Has anyone really witnessed violations of human rights in the south?

The SADC’s Office in Madagascar caused the stir when addressing the “Operation Tandroka” supposed to eliminate the Dahalo leader and cattle theft in chief Remenabila, and restore security in the southern regions by the same way. The Office expressed its “concerns” about the way the operation was carried out: The management of this home security issue “without any respect for human rights … would be quite negatively impacting over the entire electoral process. “

On the ground, the operation led by General Radafy and Colonel Lylison claimed its lot of collateral damages, part of which villagers and scores of people fleeing their homes, scurrying for refuge in the woods in order to escape the special forces’ retaliation, assuming that they lived long enough to do so. The SADC called the police forces and the army upon “refraining from unnecessary violence” and “complying with their constitutional responsibility of protecting the country as well as its citizens.”

In face of this new “attack”, the HAT has not yet responded. Its supporters and the Rajoelina political sphere are combining their efforts against Amnesty International for the moment, the leading international world class institution denouncing abuses worldwide, including the arbitrary executions and arsons committed by the security forces in the south of Madagascar. “They don’t know not what they are talking about, these were fairytales reported by politicians. Let them send people to investigate in the south of the island by themselves” angrily replied the HAT’s minister Julien Reboza.

The HAT’s super-avenger equally strains to put Amnesty International into pieces with the same argument. “Knowing what it’s all about is paramount, and its political point can easily get read out into what was said earlier, ” said General Richard Ravalomanana. This leading national champion of legalized crackdowns accused Amnesty International of serving political incentives by quickly buying some political figures’ critics based on distorted second hand facts.

HAT and its armada dare for the presentation of evidences of these atrocities, knowing that the last living witnesses are hiding in the woods to escape abuses. General Ravalomanana puts besides the argument forth, that most of the killed Dahalo outlaws would have fallen as a result of confrontations with the assaulted villagers; and that Colonel Lylison’s men would have conducted the cleanest possible war by eliminating some bandits who decided to resist and meet their fate. The jury’s appreciation: fair script, only far from convincing.

Looting, entire villages leveled to the ground, abusive arrests, executions … the security forces reached the pinnacle of terror to restore harmony, as a matter of fact. Former parliamentarian Louisette Raharimalala confirmed that the enumerated atrocities were indeed committed by the special forces personally sent by the HAT. In defiance of public deterrents, she replied with displaying her determination to defend the southern population. Although her realism and pragmatism inevitably bring her to concede how suicidal any complain could be made by the ruling power’s likely retaliation, she did not turn the back of her duty of speaking out. Compared to her, the ruling HAT still has to enforce its version of the facts, believed so far by nobody but its own supporters