Rio Tinto Group the world’s third- largest mining company, said police and soldiers searched its titanium mine and offices in Madagascar for arms and mercenaries.“The search was completed and the police and army have left,” London-based spokesman Nick Cobban said today in an e- mailed statement. “Nothing was found during the search.”
Calls to the switchboard at Madagascar’s embassy in London and e-mails requesting comment were not immediately returned.
The mine, located at Fort Dauphin, is the largest-ever foreign investment in the country and is 20 percent state-owned. It began production at the end of last year.
Madagascar’s transitional leader Andry Rajoelina froze mining contracts with foreign companies in a bid to get higher royalties, Agence France-Presse said yesterday. Rajoelina was sworn in as president on March 21 after predecessor Marc Ravalomanana stepped down following pressure from the military and two months of protests in which more than 100 people died.
Rio hasn’t had any formal communication with the new government, Cobban said earlier by phone.
This is a nightmare for Madagascar and for Malagasy citizen.
I call upon the British Government, the Republic of South Africa Government and any relevant authorities within the above two countries to take proper and harsh steps against people disregarding foreign investment in their country.
Not only that the so called president of Madagascar is illegal, the army used by this guy is mutineers, non commissioned officers behaving very disorderly and can’t even understand what they are doing, whom they are talking to.
This act is gone beyond the national Malagasy affairs, I qualify it as condemnable and silly move towards the international economic aspect.
We Malagasy apologize for Rio Tinto Group and wish you people good continuation in this project.
I personally invite you to approach SADC – AUO – The UN to seriously look into this silly economical interference.
Best regards
African states, OUA, SADC, UN and all countries that defend freedom and the rights of human beings, please help Malagasy citizens. After the coup d’etat of Andry Rajoelina our lives are unbearable. There is only madness. Media and communication do not work well and there is a lot of desinformation. Journalists are threatened and obliged to erase captured material of events. We most Malagasy cannot have not the democratic right to protest because military shoot. We are very glad that foreign media are reporting some news about the sad present-day reality of our homeland. Please do not abandon us. We are very glad to have foreign companies that provided work and economic movement in Madagascar. We experimented very interesting changes with our President Ravalomanana. Please, help us to fight against desinformation of Rajoelina with his inventions of foreign mercenaries and arms. So far, there are no proofs.
Beware of these police and soldiers. They might have left “something” at the plant and then come back to find these “things” and blame the company.