A memorandum for a harshly disputed amnesty

The SADC’s delegation presented to the transitional leader and to the national unity Prime Minister a memorandum concerning the pending amnesty bill. The draft is supposed to comply with the roadmap, but its content has not been made public. Experts from the SADC turned out their conclusions based on proposals from the ruling power’s justice department as well as from the other involved forces.

Neither a cabinet meeting nor any other institution would be allowed to alter this draft. All of the institutions are expecting to jointly address this memorandum produced by the SADC,

including the Parliament. The political forces represented within both chambers, namely the Congress and the Supreme Council would therefore be the ones to have a say during parliamentary debates, and will express their final verdict about the amnesty through a vote.

Christine Razanamahasoa, the HAT’s justice minister claimed the right to protect this draft against any alteration as hers. “You may receive the SADC proposals as long as they do not attack national sovereignty,” she said.

The meaning of National sovereignty according to Rajoelina, is the supreme excuse to prevent the president ousted in 2009 by his putsch to come home. “We did follow the roadmap’s commands … it is a broad and general amnesty covering 8 years from 2002 to 2009”, said Christine Razanamahasoa.

A law for or against Marc Ravalomanana

The main challenge will be the conditions to be imposed by a Rajoelina sphere in control of  the transitional parliament of the Transition in order to deny amnesty to President Ravalomanana. “It’s hard to tell who will get it or not, there will be the Committee for National Reconciliation”, skirted the HAT’s justice minister.

The Ravalomanana sphere tries to shortcut the HAT’s loophole. “Marc Ravalomanana does not need any amnesty for having been trialed by an incompetent and biased court” said Mamy Rakotoarivelo.

The president of transitional Congress is dying for addressing the amnesty draft as early as possible. “We must clearly implement appeasement and call the FIGN and BANI cases related trials off, since they are political prisoners arrested on purely political incentives.”

According Rakotoarivelo Mamy, the implementation of the roadmap’s Articles 16 to 20 remains paramount. “They imply the unconditional return home of President Ravalomanana. He, who would intend to stop or kill him, will fully endorse the consequences” he declared. The appeasement policy and the potential elections will closely depend on this amnesty bill. In between, the arrival of UN experts has been postponed.