Dear Friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord! We pray you know the blessings of God’s grace in your lives, both personally and professionally.

We are writing with news of continuing upheaval in our island home, Madagascar. There have been many hopeful moments in the last months, but they have usually been followed by more depressing developments.

As we shared with you last month, we came to the capital Antananarivo for a mission meeting over the Easter weekend and were unable to return home because of violence in our home city of Fianarantsoa. The situation there increased in difficulty through mid-April, when the governor of the old regime finally left Fianarantsoa and the new governor was installed, to great celebrations. During the days of battle, around 25 people were killed and many, many more were injured.

As the situation in Fianarantsoa was calming down, the two presidents of the island went to Dakar, Senegal, to try to resolve the conflict. The meeting was sponsored by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the European Union (EU) and the UN. An agreement was signed by both presidents that should lead to peace, and the Malagasy people heaved a sigh of relief. Important components of the agreement included: (1) a recount of the December election results, and if the recount showed no clear winner, then (2) a referendum between the two to choose the new president (3) that all economic blockades stopping the circulation of goods and people would be immediately lifted (4) and that the two men, if the recount did not show a clear winner, would form a six-month government of national unity before the referendum (known as an election in other areas of the world).

But after the two left Dakar, things began to unravel. The new president, Marc Ravalomanana, came directly back to Madagascar and began to comply with agreement directives, including no longer referring to himself as president. The old president, Didier Ratsiraka, went to France from Dakar, and came home by way of Libya, visiting political friends along the way. Finally, Ratsiraka returned to the island on Sunday, April 28, and announced at the airport to reporters that he would not accept the recount results, no matter what, because the judges conducting the recount were partisans against him. The economic blockades, all put up by Ratsiraka’s forces, have not yet been lifted and show no sign of coming down soon. In addition, the old governor of Fianarantsoa province has set up a new office in the port city of Manakara and announced plans to try and stop any fuel from getting to the capital or to Fianarantsoa through that port. A day after this announcement, a bridge was blown up on the road between Manakara and Fianarantsoa.

On Monday, April 29, the High Constitutional Court announced the results of the election recount: 51.46% for Ravalomanana, 35.9% for Ratsiraka. It also detailed some of the massive fraud that had occurred for Ratsiraka. The Court declared Ravalomanana president. The old governors of four provinces all promptly threatened secession, and one, Tamatave (where Ratsiraka has his power base and from whence he is starving the country of needed resources), declared itself an independent republic. The international diplomatic corps, all of whom attended or sent representatives to the Court’s announcement, have been stunning in the silence of their response. It has become clear that none of the internationals who have so much power in what happens here expected a clear winner to emerge from the recount, and they are now scrambling to respond.

Yesterday, May 1, after making a statement in Addis Ababa that "The only thing that will save Madagascar now is a referendum," OAU officials arrived in Madagascar. They flew into Tamatave to have their first meetings with Ratsiraka and his associates just as that province declared itself an independent nation. This move has been interpreted by many in Madagascar as a nod to the international sense that Ratsiraka is still the legitimate leader of the nation. The OAU has also requested that President Ravalomanana put off his inauguration, set for Friday, May 3. He has acceded to this request, but states that he is not giving up the presidency.

We talked to President Rabenorolahy Benjamin of the Malagasy Lutheran Church yesterday. He asked us about the U.S. response to the recount results. In short, the U.S. has not responded. We expressed our great surprise and embarrassment at the embassy’s silence. "Well," said President Rabenorolahy, "the French have not accepted Ravalomanana as president, and so the U.S. will not speak until their friends speak."

France is the former (?) colonial power here, and the power of the French government is still very much felt in Madagascar. France is comfortable with Ratsiraka. Ratsiraka has been kind to French business interests, and French president Jacques Chirac has personally profited greatly from the Malagasy sapphire trade, which Ratsiraka controls.

What we as American citizens struggle with is the unwillingness of the U.S. to offend the French government about events in Madagascar—even for the cause of respecting the Malagasy people’s clear choice. One of the State Department’s categories in its human rights reports is "the right of citizens to choose their leaders." By its silence, the U.S. government, which claims to be neutral, in fact stands with Ratsiraka. This means that the U.S. in this instance is standing with violence, bloodshed, murder, untold human suffering, and injustice, including massive electoral fraud. President Rabenorolahy is probably right: the U.S. won’t speak when it would offend the French, who have strategic importance, no matter what harm is caused to the Malagasy.

Meanwhile, the suffering of the Malagasy people has increased exponentially. Aid organizations have announced alarming jumps in rates of infant and maternal mortality since the crisis began. The economy is in tatters, and international businesses are moving out of Madagascar in droves. Every sector of the economy has been affected, from handicraft producers to multinational corporations who have offices here. With the blockades, vital services such as schools and hospitals have been affected. Many rural hospitals have stopped doing surgery and other activities that require generators, as they have no fuel to run the generators. Many international embassies have advised their citizens to leave because of the deterioration of the health system since the crisis began. In a visit with church health workers this week, we learned that many crucial medicines are either in short supply or don’t exist anymore anywhere on the island. Injectable cloroquine, the only option doctors have to use when the patient is in a malaria-induced coma, is completely gone. As malaria is the second leading cause of death (affecting mostly children, pregnant women, and the elderly), this is a true emergency—and is caused only by Ratsiraka’s blockades.

We will be leaving Madagascar for a two-month vacation and study leave in the U.S. on May 10. We ask that you keep the situation in Madagascar in your prayers. We ask also that you write or call your representatives in Washington, many of whom are probably completely unaware of the situation, to urge recognition of Ravalomanana as President of Madagascar. You can also urge that the U.S. press for a humanitarian corridor through the blockades for medicines and foodstuffs. The situation has become increasingly critical on the island and your Malagasy brothers and sisters really need the support of American Christians at this time.

As always, we rely on your prayerful support, as do our Malagasy friends and colleagues. In times like these it is very reassuring to be part of the church—a global movement of faith-based relationship. The long-suffering but always faithful Malagasy people continue to fill the churches and to pray for justice and peace; even during yesterday’s May Day rock concert there was a long worship service! We thank you for keeping us who serve here and most especially the people of Madagascar in your prayers.

In the hope of the Risen Lord,

Cynthia Holder Rich and Mark Hrecz Rich
PCUSA and ELCA missionaries to Madagascar

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 41