Madagascar
From Travel.asianfanatics.net
The Republic of Madagascar, or Madagascar, is a borderless country|borderless island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of Africa. Madagascar is the List of islands by size|4th largest island in the world. It is the home of five percent of the world'splant and animal species, 80 percent of them unique to Madagascar. Among its most notable examples of biodiversity are the lemur family of primates and its baobab|baobab trees.
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[edit] History
According to local legend, the island was first inhabited by the Vazimba, a race of white pygmies. These people, if they existed, were displaced by successive waves of Polynesian migrants from the Malayo-Indonesian archipelago, from as early as the sixth century AD. In the ninth century, Madagascar was a major trading power in the western Indian Ocean. Moreover, ancient ruins indicate an extensive Arab presence on the island around that time. Bantu tribes from mainland Africa later settled on the west coast. The first Europeans arrived in the mid-17th century. Several French settlements were established on the south-east coast but were destroyed within 30 years.
At the time, Madagascar supported several kingdoms along its coastline and, in the central highlands, the kingdom of the Merina, which was the dominant ethnic group. From their fortress city of Antananarivo, the 19th-century kings gradually conquered the coastal kingdoms and by 1830 most of the island was under unified Merina control. The success of the Merina was partly due to a well-worked strategy of playing off rival European colonists against each other: in particular, the British and the French. However, the UK – with copious commitments elsewhere – was content by the end of the 19th century to leave the southern Indian Ocean to the French. Without a counter-balancing power, Madagascar was vulnerable to French takeover, which duly occurred in 1896 when the Merina kingdom was overthrown by a French military force.
The French introduced cash crops to their new colony. In 1948, the Malagasy people sought to re-establish their independence through armed insurrection. They were unsuccessful, but the uprising paved the way for independence, which came in 1960. Philibert Tsirana’s PSD Party ruled with the support of France and the people of the coastal regions until 1972, when highland agitation against French influence prompted the Army Chief of Staff, Major-General Ramanantsoa, to assume executive power for the purpose of pursuing a more nationalistic policy. Three years later the military government resigned after selecting Lt-Commander Didier Ratsiraka as head of state.
A gradual civilianization of the Government culminated in 1977 in elections to the National People’s Assembly, which were won by the sole legal party, Avant-garde de la Révolution Malgache (AREMA). Other political groupings have since emerged, but an equally important factor in the island’s politics is the historic rivalry between the highland and lowland (coastal) clans. This was illustrated by the 1989 dispute over a new appointment to the post of prime minister. When a highlander and ethnic Merina, Colonel Ramahatra, was announced, the lowland opposition groups – ranging from Christian Democrats to old-style Maoists – put aside their differences to campaign, albeit unsuccessfully, against the appointment. President Ratsiraka, who was re-elected in 1983, was allied to neither camp. He had enjoyed the consistent support of the French since they managed to persuade him to drop his initial attachment to Marxism in the 1970s. Ratsiraka remained in power, amid occasional bouts of civil unrest, for the next 10 years.
In 1992, under intense domestic and international pressure, Ratsiraka conceded the introduction of a genuinely democratic constitution. The first presidential poll under the new system, held in 1993, saw Ratsiraka defeated by Albert Zafy. Three years later, however, Ratsiraka recovered the office and held on to it until 2001. The old highland/lowland rivalry which previously characterized the country’s politics had by now evolved into an urban/rural split. This emerged at the 2001 election. This time Ratsiraka’s opponent was a businessman, Marc Ravalomanana, who drew his main support from urban areas. There was no question that Ravalomanana topped the first round of polling: in dispute was whether or not he had reached the 50 per cent threshold required to claim victory without a second-round run-off (which would have been against Ratsiraka).
Both sides mobilized their supporters and a bizarre but violent stand-off followed: the capital was effectively cut off from the rest of the country; roads and bridges were destroyed and suppliers of food and essential goods were unable or unwilling to sell their goods in the capital. With both sides spurning mediation, the outcome depended upon who gained the support of the army. Most senior officers sided with Ravalomanana and, by July 2002, he had secured control over the whole country. Ratsiraka went into exile and was later convicted in his absence of embezzlement. The crisis left Madagascar in a fragile political and economic condition; the country’s difficulties have since been compounded by severe drought, especially in the southern part of the island.
[edit] Government
Under the terms of a new constitution adopted by popular referendum in August 1992, legislative power resides in a bicameral legislature, comprising a partially-elected Senate and fully-elected National Assembly, each of which has a four-year term. A Council of Ministers is appointed by the Prime Minister. The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President from a list of candidates nominated by the National Assembly. Executive power rests with the prime minister.
