MALAGASY DEMONSTRATORS QUIETENED AFTER POWER IS TRANSFERRED TO ARMY
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Document Creation Date:
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Document Release Date:
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Publication Date:
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~ 1 G 1(0N POS`
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STATINTL
lagasy Demoiistraf~rs Quietene
After Powerl Transferred s to Army:
By Jim Hoagland speculated that French in-, house arrest where he re- cans, who already this year""
" Washington Post Foreign Service terests fearful of outside mains. They president indi- have seen Kofi Busia, who
BEIRUT, May 21-After a competition may have per- cated that , Resampa had supported a dialogue with
,Week of se ming to teeter on suaded Tsiranana to force been plotting with the South Africa. overthrown as
n out Marshall, who had ag United States, a charge that prime minister of Ghana;
the edge of plungingMada- gressively attempted to at- led to the withdrawal of Uganda's President Idi
gascar Into civil war, disci- tract American business and American Ambassador An- Amin switch from backing
ranching investment to Mad- thony Marshall last June. dialogue to calling for an
ents on the 1000-mile-long
hdian Ocean island appear agascar.
The French have at least Reflecting the widespread African war of liberation
-To have accepted a corn- belief that French infhience? against the white govern-
)iromise that leaves Presi-
dent Philibert Tsiranana as
', ? figurehead ruler while
transferring power to the
army.
The announcement' that
Maj. Gen. Gabriel Raman-
antsoa, military chief of
staff, would become prime
minister with full executive
powers has quietened the
angry demonstrators who
were surging through Tan- ?
anarive, the island capital,
according to agency re-
ports. -
Ile served in the French
colonial forces in North Af-
rica and fought in France ternal political moves of the.
during World War II, He 59-year-old Tsiranana, who
commanded and fought in has been seriously ill since
North Vietnam during the he was struck with primary
-Indochina war. ? hemiplegia, or injury to
Ramanantsoa, who report- brain centers, in 1966.
edly has earned a reputation A European diplomat who
in Madagascar for honesty has met periodically with
and efficiency in a govern- Tsiranana over the past few
anent not noted for either years recently described the
quality, takes charge of an president as having increas-
island with 7 million people ing periods of incoherence.
who are 'a kaleidoscopic me- When one trade delegation
lange of differing cultures, called on him a few months
races, and religions, ago, he gave them a lecture
Mozambique Channel, Mada-
?gasear is the world's only
Important crossroads of Af-
rican and Asian civiliza-
tions. Malay and Polynesian
peoples drifted from the
east centuries ago and min-
gled with smaller numbers
of African inhabitants.
French colonization from
1895 to 1960 added a new
cultural veneer.
The island's economy,
which has grown slowly (2.5
per cent a year real growth)
since independence,'is based
on agriculture. More than 60
per cent of the Malagasy
work force is involved in
2,000 military personnel, in-
cluding a Foreign Legion
ana import-export business
continues to be dominated
by the 70,000 French citizens
who live on the island,.
which receives 60 per cent
of all its imports from
France.
Economic discontent may
have helped to swing Tanan-,
arive's workers into the
demonstrations against Tsi-
ranana, which erupted May
13. The protests appear to
have been started by stu-
dents and others exasper-
ated by the. erratic and in-
creasingly authoritarian in-
on. geography, although it
had nothing to do with the
talks that were scheduled.
More importantly, he re-
acted to signs of mounting
discontent with his rule by
sharply curbing Madagas-
car's traditionally free and
open political activity.
A serious revolt in the
southern part of the island
in 1971, which may have
caused up to 1,000 deaths,
led to the jailing of opposi-
tion figures and the prevent-
ing of parties from entering
national elections. Tsiran-
aria alternatively accused
China and the CIA of being
growing rice. There is no behind plots to overthrow
significant industry nor ? him.
even a national transport Even his popular vice
fretwork. president, Andre Resampa,
is pervasive on the govern- ment; and Prime Minister
ment, American diplomats Leabua Jonathan become in-
on the . African continent . creasingly critical of apart-
company, at a base at Diego
Suarez, in the northern part
of,the island.
France and Madagascar
are linked by.a defense pact
similar to those that were
used as justification for
France's intervention in
Gabon in 1964 to keep the
government of Leon Mba in
power, and more recently
for France's role in helping
held.
