By BARRY BEARAK
March 18, 2009
JOHANNESBURG — President Marc Ravalomanana of Madagascar resigned on Tuesday and handed control of the government to the military, which then passed the power to rule this poor island off Africa’s southeast coast to his archrival, Andry Rajoelina.
This odd turn of events comes after two months of political turmoil during which Mr. Rajoelina, the former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, repeatedly declared a parallel government with himself in charge, essentially announcing a coup in a democratic country.
Late in the evening it was unclear if all elements of the military were in agreement with the changeover, but it was certain that the embattled president had finally succumbed to irreversible momentum.
“After deep reflection, I have decided to dissolve the government and give up power so a military directorate can be established,” Mr. Ravalomanana said in an afternoon radio address.
His preference was that a handful of senior officers succeed him. But in a ceremony broadcast from a military camp in the capital, Vice Adm. Hippolyte Rarison Ramaroson said that he and two generals had decided to install Mr. Rajoelina as the head of a transitional government.
“We have categorically rejected the authority that Ravalomanana asked us to set up after his resignation,” the admiral said.
If these events hold, it will be an astonishing triumph for Mr. Rajoelina, a former disc jockey and entertainment impresario who at 34 is not even old enough according to the Constitution to be Madagascar’s president. He takes the place of a man democratically elected in 2001 and reelected in 2006.
Mr. Rajoelina became the mayor of Antananarivo in December 2007, besting the candidate from the president’s party. Eventually, he projected himself as the people’s champion against Mr. Ravalomanana, 59, a self-made tycoon, calling him a dictator more interested in promoting his own business interests than in elevating the masses out of poverty.
In late January, Mr. Rajoelina began a string of protests that sometimes led to lootings and confrontations with security forces. More than 100 people have died during the recent political violence, including at least 28 shot by security forces on Feb. 7. During a time when Mr. Ravalomanana seemed to have the upper hand, he fired the younger man as mayor.
While Mr. Rajoelina enjoys considerable popularity, he also is widely disliked. He does not come to power at the crest of a wave of support but as the result of an opportunity created by a divided military.
Earlier in the week, army mutineers declared support for Mr. Rajoelina while other military officers professed neutrality. Some of that divide may remain.
Indeed, there were reports of acrimony and drawn guns at a Tuesday afternoon meeting where both Mr. Rajoelina and some army officers rejected the idea of an interim military directorate. Diplomats and church leaders were also present.
“It was terrible,” said one person who was present, asking to remain anonymous for fear of recriminations. “Andry Rajoelina showed his anger and left after five minutes.”
A second person, also requesting anonymity, confirmed this account and said some military men at the meeting ended up “detaining four generals and taking them away” along with a church leader.
The unfolding situation remained puzzling, and people on the street expressed confusion about whether they were now being governed by the military, the former mayor or even some unseen foreign hand.
Rumors were plentiful. “The problem is France,” said Harinanga Ranilisoa, 42, a dressmaker. “It wants to again run Madagascar, and it is doing so through Andry Rajoelina.”
Madagascar is a former French colony with a population of 20 million that is overwhelmingly poor. The terrain on the island, the fourth largest in the world, is beguilingly varied, some of it rain forest, some desert, some swamp. The plant and animal life are among the most diverse on earth.
This exotic beauty has spawned a huge tourist trade, which has now been crippled by the political turmoil. Many foreign investors interested in the country’s mineral wealth have likewise been scared away.
“This trouble means there will be no more investment for Madagascar,” said Jean Rakotoarisoa, 47, a construction worker.
Mr. Ravalomanana, a dynamic entrepreneur, once seemed the answer to the island’s problems. But many people grew impatient for change.
Last Sunday, the beleaguered president, unnerved by the mutinous soldiers, offered to hold a referendum to end the crisis. Mr. Rajoelina rejected the idea, and on Monday disaffected troops bulldozed the gate of one of the palaces used as government offices.
On Tuesday morning, the former mayor, escorted by gun-wielding soldiers, entered that same elegant chateau in the city’s center and claimed to be decisively in charge.
“We can say we are free,” he declared.
Mr. Ravalomanana, who had sworn that he would never turn the presidency over to the unelected opposition, instead decided to pass the job to the military.
Andry Ralijaona, one of the president’s advisers, on Tuesday repeated something that many in the presidency had alleged for weeks, that some army officers had been bribed. “This is about money and jealousy,” he said, alleging that payoffs were made by politicians allied against Mr. Ravalomanana and businessmen who suffered during his years in office.
But Mr. Ralijaona had no proof to offer, just dismay at the government’s ouster and second-guessing about where it had all gone wrong.
