African Unrest

In Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina was officially sworn in today as the nation's new president after deposing Marc Ravalomanana. The turmoil began in November, when the Ravalomanana government and Daewoo inked a deal to cultivate crops on 2.5 million acres (an area roughly equal to Rhode Island and Delaware combined) of the island. Madagascans felt betrayed by Ravalomanana's apparent selling-out.

In January, a TV station owned by Rajoelina broadcast an interview with Ravalomanana's foe, former President Didier Ratsiraka, and was shut down by the Ravalomanana government. Rajoelina supporters marched on, looted, and set fire to the state broadcaster in retaliation. Rajoelina was then fired from his post as mayor of Antananarivo, the nation's capital.

The opposition was losing momentum until February 7, when 28 Rajoelina supporters were killed. Defense Minister Cecile Manorohanta resigned in protest. Ravalomanana resigned on March 17, transferring power to a military triumvirate, who in turn handed over power to Rajoelina.

In response to the coup, Madagascar's membership in the African Union has been suspended and the U.S. has cut foreign aid. The responses seem a little rash. The Ravalomanana government cracked down on free speech and killed opposition members; that does not seem like an entirely legitimate government to me. And Rajoelina has promised to write a new constitution and hold elections within two years. A little longer than I would like, but this hardly seems like a power grab. I may be proven wrong in time, but I do not yet have a reason to distrust Rajoelina.

But along the South Africa-Zimbabwe border, South African authorities have shut down the Musina refugee camp. Zimbabweans fled to South Africa to seek refuge from economic and political turmoil and a cholera epidemic. And now the South African government has shut down the camp, dispersing 4,000 refugees.

A South African spokeswoman, Siobhan McCarthy defended the move, saying:

The showground is simply not designed for people to live. There is no water, there is no ablution facilities, there's nothing there, so people cannot live there. It has already become very unhygienic.

Why doesn't the South African government just provide the needed supplies? Mostly xenophobia:

With thousands of Zimbabweans homeless and roaming the streets of the city, human rights activists and opposition political parties in South Africa have raised fears of a fresh outbreak of xenophobic violence.

Business people in the city have complained to the government, saying the presence of Zimbabweans on the streets was affecting their business.