Thus, there are no indica-
tions that Tsiranana's some-
times controversial foreign
policies played any signifi-
cant role in his dow'nPall
after 14 years as leaner of
the Malagasy Republic, as
the island is officially
known. ?
But the aftermath of the
collapse of the government
the government of Chad put is likely to be closely scruti.
down an insurgency. nized by at least three coun-
Paris spokesmen asserted tries. France, the former co-
shortly after the upheaval in lonial power.there and still
Tananarive began that the overwhelming foreign
France had no intention of influence on the island;
intervening. As long as the South Africa, 'which had
French-oriented upper eche- been wooing Tsiranana with!
Ions of the Army remain in promises of aid and invest-
control, there would seem to ment; - and perhaps the
be little call for interven- United States, which may
Lion. have a chance to heal aBut if the Malagasy army year-old diplomatic breach
were to split, as Gabon's did with the Malagasy govern
in 1964, President. Georges ment.
Pompidou might be faced
with his first tough decision
on how stong the French
connection with its former
colonies is to be in this dec-
ade.
For South Africa, Tsiran-
ana's effective loss of power
could conceivably turn out
to represent a setback in the
outward policy of seeking
friends in the Third World
There would seem 'to be
little reason to expect any
immediate change in Mada-
gascar's extremely close ties
to France. The soft-spoken
Ramanantsoa, who is in his
sixties, was trained at Saint-
Cyr, the French military
academy, and reached the.
rank of colonel in the
French army before Mada.
h
ieved independ.
and especially in Black Af- gascar ac
ilea. But it is still far from Ience _ in 1960.
clear that this will be the
case.
Tsiranana signed a trade
pact with South Africa in
November, 1970, and the
South African government
nd private sources are put-
Madagascar.
A reversal of these ties
would come at a particularly I
' f the 5 ,fl, Afri-11
b d t
i
Madagascar's enmmerep was last year placed under a . me or o ?
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29NOV1971 1
DRUGS:
The French Connection
New Jersey named Herbert J. Stern.
On Dec. 15, 1970, Delouette told
Stern, Colonel Fournier asked him to
smuggle the heroin into the U.S. for
$60,000. As a former SDECE officer, De-
louette was well acquainted with Four-
nier, whose real name is Paul. Ferrer-
and who directs the worldwide operation
of all SDECE agents. Several years ago
however, Delouette was fired by Ferrer
for "unreliability." And as Delouette told
the story, when Ferrer got back in touch
with him last year, it was not to offer him
his old job-but a totally different kind'
of assignment.
Allegedly, Ferrer put Delouette in
contact with other heroin smugglers. And
acting, so he said, on Ferrer's instruc-
tions, Delouette flew to New York, where
lie was to pick up the heroin and de-
liver it to a contact thought to be some-
Over the past fifteen years few es-
pionage organizations have suffered so
many damaging scandals as France's
Service de Documentation Eslcrieure el
de Contre Espionage-the French equiv-
alent of the CIA. Up until last year, the
SDECE recruited ex-convicts and mem-
bers of the underworld as agents, and
brawn was valued over brains. This, in-
evitably, led to all kinds of mishaps:
SDECE agents were implicated in the
sloppy public erasure of a prominent
Moroccan, Mehdi Ben Barka, in 1965,
and another SDECE agent recently got
fifteen years for slipping French secrets
to the Yugoslavs. Last week, the
SDECE's tarnished reputation suffered
yet another blow. A U.S. Federal grand
jury in Newark, N.J., indicted an SDECE
official, who uses the nom de guerre
"Col. Paul Fournier," as the leader of an
international heroin-smuggling organiza-
tion. The indictment set off a round of bit-
ter transatlantic accusations and shook the
French spy network to its foundations.
The first scent on the trail leading to
Fournier was picked up last April when
the freighter Atlantic Cognac docked at
Port Elizabeth, N.J., and customs agent
Lynn Pelletier, 22, played a hunch and
checked out a 1971. Volkswagen camper.
She found 96 pounds of raw heroin
(street value $12 million) stashed inside.
