For whom the state authorities and elected officials of Madagascar work (…)

2023-06-07 05:00:00

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COMMUNIQUE
WHO DO THE STATE AUTHORITIES AND ELECTED OFFICERS OF MADAGASCAR WORK FOR?

With the quasi-unanimous adoption of the Malagasy Parliamentarians present at the plenary assemblies of the various recently revised laws – like the Investment Law, the Mining Code, as well as the last two laws on untitled private properties ( PPNT) – in which the respect and protection of the rights of the communities have been deliberately ignored despite the warnings issued by civil society, all the conditions are met to give free rein to the violation of the rights of local Malagasy communities and to strip them of their land and their livelihoods.

From now on, it appears clearly that the well-being and the rights of the Malagasy people are in no way part of the priorities of the State, but that they are constantly sacrificed for political ambitions and private interests, and this with the blessing of elected officials. who are supposed to defend the interests and rights of local communities.

Indeed, we are currently facing a wave, which was so predictable given the controversial content of these new laws that it seems calculated, of cases of land grabbing resulting from the implementation of large projects, some of which are qualified as “presidential projects”, and consequently, forced evictions and expropriations of a growing number of local Malagasy communities. Moreover, it is clear that neither the procedural rights of affected communities nor the rules applicable in this type of situation have been respected. In most of the following cases cited as examples, there was a hasty so-called “public consultation” involving only a few people, while no signage or substantial information regarding the various projects have been provided, so that the communities concerned are obliged to seek out such information by their own means, most of the time encountering the refusal of state officials to communicate the necessary information.

• The communities of the island of Sakatia in the district of Nosy Be, whose ancestors occupied the lands of this island for more than a hundred years, have just been informed that the hotel project of the company GREEN MADALAND to which they opposed for several years, has just obtained a 99-year emphyteutic lease and been designated a “presidential project”, and that these communities should expect to “be moved elsewhere” very soon.
• The communities of Andraingina in the Moramanga district have just learned that the land they have cultivated for their subsistence for decades will host another presidential project in the form of a solar park. These communities will therefore have to be expelled so that the Velirano N°02 of the President of the Republic of which this project would be part can be carried out, according to the officials interviewed.
• The rare earths extraction project at Ampasindava, in the district of Ambanja, has also just been taken over by the Australian company HARENA, which has submitted an application to convert its research permit and which is therefore preparing to reopen the mining site despite the constant opposition of the affected communities, as well as the incessant calls from civil society about the disastrous impacts of this project on the ecosystems and the fundamental rights of the local populations. It is obvious that the granting of an exploitation permit to this project, under cover of the new Mining Code and the new Investment Law, will condone the many foreseeable violations of the human rights of local communities who would be completely abandoned. by the state, when it is its duty to protect them against this kind of injustice.
• The Base Toliara project, which was suspended by decision of the Council of Ministers in 2019, currently seems to be carrying out its operations in complete freedom and with impunity according to the communities concerned, without any official measure lifting the suspension of its activities. published by the Malagasy government, causing conflict and violence within these communities. In addition to its devastating and irreversible environmental and social impacts repeatedly denounced by said communities, the reopening of this project also exposes them to the loss of their lands and livelihoods, as well as the violation of a wide range of their fundamental rights.
• Not to mention the construction of the highway on the Antananarivo – Toamasina axis for which the public consultation procedure was almost overlooked, then was finally organized in haste, clearly ignoring the rights of thousands of Malagasy citizens who, obviously , will have no right not to consent to this “presidential project”, but who will pay for it with the loss of their lands, their means of subsistence, as well as their homes and living environments.

For the signatories of this Communiqué, it is unacceptable that the State has not only failed in its obligation to respect and protect the rights of the Malagasy people, but also that it is itself guilty of violations of the fundamental rights of the communities. affected, and that it contributes to exacerbating already intolerable social, economic and environmental injustices, especially for the peasants who constitute the overwhelming majority within these communities.

We remind the President of the Republic that he took an oath to do everything possible to respect and protect the human rights of all Malagasy without any discrimination, and to always strive to ensure the well-being of the Malagasy population, as well as scrupulously respecting the Constitution and the laws that govern the Nation.

We also remind all state authorities and Malagasy elected officials that human rights are one of the pillars of respect for the rule of law, without which neither the social and economic development nor the political stability of Madagascar could be insured.

Antananarivo on June 05, 2023

Signatory organizations:

• Center for Research and Support for Development Alternatives – Indian Ocean (CRAAD-OI)

[email protected] ;

• Collective for the defense of Malagasy lands – TANY

[email protected] ;

• Women in Rural Action of Madagascar (FARM)

• Youth Network for Sustainable Development (RJDD)

• Christian Movement of Executives and Professionals (MCCP) – PAX ROMANA MADAGASCAR

[email protected]

• Association Gny To nimba Zainy – GIZ

[email protected]

• Collective of Citizens and Citizen Organizations – CCOC

[email protected]

• Menabe CODE

[email protected]

• Malagasy Association Against Modern Slavery (AVOTRA)

• NEW LIFE MADAGASCAR

[email protected]

• Regional Collective of Disabled People’s Organizations of Atsimo-Andrefana (CROPH-AA)

[email protected]

• Human Rights Indian Ocean Madagascar – DIS Moi Madagascar https://web.facebook.com/dismoimadagascar ; [email protected]