Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world off the southeast coast of Africa; Which is also known as Malagasy. The country of 28 million people is politically heated. A plot to assassinate President Andrei Rajoelina on July 20 has been failed, government officials say. Six people were arrested on charges of involvement in the incident; Among them are two French nationals. Two of the detainees were said to have served in the French military. Many say there are foreign hands behind the incident. Political instability in Madagascar is not new; And foreign intervention is not new there either. Throughout the country’s history, there have been political shifts in foreign fuels. But why are other countries so interested in this poor country on the coast of Africa?
Colonial conflict over Madagascar
In an article in the Financial Times, Kenyan political analyst Nanjala Niabola questioned whether Madagascar had actually survived the colonial period. In his analysis, there has been a power struggle between the Anglophile or the British-American group with the Francophile or French-influenced group for two decades. He explained, however, that the conflict was essentially a geopolitical rivalry between France and Britain for two centuries. President Ravalomana, who won the 2002 election, received a lot of support from the United States for Madagascar. Incumbent President Rajoelina sought refuge at the French embassy to avoid police arrest during the 2009 political unrest in a bid to oust Ravalomanana. The French news agency AFP says the French rescued Rajoelina at the behest of the United Nations. Hundreds of supporters of then-President Ravalomana protested outside the embassy. Niabola says that for two hundred years, the fate of Madagascar has been decided in the western capitals.
From the nineteenth century onwards, the rivalry between the French and the British over control of Madagascar intensified. The French engineer Jean Laborda was appointed chief engineer of the state of Madagascar and built the ‘Rova Palace’ of wood for the royal family in the capital, Antananarivo. In competition with this, the Scottish missionary James Cameron built the palace with stone. Another French businessman, Jean-Franois Lambert, made a trade agreement with the King of Madagascar, which was later used to subdue Madagascar to the French. Influenced by European missionaries, in 1869 the king of Madagascar declared Christianity to be the official religion of the kingdom. Europeans design the country’s education system. The British were responsible for training the country’s army; The intention was to prevent the French from taking control of Madagascar. The law of Madagascar was made in the style of British law. Courts are also built in the European style. In 1883, the French declared war on Madagascar on the pretext of violating the Lambert Charter. This war lasted for about 13 years. Occupying some areas north of the island, the French built Diego Suarez naval base there. To force the surrender, the French navy shelled the two main seaports from the capital, Antananarivo, to the seaports of Toamasina and Mahajang. When that did not work, the French sent troops and fired heavy artillery at the capital, Antananarivo, forcing the French to surrender to Queen Ranavalona III. In 1896, the French declared Madagascar a colony and forced the royal family to emigrate. Thus Madagascar came under the complete control of the French.
After the fall of France to Germany during World War II, the British sought to take control of French-held territories around the world. The argument was that the Germans could take control of them. In 1942, the British occupied Madagascar on the pretext that the Japanese could land in Madagascar. Although the British ceded control of the island to the French, the independence movement in Madagascar began in 1948 at the end of the war. The French suppressed the revolt with strong hands, and almost a decade later the Malagasy were forced to peacefully accept independence from the French. Madagascar was declared an independent country in 1960. The French appointed Philipbert Siranana, the country’s first president. He ruled the country for 12 years. In his time, French citizens controlled important offices in Madagascar. As a result, a massive movement took place in the country. From 1972 to 1975 many coups took place. In the end, the power went to Didier Ratsirakar, a naval officer. Ratsiraka studied in Paris and began his career in the French navy. Although he led the country ostensibly towards socialism, he soon proved that he had never left Europe. Madagascar also received loans from the World Bank and the IMF after falling into economic trouble. He lost power in the 1992 elections, but returned to power in 1996.
Geopolitical competition in the twenty-first century
In the 2001 election, the mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, Mark Ravalomana, came to power. Ravalomanana is a Protestant Christian from a poor family; In Madagascar, almost all politicians are Catholic. The Protestant Church in Madagascar was founded by the British. He studied at Protestant Church-run educational institutions and in Europe with Scandinavian NGOs. Back in the country, he ran a dairy business and became one of Madagascar’s most important traders thanks to a World Bank loan. Europeans and Americans invest heavily in his business. His conflict with the Ratsirakar government began soon after his political aspirations began to manifest. Ravalomanana was elected mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, in 1999. Then in 2001 he became president with 51 percent of the vote. The losing Ratsiraka got 36 percent votes. When he was re-elected president in 2008, he received 55 percent of the vote. He uses his business power to the fullest in elections. Many believe that Ravalomana tried to take Madagascar out of French influence and into the British-American zone.
However, Andre Rajoelina stood in the way. Billboard businessman Rajoelina used her business power to enter politics. He bought Viva television in 2006 and started working against the government. At the age of 33, he became mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. In 2006, President Ravalomana shut down Viva television. Within days, Rajoelina rallied opposition politicians in Madagascar and took thousands to the streets. At a public meeting in January 2009, Rajoelina announced that he would lead Madagascar from now on. In March, when the army sided with Rajoelina, President Ravalomanna relinquished power and sought refuge in South Africa. According to Reuters, in a South African radio interview, Ravalomanana alleged that France was trying to take control of Madagascar through Rajoelina. In July 2006, when Ravalomana was president, French Ambassador Gildas Le Lidek was expelled from the country.
