Lettre ouverte pour le président Obama

Malagasy Diaspora in the world-GTT International
To His Excellency President Barack Obama
Président of United States


Subject: Madagascar call for actions

Monday 12th of october 2009

Dear President Obama,

We send you our best congratulations for your election as Nobel peace prize.

In your July 1, 2009 address, you argued that many countries in Africa are in the midst of a “worrying trend”. Certainly, with its recent bloody coup d’etat, the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar is part of this trend. For the Malagasy people that we humbly represent, worries have given way to the usurpation of choice and liberty. We write to you on behalf of those Malagasy whose democratically-elected leader has been forced from legitimate power at the end of a gun.

We refuse to sit passively while our country is conducted by individuals whose only platform is direct violence. We also cannot accept the “legalization” and “authorization” of this platform by an assembly that in no way has the consent of the great majority of the Malagasy people.

We strongly believe that many countries are wishing to close the “crisis file” on Madagascar too quickly. We have no illusions about where this will lead our nation. We ask your country to stand firmly, as we do, on one unique and very inspiring historical principle: no nation should be subject to a form of government that is founded upon the force relations of a coup d’etat. The democratically elected president of Madagascar, Marc Ravolomanana, was removed forcibly from the presidency in 2009, yet remains willing to seek a compromise.

We strongly believe that we should only accept a transition government when and if the following three claims are realized:

[1]. Freedom must be returned to those who have been imprisoned for political reasons.

[2]. A neutral, consensual, inclusive, and specific agreement on the leadership of any proposed transition period will be found (and we are sure we can reach that point).

[3]. A set of specific and agreed upon guarantees that the following election will be free and fair.

We thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to express our views. Please help Madagascar gain the international attention and democratic safeguards it deserves.

If you view, as you said, the Nobel prize as a “call for action”, please, view our letter as a another, humble, one. We believe peace cannot be reached if some continue to rule on force and brutality.
Respectfully yours,

Malagasy Diaspora in the World-GTT International
15 rue des savoises
1204 Geneva, Switzerland
collectifgtt@gmail.com