Madagascar

Date: February 25th, 2003 |

Eight months after a political crisis nearly swept the country into civil war, conditions have returned to normal here. Given how tense the situation was during the first half of 2002, it is remarkable that there has been little civil unrest since then. The country has put the crisis behind it and moved forward. Americans [read more]

Madagascar

Date: June 4th, 2002 |

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The political crisis caused by a disputed presidential election is spiraling close to civil war now as troops loyal to the newly elected president are fighting with those loyal to the defeated incumbent who refused to accept a court ruling that he lost the election. Conflict has occurred in the vanilla-producing region of Diego Suarez [read more]

Madagascar

Date: April 23rd, 2002 |

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A resolution of the election crisis and the corresponding unrest between opposing groups may have been found with the challenger who had declared himself president retracting his claim in exchange for a ballot recount. The agreement has raised hopes that the blockade of Antananarivo will now end and supplies will begin to move in from [read more]

Madagascar

Date: March 5th, 2002 |

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The political crisis here has taken a turn for the worse, with the government declaring martial law in Antananarivo province, a blockade of the capital city of Antananarivo causing fuel shortages that could lead to disruption of power and water services, and diminishing food supplies. The international airport cannot handle its usual traffic, and Air [read more]

Madagascar

Date: February 12th, 2002 |

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Demonstrations against election results have brought up to half a million people into the streets of Antananarivo almost daily the past two weeks, and such gatherings may continue until mid-April, when results of a run-off election will be announced. Protesters believe the opposition candidate won the initial election free and clear, and many observers agree. [read more]

Madagascar

Date: July 16th, 2002 |

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The six-month political crisis that stemmed from a disputed presidential election has ended and now the process of cleaning up the mess is underway. The defeated incumbent fled the country and the new government now controls the entire country. Further violent clashes are considered unlikely. Commercial air traffic to the island is being restored. Roadblocks [read more]

Madagascar

Date: April 30th, 2002 |

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A “peace plan” signed by both contenders for the presidency should have solved the four-month-old political standoff, but now that the high court has completed a ballot recount and declared the opposition leader the winner, with enough votes to claim the office outright, the incumbent has refused to accept the result. His action will no [read more]

Madagascar

Date: April 16th, 2002 |

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The crisis caused by a disputed presidential election has become more violent in recent days, with fighting occurring in the city of Fianaratsoa. As a result, the State Department has ordered all personnel to depart Fianaratsoa province and advises travelers to avoid the city and province at this time. Supporters of the two rivals to [read more]

Madagascar

Date: February 26th, 2002 |

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An election dispute has prompted several weeks of mass protests in the capital, Antananarivo, with recent daily crowds numbering half a million. The opposition candidate, who claims to have been cheated of an outright win in the December election, declared himself president Feb. 22 prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. Demonstrations in [read more]

Madagascar

Date: January 8th, 2002 |

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Thousands of demonstrators protesting presidential election results were dispersed with tear gas and stun grenades in Antananarivo January 7. It was the second demonstration in four days and the crowd was estimated to number 30,000. According to the official tally, no candidate won a majority of the votes in the Dec. 16 election, but opposition [read more]