Two Rivals of Madagascar to Hold Talks in Dakar: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 06, 2002

Two Rivals of Madagascar to Hold Talks in Dakar: Report

The two rivals of Madagascar have agreed to hold talks this weekend in Dakar, capital of Senegal, a local media report said in Tananarive Wednesday.

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The two rivals of Madagascar have agreed to hold talks this weekend in Dakar, capital of Senegal, a local media report said in Tananarive Wednesday.

The two, current President Marc Ravalomanana and former head ofstate Didier Ratsiraka, would discuss the crisis in the Indian Ocean island country, state radio reported.

By Saturday at the latest, they will go to Dakar to participatein the talks, which were mediated by the presidents of Senegal, Zambia and Gabon, said Adama Guindo, coordinator for the United Nations Development Program.

According to an earlier report, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Organization of African Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Amara Essy, President Omar Bongo of Gabon and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin were due to meet in Libreville to discuss the crisis.

The OAU has also reiterated its support for an accord signed inDakar in April between Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka, which provided an appropriate framework to settle the crisis and called on both sides to apply maximum restraint and avoid actions that could aggravate the situation.

But the agreement was never implemented.

Madagascar has been split between two rivals since last December, when the presidential election were held in the country.

Ravalomanana, a businessman-turned politician, who declared himself president in February, was officially sworn in on May 6 aspresident of Madagascar in Tananarive.

He was declared the winner of the presidential election on April 29 after months of dispute with Ratsiraka, who has rejected the recount result, saying it was biased.

Ratsiraka has moved his cabinet to the eastern port of Toamasina, his home region and political stronghold.

His supporters have erected barricades and blown up bridges on main roads to isolate the capital, cutting off supplies of fuel and other essential goods.

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