Former Dictator Ratsiraka’s men maintain a low profile

Like highway robbers, Mr. Ratsiraka’s former collaborators have been rotting in Malagasy prisons for several weeks.
Former prime minister Tantely Andrianarivo joined his cohorts the night of October 21, 2002, at Antanimora’s detention center.
From now on, that is where he will be held under warrant following his arraignment at the capital city’s court house.
As you may recall, Mr. Andrianarivo, as Ratsiraka’s prime minister, was placed under house arrest in June 2002.

At Antanimora’s state prison, former government officials, former provincial governors, and high ranking military officers, all accused of instigating the crimes which were perpetrated in Madagascar during the political crisis, stand, side by side, everyday.
Are they guilty?
For now, the majority of these former high ranking officials await the verdict.
One thing is certain: they have not been tortured.
They swear to that.
Moreover, independent sources report that they receive regular visits from representative of the International Red Cross Committee, a humanitarian organization which has the right and the duty to formulate recommendations pertaining to human rights issues within prisons.

Undoubtedly, these former officials never expected anything like this.
Had they known that their association with former president Didier Ratsiraka would lead to their current predicament, they would have surely avoided it.
Vae victis, woe to the vanquished, today fittingly applies to these former sympathizers, who unlike their former boss, could not leave Madagascar in time to avoid the throes of a prison.
These loyal men have to endure this humiliation until the fate of their chief is decided.
The extradition of the former president, as well as the sympathizers who managed to flee the country, is once again being debated.
According to the Malagasy “Gazetiko” daily publication, a petition demanding the extradition of the former head of state, from the Malagasy authorities, would have already gathered some 40,000 signatures.
The plot thickens even more, given the fact that on October 23, 2002, the state-sponsored national television network announced that a former adviser to Mr. Ratsiraka is preparing to dispatch some one hundred mercenaries to Madagascar to attempt another coup d’état.

The idea of his prime minister, and his governors in prison, while Mr. Ratsiraka leads a life of leisure in Paris does not sit well for many in Madagascar, even within his own camp.
His cohorts are currently serving as scapegoats.
Understandably, for now, AREMA party national secretary, Pierrot Rajaonarivelo, for his part, does not want to run the risk of returning to Madagascar.

Translated by J. F. Razanamiadana