After a week of rioting that has left over 80 people dead, Madagascar's President, Marc Ravalomanana, and his rival, Andre Rajoelina, opposition leader and mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, are being urged to settle their differences face to face.
"It is up to the Malagasy parties to settle their disagreements through peaceful means and an inclusive dialogue," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on 29 January. Adding his voice to the appeals for negotiations, Ban called on the Malagasy government to "place an absolute priority on the protection of the population".
Both men initially denounced the option of negotiations, but Western diplomats have continued to push for talks. Ravalomanana has reportedly agreed to meet his rival but the mayor has maintained that there would only be room for talks after those responsible for the deaths of two protesters on 26 January were bought to justice.
A precarious calm
Rajoelina called for a city-wide shut-down during the unrest, but on 30 January a fragile sense of calm finally returned to the capital's streets and shops, schools and services warily reopened.
Clean-up operations the day before had revealed the extent of the widespread looting that gripped Antananarivo at the height of the rioting. Security forces patrolled the capital's main road, Independence Avenue, normally a bustling part of the city's commercial centre, now a potential flashpoint for demonstrations and protests.
"There is nothing good about what is happening. It's embarrassing to see Malagasy people behaving in this way," Claude, a security guard in Antananarivo, told IRIN. "Life is just going to get more expensive now."
According to a resident of Toliara, a major tourist hub in the southwest, "It is mainly warehouses that have been affected. People have taken things like cooking oil and rice."
Another resident described how a large rice storage depot was ransacked. "People have walked away with tonnes of rice, and some people are beginning to get worried about what this means for the future," he told IRIN. "When all the major rice warehouses have been ransacked, that is a concern."
Krystyna Bednarska, Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Madagascar, commented: "It is difficult to predict the medium-to-long-term impact of the current situation. Our own warehouses are safe.
"We have seen some signs that prices of basic commodities have increased over recent days; whether this is due to a shortage or in response to the present crisis it is still difficult to say," she said.
Marco Falcone, Emergency Co-ordinator of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Madagascar, told IRIN: "Much of what has been looted will go onto the black market, and it is likely that prices for certain goods, like sugar, salt and oil, will rise."
A week of upheaval
Unrest was sparked at a Rajoelina political rally on 24 January, after calls for a general strike and an end to Ravalomanana's growing "authoritarianism". Rajoelina had also been accusing the government of miss-spending public funds and suppressing press freedom.
Demonstrations turned violent on 26 January, when anti-government protesters took to the streets, setting fire to state-owned television and radio stations in an apparent response to the government's previous closure of the mayor's private television station.
According to figures released by the Malagasy Ministry of health, 82 people lost their lives and 321 were injured.
Ravalomanana, himself a former mayor of Antananarivo, has accused Rajoelina of deliberately stoking a revolt. While touring the city on 28 January to inspect the damage, Ravalomanana said he had made decisive moves to apprehend the men he held responsible for the violence.
He said arrest warrants had been issued for Gen Dolin Rasolosoa, director of the mayor's cabinet, and Roland Ratsiraka, the nephew of former president Didier Ratsiraka, Ravalomanana's opponent in a hotly contested election in December 2001.
"The priority is to re-establish order by any means," said Ravalomanana. He called on everyone, including the mayor, to work together to bring peace and security to the capital.
He has also reached out to those involved in the looting and burning, in which warehouses belonging to his own food company, Magro, were destroyed. "No action will be taken following the destruction and pillage at Magro because it is understood that the people of Madagascar are poor and hungry," he declared.
Since his election as mayor of Antananarivo in 2007, Rajoelina, a former a disc jockey and television presenter famed for his good looks, has become a symbol of youth and success, and a vociferous opponent of the government, especially President Ravalomanana.
Rajoelina has proposed that a transitional government under his own leadership be put in place until presidential elections, scheduled for 2011. He has also called for another demonstration to take place on Saturday.
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"It is up to the Malagasy parties to settle their disagreements through peaceful means and an inclusive dialogue," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on 29 January. Adding his voice to the appeals for negotiations, Ban called on the Malagasy government to "place an absolute priority on the protection of the population".
Both men initially denounced the option of negotiations, but Western diplomats have continued to push for talks. Ravalomanana has reportedly agreed to meet his rival but the mayor has maintained that there would only be room for talks after those responsible for the deaths of two protesters on 26 January were bought to justice.
A precarious calm
Rajoelina called for a city-wide shut-down during the unrest, but on 30 January a fragile sense of calm finally returned to the capital's streets and shops, schools and services warily reopened.
Clean-up operations the day before had revealed the extent of the widespread looting that gripped Antananarivo at the height of the rioting. Security forces patrolled the capital's main road, Independence Avenue, normally a bustling part of the city's commercial centre, now a potential flashpoint for demonstrations and protests.
"There is nothing good about what is happening. It's embarrassing to see Malagasy people behaving in this way," Claude, a security guard in Antananarivo, told IRIN. "Life is just going to get more expensive now."
 There is nothing good about what is happening. It's embarrassing to see Malagasy people behaving in this way |
Another resident described how a large rice storage depot was ransacked. "People have walked away with tonnes of rice, and some people are beginning to get worried about what this means for the future," he told IRIN. "When all the major rice warehouses have been ransacked, that is a concern."
Krystyna Bednarska, Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Madagascar, commented: "It is difficult to predict the medium-to-long-term impact of the current situation. Our own warehouses are safe.
"We have seen some signs that prices of basic commodities have increased over recent days; whether this is due to a shortage or in response to the present crisis it is still difficult to say," she said.
Marco Falcone, Emergency Co-ordinator of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Madagascar, told IRIN: "Much of what has been looted will go onto the black market, and it is likely that prices for certain goods, like sugar, salt and oil, will rise."
A week of upheaval
Unrest was sparked at a Rajoelina political rally on 24 January, after calls for a general strike and an end to Ravalomanana's growing "authoritarianism". Rajoelina had also been accusing the government of miss-spending public funds and suppressing press freedom.
Demonstrations turned violent on 26 January, when anti-government protesters took to the streets, setting fire to state-owned television and radio stations in an apparent response to the government's previous closure of the mayor's private television station.
According to figures released by the Malagasy Ministry of health, 82 people lost their lives and 321 were injured.
Ravalomanana, himself a former mayor of Antananarivo, has accused Rajoelina of deliberately stoking a revolt. While touring the city on 28 January to inspect the damage, Ravalomanana said he had made decisive moves to apprehend the men he held responsible for the violence.
He said arrest warrants had been issued for Gen Dolin Rasolosoa, director of the mayor's cabinet, and Roland Ratsiraka, the nephew of former president Didier Ratsiraka, Ravalomanana's opponent in a hotly contested election in December 2001.
"The priority is to re-establish order by any means," said Ravalomanana. He called on everyone, including the mayor, to work together to bring peace and security to the capital.
He has also reached out to those involved in the looting and burning, in which warehouses belonging to his own food company, Magro, were destroyed. "No action will be taken following the destruction and pillage at Magro because it is understood that the people of Madagascar are poor and hungry," he declared.
Since his election as mayor of Antananarivo in 2007, Rajoelina, a former a disc jockey and television presenter famed for his good looks, has become a symbol of youth and success, and a vociferous opponent of the government, especially President Ravalomanana.
Rajoelina has proposed that a transitional government under his own leadership be put in place until presidential elections, scheduled for 2011. He has also called for another demonstration to take place on Saturday.
cc/tdm/he
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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