European Commission wants blockades lifted

The European Commission on Thursday demanded the lifting of roadblocks which have starved Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital, of fuel and other essentials for weeks. President Didier Ratsiraka's supporters set up the roadblocks in February after Marc Ravalomanana, refusing to accept official December election results, declared himself president and appointed a rival government in the capital. Ratsiraka and his government then set up a base in Toamasina, one of the island's coastal cities. "The European Commission has been aware for several weeks of acts that constitute serious obstacles to the free circulation of goods and people," Pierre Protar, head of the commission's delegation in the former French colony, told IRIN on Thursday. "The European Commission vigorously insists that the national transport network return to normal as soon as possible," he said, stressing that over 50 percent of European Union aid donated to Madagascar over the past 15 years had been allocated to developing this network. The political crisis in Madagascar, the third largest island in the world, has also ground the country's economy to a standstill. The political stalemate has seen the currency, the Malagasy franc, lose around seven percent of its value against the major currencies in a month. The World Bank has warned that 50,000 jobs are in jeopardy and the country risks falling into recession. Hafez Ghanam, the World Bank's regional operations director, estimated that the increasingly violent political crisis was costing the island about US $12-14 million a day. "This crisis needs to be sorted out as soon as possible," he told IRIN. Supporters of Ravalomanana, the popular mayor of Antananarivo, staged an eight-week strike in the capital which was only called off on Monday. Ravalomanana is refusing to entertain crisis talks with Ratsiraka until the blockades are lifted, but the incumbent president has ruled out meeting his rival until the latter dissolves his "government" and agrees to a second round of elections. In terms of the law a run-off is required because neither candidate gained more than 50 percent of the vote. Ravalomanana, however, says he was cheated. Meanwhile, Antananarivo's military governor has resigned, dealing yet another blow to Ratsiraka's government. Gen. Leon Claude Raveloarison resigned late on Wednesday, saying he feared that if no resolution was found soon to the political crisis, more bloodshed would follow. Raveloarison had been ordered by Ratsiraka to enforce martial law in the capital after Ravalomanana proclaimed himself president.