When Roger Delouette, 48, a French
citizen, showed up to claim the VW,
be was arrested and soon afterward
began recounting a startling story to a
young, crime-busting U.S. Attorney for
.1~_
Stern. with drug
haul (left) and cx-
agent Delouette
one in the French Consulate. After De-
louette was indicted in May, Stern gave
him two lie-detector tests (he passed
both). Later, Stern contacted the French
Ministry of Justice and then flew off to
Paris to confer with some French offi-
cials. Said Stern: "I was told `Fournier'
was innocent, that he was a high-ranking
official and there was no reason for me to
meet with him." .
Last week, Fournier-Ferrer came out
of hiding to give five hours of secret
testimony before a French magistrate. As
he emerged from the Palace of Justice in
Paris, a photographer snapped his pic-
ture-but Ferrer persuaded the police to
confiscate the film on the ground that
his identity was "a secret affecting na-
tional defense." Meanwhile, the French
Government brushed aside all charges
against Ferrer and refused to extradite
him for trial in the U.S. Safe in Paris,
Ferrer challenged: "If I'm guilty, Mr.
Stern, prove it and justice will follow its
course." From Newark, Stern replied:
"If you're innocent, Mr. Fournier, come
to this country and stand trial."
That appears unlikely. Yet a nubile
trial of sorts was already under way, for
at the end of the week, one Col. Roger
Barberot went on Radio Luxembourg and
charged that narcotics smuggling had in-
deed been organized by French intelli-
gence agents. Barberot's motives, how-
ever, were open to question. A fanatic
Gaullist and anti-American, Barberot had
hired, Delouette immediately after Fer-
rer fired him from the SDECE. Further,
Barberot is head of the Bureau for Ag-
ricultural Production Development, it
cover for intelligence operations over-
seas, and his accusations may simply re-
flcet infighting between two French in-
telligence groups. In fact, there was
speculation that Barberot was incensed
over President Georges Pompidou's. ap-
proval of a purge against old-line G::all-
ists within the SDECE and was trying to
discredit the entire organization.
Nor did the speculation end there.
Characteristically, sonic sources ad-
vanced the hypothesis that the smuggling
case had been masterminded by the CIA.
As they saw it, the CIA had a simple mo-
tive for blackening Ferrer's reputation.
This past summer, the U.S. ambassador
to Malagasy was kicked out of that
country after charges against him had
been trumped up by-the French (NEws-
WEEK, July 5). What's more, since Ferrer
is also responsible for the French spy net-
work in the U.S., it was conceivable that
his agents had often stepped on the toes
of their American counterparts. In the
U.S., there was speculation that, if Ferrer
was in fact involved in the heroin racket,
the motive was either to line his own
pockets or to finance French intelligence
operations in the U.S.
It was, of course, impossible to verify
any of these theories. But those with in-
side information on the French drug
scene were convinced that if Stern's
charges against Paul Ferrer are in fact
true, then the scene may well be set for
a scandal that could rock the French Gov-
ernment. For if it can be demonstrated
that a top official df the Service do Doc-
umentation Exterieure et de Conire Es-
pionage was, for any reason, involved in
the narcotics trade, even the total dis-
mantling of the organization may not be
enough-to nut France's allies at rest.
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NEWSWE K
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D uuc. 1001 .I
Tsiranana and Marshall in happier days: A. cloud of Mystery in Tananarive
MADAGASCAR:
The Big Frame-up
Until recent months, the Malagasy
Republic on the island of Madagascar
had a well-earned reputation as a place
where nothing much ever happened.
And that seemed to suit its 7 million
citizens just fine. For if life on the Tex:as-
sized island, which lies solve 300 miles
out in the Indian Ocean off the cast
coast of Africa, lacked a certain vibrance,
it was, at the least, tranquil. But of late
the peace of Madagascar has been shat-
tered by political tensions, Last week as
the former French colony marked the
eleventh anniversary of its independence,
police and troops manned roadblocks in
the capital of Tananarive to check iden-
tity papers and search for guns. And
amidst charges of plots and counterplots,
newspapers in the capital complained of
the "cloud of mystery" surrounding two
startling incidents: the imprisonment of
a Malagasy Vice President and the ex-
pulsion of the U.S. ambassador.