[edit] Economy
Madagascar’s mainly agricultural economy relies heavily on coffee production to earn foreign exchange, and this has suffered lately from a decline in world demand and prices. Vanilla, cloves, sisal, cocoa and butter beans are the island’s other important cash crops. Rice and cassava are produced primarily for domestic staple consumption. Fishing is underdeveloped thus far: the government, which still exercises extensive control over the economy, is hoping to improve its performance. The country has appreciable mineral deposits of chromium ore, bauxite and titanium ore, all of which are being exploited. The recent discovery of oil deposits is set to bring about further development as well as hopefully resolve Madagascar’s energy problems. 15 per cent of GDP derives from the manufacturing industry, mainly textiles and food processing. The service sector is relatively underdeveloped at present. The government has been looking at ways of developing the tourism industry, and has focused on the island’s abundance of exotic wildlife as a major attraction. Although the Madagascan economy has considerable potential, there are major problems to overcome. There is little that can be done about the climate; Madagascar suffers from frequent cyclones which have done severe damage to agriculture, especially in the last few years. More seriously, the political instability which has afflicted Madagascar throughout 2002 threatens to undermine the economy. In 2001, economic growth rose sharply from near zero to a healthy 6 per cent. The country continues to rely heavily on loans and grants from the EU (especially France) and the World Bank: these were among a consortium of donors which in July 2002 agreed a major aid package worth $2.3 billion over four years. France accounts for about 30 per cent of all Madagascar’s trade; the USA and the CIS are other important trading partners.
[edit] Politics
Madagascar's first President, Philibert Tsiranana, was elected when his Social Democratic Party gained power at independence in 1960 and was reelected without opposition in March 1972. However, he resigned only 2 months later in response to massive antigovernment demonstrations. The unrest continued, and Tsiranana's successor, Gen. Gabriel Ramanantsoa, resigned on February 5, 1975, handing over executive power to Lt. Col. Richard Ratsimandrava, who was assassinated 6 days later. A provisional military directorate then ruled until a new government was formed in June 1975, under Didier Ratsiraka.
During the 16 subsequent years of President Ratsiraka's rule, Madagascar continued under a government committed to revolutionary socialism based on the 1975 Constitution establishing a highly centralized state. During this period a strategy of nationalization of private enterprises, centralization of the economy and "Malgasization" of the education system crippled the economy, leaving traces even today of a highly centralized economic system and a high level of illiteracy. National elections in 1982 and 1989 returned Ratsiraka for a second and third 7-year presidential term. For much of this period, only limited and restrained political opposition was tolerated, with no direct criticism of the president permitted in the press.
With an easing of restrictions on political expression, beginning in the late 1980s, the Ratsiraka regime came under increasing pressure to make fundamental changes. In response to a deteriorating economy, Ratsiraka relaxed socialist economic policies and instituted some liberal, private-sector reforms. These, along with political reforms like the elimination of press censorship in 1989 and the formation of more political parties in 1990, were insufficient to placate a growing opposition movement known as Hery Velona ("Active Forces"). A number of already existing political parties and their leaders, among them Albert Zafy and Rakotoniaina Manandafy, anchored this movement which was especially strong in Antananarivo and the surrounding high plateau.
In response to largely peaceful mass demonstrations and crippling general strikes, Ratsiraka replaced his prime minister in August 1991 but suffered an irreparable setback soon thereafter when his troops fired on peaceful demonstrators marching on Iavoloha, the suburban presidential palace, killing more than 30.
In an increasingly weakened position, Ratsiraka acceded to negotiations on the formation of a transitional government. The resulting "Panorama Convention" of October 31, 1991, stripped Ratsiraka of nearly all of his powers, created interim institutions, and set an 18-month timetable for completing a transition to a new form of constitutional government. The High Constitutional Court was retained as the ultimate judicial arbiter of the process.
In March 1992, a widely representative National Forum organized by the FFKM (Malagasy Christian Council of Churches) drafted a new Constitution. Troops guarding the proceedings clashed with pro-Ratsiraka "federalists" who tried to disrupt the forum in protest of draft constitutional provisions preventing the incumbent president from running again. The text of the new Constitution was put to a nationwide referendum in August 1992 and approved by a wide margin, despite efforts by federalists to disrupt balloting in several coastal areas.
Presidential elections were held on November 25, 1992, after the High Constitutional Court had ruled, over Hery Velona objections, that Ratsiraka could become a candidate. Runoff elections were held in February 1993, and the leader of the Hery Velona movement, Albert Zafy, defeated Ratsiraka. Zafy was sworn in as President on March 27, 1993. After President Zafy's impeachment by the National Assembly in 1996 and the short quasi-presidency of Norbert Ratsirahonana, the 1997 elections once again pitted Zafy and Ratsiraka, with Ratsiraka this time emerging victorious. A National Assembly dominated by members of President Ratsiraka'a political party AREMA subsequently passed the 1998 Constitution, which considerably strengthened the presidency.
In December 2001, a presidential election was held in which both major candidates claimed victory. The Ministry of the Interior declared incumbent Ratsiraka of the AREMA party victorious. Marc Ravalomanana contested the results and claimed victory. A political crisis followed in which Ratsiraka supporters cut major transport routes from the primary port city to the capital city, a stronghold of Ravalomanana support. Sporadic violence and considerable economic disruption continued until July 2002 when Ratsiraka and several of his prominent supporters fled to exile in France. In addition to political differences, ethnic differences played a role in the crisis and continue to play a role in politics. Ratsiraka is from the coastal Betsimisaraka tribe and Ravalomanana comes from the highland Merina tribe.
After the end of the 2002 political crisis, President Ravalomanana began many reform projects, forcefully advocating "rapid and durable development" and the launching of a battle against corruption. December 2002 legislative elections gave his newly formed TIM (Tiako-I-Madagasikara) (I Love Madagascar) Party a commanding majority in the National Assembly. November 2003 municipal elections were conducted freely, returning a majority of supporters of the president, but also significant numbers of independent and regional opposition figures.
