, and it certainly was not designed to stop the demonstration." It would be misleading to view Madagascar as a hotbed of political dissent and violence. In fact, it has always been one of the most peaceful nations in Africa. The Malagasy have a word, 'Fihavanana', which roughly translates as 'conciliation' or 'brotherhood'. It means that confrontation is avoided and compromises are sought.