The first hint of this strange turn of
events in Madagascar came late in May
when President Philibert Tsiranana
charged in a speech that "Malagasy who
pretend to serve us have prostituted
themselves to sell us out to an imperialist
power." To support that charge the
Malagasy President claimed to have in-
tercepted a letter linking a foreign em-
bassy in Tananarive to a plot to over-
throw his government. While Tsiranana
,mentioned no names in his speech, it was
soon evident that the main target of his
wrath was Andr6 Resampa, former Ma-
lagasy first Vice President who, as re-
cently as six months ago, was regarded
by many as Tsiranana's heir apparent;
Since that time, however, Resampa had
suffered a series of demotions And
the ex-Vice President was arrested and
imprisoned.
Even more astonishing, it turned out
that Tsiranana had the United States in
mind when he accused an "imperialist
power" of conspiring to do him in. The
clay after Tsiranana's speech, U.S. Am-
bassador Anthony D. Marshall was suhn-
marily called to the Malagasy Foreign
Ministry and told to "go home for consul-
tations" within five -clays. To underscore
'I'siranana's displeasure, strict orders were
issued forbidding anyone in the foreign
diplomatic corps to extend the traditional
courtesy of seeing Ambassador Marshall
off at the airport.
. Enthusiastic: In Washington, State De-
partment officials categorically rejected
the notion that Marshall had abused his
diplomatic privileges. "He was enthusi-
astic, and he was doing a good job," a
department superior told NLWSwEEK'S
Henry L. Trewhitt. Personable, energet-
ic and privately wealthy, 47-year-old
Tony Marshall entered government serv-
ice in 1950, putting in stints in the lower
echelons of both the State Department
and the Central Intelligence Agency. Ile
received his Tananarive appointment in
1969. In that post, he worked 1 hard to
drum up U.S. private investments in Mad-
agascar, primarily in cattle ranclhin and
oil explorations. And at one time his pop-
ularity was so great that he was the only
ambassador. invited to accompany Tsira-
nana on a visit to the President's home
village. Nor could Marshall's previous
CIA connections have had anything to
do with his expulsion, according to the
State Department, because the Mala-
gasy Government had known about it at
the time of Marshall's appointment and
had not objected.
In the absence of any clear explana-
tions, speculation abounded. One theory
and lac been made a fall guy to buttress
Tsirai anti's case for alleged imperialist
intrigue-. Another had it that Marshall
was too dynauuie and had alarmed the
politically influential, economically dom-
inant French community on the island
with a growing "presence Americaine."
According to this thesis, the French Gov-
ernment, worried over possible future
competition with the U.S. for Malagasy
oil (though not a single oil deposit has
yet been found on the island) decided
to, sabotage Marshall's mission--and, to
achieve that, Jacques Foccart, a shad-
owy figure who controls all French in-
telligence operations in Africa, devised
the plot against the U.S. ambassador.
Whether Foccart was, in fact, respon-
sible for ;Marshall's ouster was. impossible
-to discover. But last week in Tananarive,
Madagascans recalled something that
had happened during. a recent tour
of French Nest Africa by President
Georges Pompidou and Foccart. At a
cocktail party, a journalist caught ,Pom-
pidou in a light-hearted mood and asked
him if he had any coups on the drawing
board. "Me?" Pompidou answered in
mock horror. "I never make coups d'etat.
Perhaps in France but never in Africa.
Or course, there is always Monsieur Foc-
cart on permanent duty.
shortly after? Tsiranan.a's angry shecch, --taught- in the crunch of Malagasy politics
- -- - -- -
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P11IL!t1)f';.I'HIAy 1111
INQUIREt
11 -- ,634 30'3
S - 867,810'
;r:ta. e'f; c t'E9 ) # .e lag ,v Expc1id
'111C' U. S. ambassador: to Malagasy has been ex
elled for
p
alle eclly interfering with internal affairs of the East African
ir~tion formerly known as Madagascar.
The State De.partnlent said five other American diplo-
]rats are bin- sent borne because of ismilar charges.
_, The department denied the charges against Ambassador
Atrthony P. Marshall, a former Central J:ir elligcnce Agency
ediploye, and the others.
Press officer Charles Bray said. Marshall worked with
the CiA in the 1950s, but served his connection long before
t
~q pom
rrtcut its an ambassador in 1969. The. gave.rnme>tt of.
Malaga.s~ was aware of Marshall's past and did not object
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:c '
14
41% 11,
~t t; it ;1 \r~k tl ~!
