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Madagascar rivals to meet next week
[Daily Nation (Kenya)]  Madagascar's rival leaders, exiled president Marc Ravalomanana and transitional strongman Andry Rajoelina, will have an unprecedented meeting in the Seychelles Wednesday, a source close to its preparation said."The one-on-one starts on the 25th and we are hoping to get an agreement then," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "This might go into the morning of the 26th." The two rivals last month agreed on a meeting to solve the festering political crisis that followed Rajoelina's power grab in 2009, but so far no date had been set. The meeting will not be their first but it is different from previous talks in that the pair have never met in private since 2009. Ravalomanana, who now lives in South Africa, was served with a summons Tuesday over a $23 million lawsuit filed by victims of the 2009 unrest that led to his ouster. According to the legal papers delivered to his hotel in Pretoria, he is expected to appear at a South African court on August 1 for a hearing in the case. He faces life in prison after being sentenced in absentia for the killing of demonstrators by his presidential guard during protests that led to his overthrow. Thirty-six people were killed and hundreds maimed. Rajoelina then seized power in an army-backed coup in the face of regional condemnation, but has failed to steer the vast Indian Ocean island nation back to democracy. Posted by: Fred 2012-07-22 |
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