Although Rajoelina took power, the ‘African Union’ or ‘AU’ and the ‘Southern African Development Community’ or ‘SADC’ called it a coup. The United States begins evacuating its Madagascar embassy. The IMF defers Madagascar’s debt. According to a Reuters report, Rajoelina was forced to accept SADC mediation in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique; He became the interim president. The referendum changed the constitution, raising the age of presidency from 40 to 35, so that Rajoelina could run in the next presidential election. However, Rajoelina was unable to run in the by-elections due to opposition from Ravalomanana’s group. In 2014, Harry Rajaonarimampiania won the presidency with 54 percent of the vote in support of Rajoelina. However, in 2016, Rajoelina took part in the election. His main rival was Ravalomana, the preferred candidate of the British and Americans. Rajoelina became president with 39 percent of the vote in the first round and 57 percent in the second round. Ravalomanana received 44 percent of the vote.
French influence is still strong in Madagascar
An article in the World Culture Encyclopedia states that Madagascar’s political leaders have been addicted to French culture since the nineteenth century. Although the people of the country speak Malagasy, French is the official language of the country due to the influence of the colonial period from 1896 to 1970. Attempts to remove the French language at various times have failed.
A report by France 24 reports that during the 1948 independence movement in Madagascar, French rebels were severely tortured; Many of whose wounds are still lingering. About 90,000 people died in that movement at the hands of the French and their colonial forces. The rest survived the physical wounds of torture. Many feel that even after 60 years, Madagascar has not been liberated from France. In a 2016 study by the London School of Economics, Omar Garcia Ponsa of the University of California, Davis and Leonard Wantchecken of Princeton University sought to explore the effects of the 1948 French atrocities. They say the French persecution of 1947 has made the people of Madagascar lose the courage to speak out. In other words, the culture of the people of Madagascar has changed. It is not the memory of the heroes who took part in the war that is ingrained in the minds of the people, but the French barbarism.
Almost all of Madagascar’s powerful men have studied in France; Otherwise they have business with France; Otherwise they have worked under any organization in France. Of the country’s 71 years of independence, only four presidents held power for 48 years. Philibert Siranana, the country’s first president after 12 years in power, studied in France and was elected to the French parliament in the 1950s as a representative of Madagascar. President Didier Ratsiraka, who took power in 1975, was an officer in the French navy. His father was also an officer of the French colony. He was in power for 21 years. The remaining 15 years are shared by the pro-British Ravalomana and the French-influenced Rajoelina.
The geopolitical importance of Madagascar
Madagascar is a poor country; With an average per capita income of less than 1,800. Readymade garments, fish, spices, etc. are the country’s export products. They import most of the industrial products, consumer goods and food items. France once had the most trade, but now it imports the most from the Chinese. However, France is still the largest buyer of Madagascar products. The World Bank says only 15 percent of the country’s population is covered by electricity. Far from changing the destiny of the people of the country, the country is immersed in the geopolitical competition of the great powers due to the importance of the country’s geographical location. France and Britain have been the main players for a long time, but now the United States, India, China, and many more have joined.
With the arrival of Vasco da Gama in the Indian Ocean in 1498, the surrounding areas of South Africa became important. Because this was the way from Europe to the Indian Ocean. Any trade, logistical or military base on this route can control trade between Europe and Asia. In the twelfth and seventeenth centuries, the Portuguese colonized the coasts of Madagascar, Tanzania, and Kenya in East Africa. The Dutch settled in South Africa in 1852. In 1815, France occupied the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar. In 1806, on the pretext of war with France, the British colonized South Africa. Then in 1810, the British recaptured Mauritius from the French. La Reunion occupied the island but later gave it up; Which is still in the hands of France. In 18, the French occupied the island of Comoros in the Mozambique Channel. Finally, in the 1890s, the French occupied Madagascar. By then, however, the Suez Canal had become less important for trade routes around Africa.
When the war broke out in the Middle East in 1968, the Suez Canal was closed. The canal remained closed for eight years till 1975. During this time all trade and warships between Europe and Asia sailed around South Africa. On March 23, 2021, a huge container ship named Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal and the canal was closed for about a week. During this time many ships are stranded on either side of the canal; Some ships sailed around South Africa. This incident shows that any untoward incident in the vicinity of the Suez Canal could increase the importance of the sea route around South Africa. At the moment, it is China’s sea trade route with South America and West Africa.
The assassination attempt on Madagascar’s President Andrei Rajoelina highlights the geopolitical competition for control of important trade routes in South Africa. The incident took place at a time when troops from various countries were landing in the Cabo Delgado area of Mozambique, not far from the island nation. Although new gas mines off the coast of Mozambique have added to the region’s importance, its importance as a sea route has always been paramount. Those who forgot about the South African sea route that crossed Vasco da Gama due to the normal operation of the Suez Canal since the 1960s, have returned to reality after the container ship Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal. But over the past few decades, China’s growing trade with South America and West Africa has also kept the sea route busy. Many more are now involved in the 200-year-old British-French conflict.
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