“We put a lot of money in education and health,” he said. “More money should have gone for security.”
A researcher contributed reporting from Antananarivo, Madagascar.
This odd turn of events comes after two months of political turmoil during which Mr. Rajoelina, the former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, repeatedly declared a parallel government with himself in charge, essentially announcing a coup in a democratic country.
Late in the evening it was unclear if all elements of the military were in agreement with the changeover, but it was certain that the embattled president had finally succumbed to irreversible momentum.
“After deep reflection, I have decided to dissolve the government and give up power so a military directorate can be established,” Mr. Ravalomanana said in an afternoon radio address.
His preference was that a handful of senior officers succeed him. But in a ceremony broadcast from a military camp in the capital, Vice Adm. Hippolyte Rarison Ramaroson said that he and two generals had decided to install Mr. Rajoelina as the head of a transitional government.
“We have categorically rejected the authority that Ravalomanana asked us to set up after his resignation,” the admiral said.
If these events hold, it will be an astonishing triumph for Mr. Rajoelina, a former disc jockey and entertainment impresario who at 34 is not even old enough according to the Constitution to be Madagascar’s president. He takes the place of a man democratically elected in 2001 and reelected in 2006.
Mr. Rajoelina became the mayor of Antananarivo in December 2007, besting the candidate from the president’s party. Eventually, he projected himself as the people’s champion against Mr. Ravalomanana, 59, a self-made tycoon, calling him a dictator more interested in promoting his own business interests than in elevating the masses out of poverty.
In late January, Mr. Rajoelina began a string of protests that sometimes led to lootings and confrontations with security forces. More than 100 people have died during the recent political violence, including at least 28 shot by security forces on Feb. 7. During a time when Mr. Ravalomanana seemed to have the upper hand, he fired the younger man as mayor.
While Mr. Rajoelina enjoys considerable popularity, he also is widely disliked. He does not come to power at the crest of a wave of support but as the result of an opportunity created by a divided military.
Earlier in the week, army mutineers declared support for Mr. Rajoelina while other military officers professed neutrality. Some of that divide may remain.
Indeed, there were reports of acrimony and drawn guns at a Tuesday afternoon meeting where both Mr. Rajoelina and some army officers rejected the idea of an interim military directorate. Diplomats and church leaders were also present.
“It was terrible,” said one person who was present, asking to remain anonymous for fear of recriminations. “Andry Rajoelina showed his anger and left after five minutes.”
A second person, also requesting anonymity, confirmed this account and said some military men at the meeting ended up “detaining four generals and taking them away” along with a church leader.
The unfolding situation remained puzzling, and people on the street expressed confusion about whether they were now being governed by the military, the former mayor or even some unseen foreign hand.
Rumors were plentiful. “The problem is France,” said Harinanga Ranilisoa, 42, a dressmaker. “It wants to again run Madagascar, and it is doing so through Andry Rajoelina.”
Madagascar is a former French colony with a population of 20 million that is overwhelmingly poor. The terrain on the island, the fourth largest in the world, is beguilingly varied, some of it rain forest, some desert, some swamp. The plant and animal life are among the most diverse on earth.
This exotic beauty has spawned a huge tourist trade, which has now been crippled by the political turmoil. Many foreign investors interested in the country’s mineral wealth have likewise been scared away.
“This trouble means there will be no more investment for Madagascar,” said Jean Rakotoarisoa, 47, a construction worker.
Mr. Ravalomanana, a dynamic entrepreneur, once seemed the answer to the island’s problems. But many people grew impatient for change.
Last Sunday, the beleaguered president, unnerved by the mutinous soldiers, offered to hold a referendum to end the crisis. Mr. Rajoelina rejected the idea, and on Monday disaffected troops bulldozed the gate of one of the palaces used as government offices.
On Tuesday morning, the former mayor, escorted by gun-wielding soldiers, entered that same elegant chateau in the city’s center and claimed to be decisively in charge.
“We can say we are free,” he declared.
Mr. Ravalomanana, who had sworn that he would never turn the presidency over to the unelected opposition, instead decided to pass the job to the military.
Andry Ralijaona, one of the president’s advisers, on Tuesday repeated something that many in the presidency had alleged for weeks, that some army officers had been bribed. “This is about money and jealousy,” he said, alleging that payoffs were made by politicians allied against Mr. Ravalomanana and businessmen who suffered during his years in office.
But Mr. Ralijaona had no proof to offer, just dismay at the government’s ouster and second-guessing about where it had all gone wrong.
“We put a lot of money in education and health,” he said. “More money should have gone for security.”
A researcher contributed reporting from Antananarivo, Madagascar.
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