Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane Intervention on the situation in Madagascar remarks

Chairperson,

Allow me to express our sincere appreciation for the AUC  Chairperson’s report covering the activities of the Commission with respect to the situation in Madagascar.

At the outset, I would like to express my country’s deep concern over the continuing political crisis in Madagascar. This crisis precipitated by the Rajoelina-led and military-backed coup d’etat  has plunged that country into international isolation which has severe humanitarian, economic and social consequences for the Malagasy people.

Madagascar is an important part of the SADC family and therefore the whole region remains anxious about the continuing political impasse.  We commend Former President Chissano, acting under the mandate of the Heads of State of SADC for his tireless mediation efforts to bring an end to this crisis. We also commend the UN Secretariat and the AU Commission for the invaluable support given to President Chissano to ensure the effective execution of this important and difficult task. It is through this work that the Malagasy parties could reach landmark accords in the form of the Maputo I and Maputo II Agreements, which set out the constitutional and legal roadmaps for bringing fundamental change to the political landscape of Madagascar. SADC and the AU as well as other members of the international community have endorsed these agreements.

At the January 2010 Double Troika Summit the leaders of SADC expressed the firm conviction that there can be no backtracking by the Malagasy parties on the commitments made in Maputo and Addis Ababa. We would like here to reiterate the message from that Summit: SADC will not countenance the Rajoelina regime’s hubristic attempts to impose a unilateral solution to Madagascar. Using democratic means, processes and institutions to legitimize governments that came to power through unconstitutional means is an affront to the values we have painstakingly nurtured in our regional community over the last years.  Indeed such attempts will not only lead to further isolation of Madagascar in the region, Africa and the world, but will deepen the already calamitous economic consequences for the people of Madagascar.

We call on all the leaders of Madagascar to show the necessary leadership to move the country out of this crisis. They have the roadmap for that. They must scrupulously respect the Maputo and Addis Ababa.  Consensus and not unilateral actions is only way out of this crisis.

It is our sincere desire that the broader international community will rally behind our efforts to help our Malagasy friends to exit their crisis in manner that addresses the roots of that crisis and launches the country on a path of peace, democracy and sustainable development.

I am hopeful, Chairperson, that as we move forward to play our role in finding a lasting solution in Madagascar, we will see more cooperation between the AU Commission and the SADC in the spirit of exiting protocols on role of the RECs in the resolution of conflicts on our continent.

I thank you Chairperson!