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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 11 2012 00:03 | LAST UPDATED Feb 11 2012 00:03 |
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Southern African leaders will meet in Johannesburg this weekend on the crisis in Madagascar, after the suspension of international mediation efforts, South Africa's foreign minister said Thursday. "We believe there is no other solution for Madagascar except for a political solution and we think that can only be found through this process and hence us hosting the extraordinary summit," Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said. Heads of state from the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) will meet on Saturday, with a ministerial meeting on Friday in Johannesburg she said. The crisis on the vast Indian Ocean island erupted three months ago when President Marc Ravalomanana was ousted by opposition leader Andry Rajoelina in an army-backed takeover that followed weeks of street protests. The SADC has already suspended Madagascar over the takeover, and Ravalomanana -- now living in exile in South Africa -- has been lobbying regional leaders to press for his return. "There is no recognition of Rajoelina who was assisted by the army to take power, it's a non-negotiable," Nkoane-Mashabane told journalists in Cape Town. "Having said that, we cannot stand by as the chair of SADC and watch the country falling apart ... The information we are getting from Madagascar is that all is not well on the ground." The summit was announced two days after talks sponsored by the African Union and the United Nations were suspended, with no date set for a resumption. "We have decided to observe a break in order to ponder our strategy and give the Madagascan players the time needed to make concessions," the African Union's Burkinabe envoy, Ablasse Ouedraogo, told reporters on Tuesday.  CONTINUES BELOW "We were quite close to a breakthrough but we are now facing stumbling blocks caused by stiffening positions and preconditions," he said. Talks were launched on April 8 between Rajoelina's transitional authority and supporters of Ravalomanana, who is still recognised by the international community as the island's lawful leader. The consultations are aimed at striking an agreement on the modalities of the transition and eventually a return to constitutional order. The 35-year-old Rajoelina seized power with the army's blessing and support on March 17. He promised elections for 2010 but is constitutionally five years too young to run for president. -- Sapa-AFP TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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