Blanche Nirina Richard : les conférences régionales plus fortes que Maputo ?

Blanche Nirina Richard: regional conferences are more relevant than Maputo, aren’t they?

Public opinion, popular demands or a fictional majority? Whose population does the civil society refer to when it is said to be politically engaged? Blanche Nirina Richard, chairwoman of the National Conferences Organization Committee, is asking the HAT to defend the people’s expectations. 

As having been propelled to the outposts of the civil society, Blanche Nirina Richard is part of those opposed to Maputo. She is denouncing the discount of resolutions adopted through the popular consultations officially entrusted by the Transition’s regime to the civil society. She is evoking the population’s disarray as well as the poor understanding of the agreed texts, and she is asking for Maputo II to be postponed. 

Mrs. Richard, former close collaborator with Didier Ratsiraka, was at the head of the organization of the national assemblies and the “one-sided” national conferences for the Rajoelina mobility. She is still asserting that they haven’t been one-sided, estimating that all of the nation’s groupings have been represented. 

The national conferences or assemblies were supposed to be an operation aiming to provide popular legitimacy to the street demonstrations which led to the ouster of the elected president. Blanche Nirina Richard’s team is asking the HAT to defend the resolutions of the regional conferences. Not doing so would amount to “a betrayal of the people”, said the organization committee. 

Blanche Nirina Richard’s third request is a wee bit desperate. She would like to postpone the national conference basically meant to take place on August 24th, 2009. The organization has been called off since negotiations between the four mobilities in Maputo had begun. This query to the HAT is an indirect message addressed to Andry Rajoelina. Maputo I has already cost quite a few casualties.. 

The national conference was supposed to serve as a paved way drawn for Andry Rajoelina to become on the one hand, a “legal” and” legitimate chief of state”, and a future candidate to the presidency, on the other hand. For Blanche Nirina Richard’s team, the official mission is concerning a setting up of a fourth Republic based on the people’s opinion. 

Hard to propose a synthesis of thousands of people’s opinions gathered by the regional conferences, isn’t it? As a matter of fact, resolutions have been contested. This kind of popular dialogue could eventually have ruled the Maputo stage out if it had been inclusive and consensual. As a result, there are political agreements, established at the top level but deeply contrasting with the Rajoelina mobility’s national consultations. 

Although being quite witty when denouncing the Maputo agreements, can Blanche Nirina Richard speak on behalf of the people? The mobilization of street militants belonging to no political party is to be dreaded. The respect of regional conferences resolutions is a  more that valid pretext for the losers of the agreements