It's all a bit frustrating, really - the fantastic lack of coverage some countries receive. Consider, for instance, Madagascar: a country now sitting on the brink of a coup at best, civil war at worst. The present state of affairs has been unraveling since January, and has until recently (when the Financial Times jumped on board) been covered by only the BBC, the NYTimes (tangentially), and insightful bloggers like Ethan Zuckerman.
I suppose it's fair to say that Malagasy politics don't carry the same far reaching geopolitical implications in the same way those in oh, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, the US and other such states do, but they do quite obviously bear heavily on regional stability, which should be reason enough for us to pay attention. Indeed, the risk of yet another destabilized African state is a risk no one should wish to take.
So, what's been happening in Madagascar? In short, a political showdown between President Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina, mayor of the capital city of Antananarivo. Rajoelina is an entrepreneur who manages a television network that has been somewhat of a thorn in the side of the president. Ethan Zuckerman observes:
In December, Rajoelina's network broadcast an interview with Madagascar's former president, who is now in exile in France. President Ravalomanana responded by closing down Rajoelina's station. They mayor accused the president of dictatorial behavior, and call on supporters to protest in Antananarivo.
And protest they did. Well over 100 people have died in anti-government protests. Rajoelina has proclaimed himself in charge of the country's affairs (announcing this during an anti-government rally). The defense minister has resigned. Ravalomanana refuses to. On Sunday Ravalomanana proposed to hold a referendum, saying he would only step down democratically. Rajoelina responded by calling for his arrest. Tanks stormed the presidential palace yesterday. Rajoelina continues to claim none of this is a coup d'etat, but has failed to come up with a better name. The French are involved. African Union and United Nations calls for calm are falling on deaf ears. It's all one big mess.
Update: Ravalomanana is to stand down and hand power to the military (my goodness, so much can happen when one is writing a blog post!). Well, brilliant. This will be another political experiment worth keeping our eyes on. ::sigh::
[HT: Elizabeth Dickinson]