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March 18, 2009
The Madagascar Drama

The Independent tries to give an answer to What is going on in Madagascar?.

A young, rich and now popular mayor just kicked an older, richer and now unpopular President out of his office. The background is corruption and sell-outs to foreign conglomerates. Madagascar is beautiful and the elite is chronically corrupt with 70% of the people living on less than $2 per day.

So just another post-colonial African play one might think.

But there is something curious about the names of the main characters involved in this drama. Consider:

  • Ravalomanana, Marc: elected President who now quit after protests and a mutiny
  • Rajoelina, Andry: former DJ and mayor who led the protests
  • Ratsiraka, Didier: former President and probably the man behind Rajoelina
  • Ramorosan, Hyppolite: Vice-Admiral and now heading a somewhat ruling military board
  • Rasolofomahandry, Edmond: army chief kicked out by a mutiny of young officers
  • Ranaivoniarivo, Mamy: Vice-Admiral and defense minister kicked out by the mutiny
  • Ndriarijaona, Andre: Colonel, new army chief

I suspect that either the Independent did get the last person's name wrong, or that the writer of this plot still has a special role in mind for him. Maybe as the new President where he then would really stick out?

Posted by b on March 18, 2009 at 12:27 UTC | Permalink
Comments

What R you getting at?

Posted by: David | Mar 18 2009 14:33 utc | 1

YEAAAAA. b, thank you, that really brightened up my morning.

Posted by: David R | Mar 18 2009 15:10 utc | 2

I guess it’s called MadagascaR for a reason…
And I suppose it’s been rather arrogant of me to claim “David” as my name, it’s not like I’m the only one or anything like that, so from henceforth, I will now post as d.13…

Posted by: d.13 | Mar 18 2009 15:33 utc | 3

They speak Malagasay, which has roots in Indonesia and is also sorta Polynesian. (My vagueness, wiki or such will correct it.) Completely foreign to Indo-European, Arab, eyes and ears.
So I thought Ra- might be a prefix or a root or some particle (e.g. indicating masculinity) or contraction used in naming (like Sin- son of, or Mac, etc.)
RA means blood! (from on-line dictionary.)

Posted by: Tangerine | Mar 18 2009 16:21 utc | 4

Arrr, more pirates? Where’s b_rrreal on this?

Posted by: biklett | Mar 18 2009 16:23 utc | 5

They have more syllables than the finns.
I’d like to see those names on the back of a baseball jersey.

Posted by: slothrop | Mar 18 2009 17:09 utc | 6

I wonder if this has anything to do with the massive agricultural land leases Madagascar has been granting to foreign companies….

Posted by: Jeremiah | Mar 18 2009 18:09 utc | 7

@Jeremiah – yes, the Daewoo lease of farmland in Madagascar was a main reason for this coup. It is now unlikely to go through.

Posted by: b | Mar 18 2009 18:48 utc | 8

martians (“Buckaroo Banzai”)
:-0

Posted by: esme | Mar 19 2009 4:13 utc | 9

Madagascar scraps Daewoo farm deal

South Korea’s project to transform Madagascar into its breadbasket, branded by some as neo-colonial, came to an abrupt end on Wednesday when the Indian Ocean island’s new president said he would shelve the plan.
Daewoo Logistic’s deal to lease a huge tract of farmland, half the size of Belgium, to grow food crops to send back to Seoul was a source of popular resentment that contributed to the fall of Marc Ravalomanana, the former president.
Andry Rajoelina, who was declared president by the military and constitutional court after months of demonstrations and who will be formally sworn in on Saturday, said that Daewoo’s plan was “cancelled”.
“We are not against the idea of working with investors, but if we want to sell or rent out land, we have to change the constitution, you have to consult the people,” Mr Rajoelina said in Antananarivo, the country’s capital. “So at this hour the deal is cancelled.”
The revelation of the plan was the catalyst that turned smouldering dissatisfaction with the rule of Mr Ravalomanana into the rebellion that ousted him on Tuesday.
Once early prospecting of land became public, outrage at the president’s perceived use of political office to further his own business interests changed gear, said a well-connected Malagasy, who asked not to be named. “It was the news that said Daewoo expected to pay nothing for the land that accelerated the [political] trouble,” he added.
Mr Rajoelina’s announcement came hours after Daewoo officials said they would press ahead with the project regardless of the political situation.
…
The South Korean company initially said it had secured a lease for 99 years for about 1.3m hectares and expected to pay nothing as a rent, although it later said it was still in negotiations with Mr Ravalomanana’s former government.
The company floated the plan in January to lease 900,000 hectares of land with infrastructure investments worth $2bn (€1.5bn, £1.4bn). The plan suggested Daewoo could create up to 45,000 jobs.
Seoul’s long-term target was to import up to half its corn needs, cutting its dependence on the US, Argentina and Brazil. South Korea is the world’s fourth largest corn importer.

Posted by: b | Mar 19 2009 9:01 utc | 10

Madagascar’s people are racially divided to some extent. In general, those from the central highlands are of a mixed African/Southeast Asian appearance, while people from the coastal areas look more African. The now-former leader Ravalomanana looks more Asian than African, while the new leader Rajoelina looks entirely Asian. Both are from the central highlands. I can’t find any pictures online of the new military leader Ndriarijaona, but chances are he’s from the coastal areas and of African appearance.

Posted by: Peter | Mar 19 2009 19:06 utc | 11

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