Former Madagascar leader quits crisis talks

ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR - May 24 2009 15:30

One of the main parties in Madagascar is pulling out of talks to end the political crisis in the Indian Ocean island just as mediators announced a tentative breakthrough, a negotiator said.

In a letter to the mediators, Didier Ratsiraka, in exile in France since the last crisis in 2002, said conditions for "honest, constructive and peaceful dialogue" had not been met.

The former head of state said his party would not return to the negotiating table until all his cases against his supporters were annulled, according to his chief negotiator Ange Andrianarisoa.

The withdrawal came as mediators announced on Saturday that the rival factions had reached a tentative transition deal that could see interim leader Andry Rajoelina and the man he ousted, Marc Ravalomanana, face off in a new presidential election.

The proposed accord, which all the parties have yet to ratify, calls for "the participation of the former heads of state and the head of the transition in the next presidential election".

Rajoelina, the 34-year-old ex-mayor of Antananarivo, forced Ravalomanana -- the African island's elected president -- out of office in March after spearheading opposition protests for weeks and securing the army's support.

The negotiations are led by a team consisting of representatives from the United Nations, the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) and the Southern African Development Community. -- Sapa-AFP

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