Mail & Guardian Call to free Madagascars ex-president 17 Oct 2014 00:00 Liesl Louw-Vaudran Marc Ravalomananas son alleges he is being forcibly held while SADC condemns his surprise return. Provocative: Marc Ravalomananas return from exile has been condemned by the AU. (AFP) International institutions such as the United Nations, Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross should put pressure on the government in Madagascar to release former president Marc Ravalomanana from forced house arrest, says his spokesperson. South African human rights lawyer Brian Currin says Ravalomanana’s family is worried about the health of the 64-year-old Ravalomanana, who returned to his home country earlier this week after five years in exile in South Africa. After speaking to supporters from the balcony of his home in the capital Antananarivo on Monday morning, heavily armed military police turned up and escorted him out of the building, according to local media. It was not initially clear where he was being held, but it now emerges that he is at a state “resort” in the north of the country, says Currin. Ravalomanana’s son, Tojo, alleges his father was kidnapped. But President Hery Rajaonarimampianina says Ravalomanana is being held for his own protection. “They’ve said his family can come and visit him, but it is 700km from the capital across very difficult terrain and will take 15 hours to drive there,” said Currin. “If his life is in danger, he can be protected in his own home,” he said. Currin dismissed a statement from the African Union condemning Ravalomanana’s surprise return as “disingenuous”. mg.co.za/article/2014-10-16-call-to-free-madagascars-ex-president
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:24:04 +0000
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