MADAGASCAR M.P. ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANTANANARIVO 000758 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E, AF/FO, AND DRL PARIS FOR D'ELIA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KCOR KDEM PHUM MA SUBJECT: MADAGASCAR M.P. ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES REF: A. ANTANANARIVO 749 ¶B. ANTANANARIVO 721 ¶C. ANTANANARIVO 718 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires George N. Sibley for reasons 1.4 B,D ¶1. (SBU) Roger Zara, a former deputy from the island of Nosy Be who represented President Marc Ravalomanana's Tiako I Madagasikara (TIM) party in the recently dissolved National Assembly (ref A),was arrested July 27 on corruption-related charges. He was reportedly summoned to the tribunal, accused of indulging in corruption, abuse of power, and tribalism, and subsequently put under pre-trial detention. Zara is a vocal member of a dissident wing of TIM seeking to reform the party (ref B). The recent dissolution of the National Assembly has been perceived, at least in part, as a move by the President to regain control amidst infighting in the ruling party. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: Zara's imprisonment is the latest in a string of arrests suspected to be politically motivated in the President's favor (ref C). While the corruption charges are likely well-founded, the timing of recent arrests suggests they are politically targeted. It raises serious issues of equal application of the law if the regime holds "passive" dossiers of law-breakers who are political supporters, only to unveil these charges when the politician in question crosses over to the opposition. This kind of political coercion was apparently a common feature in previous Malagasy regimes, but it is troubling to see Ravalomanana starting to follow their bad example. That said, the GOM does have plenty of cover on this case. Recent presidential efforts to crack down on corruption in Nosy Be to improve the local economy include the suspension of other local officials on related charges. END COMMENT. SIBLEY