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Madagascar MADAGASCAR
Security Concerns
Madagascar faces no external threat. However, during
the
1980s, Madagascar experienced periods of tension with
South
Africa. Although it had the capabilities to launch an air
or
amphibious attack, South Africa never threatened
Madagascar,
largely because it feared international condemnation.
After
Frederik Willem de Klerk became South Africa's president
in 1989,
relations between the two countries gradually improved.
Since independence, there have been several internal
threats
against the Malagasy government. This domestic instability
reflected the growing restiveness of opposition elements
and
popular frustration with the government's inability to
resolve
the political, economic, and social problems confronting
the
island. Also, the Malagasy armed forces repeatedly have
acted
against the government for failing to preserve law and
order.
The first serious challenge to the government occurred
on
April 1-2, 1971, when more than 1,000 armed members of the
left
wing National Movement for the Independence of Madagascar
(Mouvement National pour l'Indépendance de
Madagascar--Monima)
attacked five military posts in Tuléar Province.
Government
forces quickly restored order and imprisoned Monima's
leader,
Monja Jaona. According to a government communiqué, Monima
casualties included forty-five killed, nine wounded, and
847 held
for questioning while security forces suffered one killed
and
eleven wounded. According to Jaona, the revolt had been
directed
against the local administration, which had failed to
provide
disaster relief to the province after it had experienced a
drought, followed by floods caused by cyclones. Also at
issue
were government pressures for tax collection at a time
when local
cattle herds were being ravaged by disease.
In early 1972, what began as a student protest against
French
cultural domination of the island's schools quickly spread
to a
call for a general strike to protest poor economic
conditions.
Within days antigovernment protests were occurring in the
capital
and throughout the provinces. On May 13, 1972, elements
from the
Republican Security Forces (Forces Républicaines de
Sécurité--
FRS) opened fire on a group of rioters in Antananarivo,
killing
between fifteen and forty and injuring about 150.
Additionally,
the government declared a state of national emergency. On
May 18,
1972, President Philibert Tsiranana dissolved his
government and
turned over power to the army, under the command of
General
Gabriel Ramanantsoa. The army, which had remained neutral
throughout the general strike, quickly restored order by
placing
military officers in control of the six provinces and
establishing a new, multiethnic cabinet. In November 1972,
after
a national referendum, Ramanantsoa became the new head of
state.
Continued political and economic instability doomed the
Ramanantsoa regime. On December 31, 1974, the armed forces
launched an unsuccessful coup attempt. On February 5,
1975,
Ramanantsoa, hoping to promote political unity, handed
over the
government to the former minister of interior, Colonel
Richard
Ratsimandrava. On February 11, 1975, several members of
the
Mobile Police Group (Groupe Mobile de Police--GMP)
assassinated
Ratsimandrava. The government responded by declaring
martial law,
imposing censorship, and suspending political parties.
Also,
General Gilles Andriamahazo formed the National Military
Directorate, consisting of nineteen military officers from
all
branches of service and from all over the island. On June
15,
1975, Didier Ratsiraka, who had a seat on the National
Military
Directorate, became head of state and president of the new
ruling
body, the Supreme Revolutionary Council.
The next major internal threat surfaced in the
mid-1980s,
when about 6,000 members of various Chinese martial arts
Kung-Fu
associations battled the Tanora Tonga Saina (TTS), which
acted as
Ratsiraka's private presidential security force. Problems
started
in September 1984, after Ratsiraka banned the practice of
martial
arts, which led to several clashes between Kung-Fu
adherents and
the TTS. On December 4, 1984, a larger confrontation
occurred
when Kung-Fu groups attacked TTS headquarters in Behorika,
and
killed more than 100 TTS members. Kung-Fu demonstrations
continued for the next few years. Finally, on July 31,
1986, army
units supported by twelve armored cars and helicopters
demolished
Kung-Fu headquarters in Antananarivo, and killed the
movement's
leader and about 200 of his followers.
In the early 1990s, cycles of escalating political
unrest and
increased governmental repression led to at least three
failed
coup attempts (1989, 1990, and 1992). Additionally,
general
strike demonstrations organized by a pro-democracy
opposition
coalition called Forces Vives (Active Forces) occurred in
Antananarivo, and several other Malagasy towns. Following
the
near paralysis of the economy and demonstrations at the
presidential palace during which government forces opened
fire on
civilians, opposition leaders announced the formation of a
transitional government of national unity. Eventually,
presidential elections, held between November 1992 and
February
1993, resulted in a victory for Forces Vives leader Albert
Zafy
over Ratsiraka.
Data as of August 1994
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