WASIPING`rON_--"7liilc? ed, but his past association
denying any U.S. role in was specifically mad c
an Alleged coup ttelilpt in, known to Malagasy ali-
Madagascar, the State Dc- thorities before, his ap-
partinent said Friday that pointment.. No objection t0
the U.S. ambassador has him was raised, the offi-
been recalled 'and 'five ies- vials said,
see U.S. officials expelled Left open, however, was
from that island republic the possibility that among
at its goveriideiits re ttie five ousted U.S. offi-
que t.? dials was one oi` more fiaeli
Rumors in the cou'lltry, currently working for'the.
formally known as Mma CIA.
ga: y, blame. 'U.S,., ? intelli Inform tion Sc.r~ ice
nc, for the claimed con- Department spokesman
spirar_t- against its. ?presi~' Charles W, Dray said that
dent, Philibeit Tsiianana' two of the five were cni..
i '. Ambassador Alitho ,log ecl d by the U.S. Infor-
Marshall, a- nonca
ny D. 1nd the
veer official appointed ill 2110 tio Service, 1
the
1961) by President, v icon' ba were e, political,
admiilistrative, and consu-
is alleged to have ligncda. lai affairs.
report, on State Depart- Asked if any were CIA
moat stationery, implicat- nice Bray said, All arc
ins' hirn and tile, embassy men, 'es of the U.S. gr
in the alleged plot in 'May. erurncut." P r e s s e d on
Forgery i barged 'which men 'work ? for the
U.S. sources insist' the State Department, he re-
document is a blatant for plied: "That's a difficult
fiery and that there is no question to. speak to. I'll
evidence ' that a coup - at- ? -have to -leave .it there.'
tempt occurred in the first But Bray insisted that
place. State Department his denial covered all
officials said Malagasy re U.S. agencies. :"It is our
fused to show any proof to strong belief,"_ he said,
a high-level U.S. mission ."that no basis exists for
that was to have flown any question of the pro-
there this weekend. That- ? priety of the role of the
mission has been canceled. ambassador or the person-
Marshall was a Central ?..nel of the American Em-
Intellig ence a. ency cm- ? ? baesy in Tananarive," the
ploye during the 1950s, do- capital city' of the island
pai?tnlent officials coneed- off Southeast, Africa.
STATI NTL
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F_
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1YU_i.a[?L. SAi:eLJ.LI1 nTA Tin ITi
26 a"U tE 1 .(i
9.
7vlia:nr Her:il.I?:.os k ;5efea Tir^.c; Ylire and that there is no evidenclti of the American ernbass;v i7
WASHINGTON.-- While that a coup attempt occurred Tananarive," the capital city
denying any U.S. role in an in the first place. State De- of the island off southeast
alle.yinl Co> attempt in Ai : partnhent officials said Mada- Africa.
the State Depart- gascar refused to show any ACCEPTING THE U.S.
dagasc`;-r,
d F ida that the proof to a high-level U.S. disclaimer at face value, olci-
have
me.r:t saI Y U. S. ambassador has been re- mission that was to cials here expressed puzzle
called nd five lesser U.S. f_ flown there this weekend. meat on who was behind the
e.:pellzd from that is- That.r.Iission now has been apparently heavy-handed at-
ficialF, d
c
land republic at its govern- carrcc~lled. tempt to ruin American-\5a-
P/iarshaII was a Central In- Jdagascar relations, which
merit's request.
fiwnors in the country, .telliuence Agency ernnloyG long have been excellent.
formally known as Malagasy, dr^r.n''tl e 1950s, department Attention has turned on
l=m,- U.S. intel?itr -ICe Ober- ofii_cia... conceded, but his tlhc French, who seek to re-
ast associat,0211 was Sfi CIf1- gain influence i11 their fanner
ations for the claimed con- Gaily made known to Malaga- colonies, and far-left French
spiracy against its president, Sy authorities before his
Philibert Tasiranana. advisers to tf e former ?tirale_
a?nouhtraant. No objection to easy government who had
U.S. Ambassador Anthony hiivi was raised, the officials opposed its Western inclina-
D. Marshall, a non-career of- said. tion.
filial appointed in 1969 by heft open, however, was
President Nixon, is alle ed to the possibility that among
have signed a report, 'on
the five ousted U.S. officials
State Department stationery'
impllcai,,in T himself and the was one or n'10173 nien CLr-
rentl worltir , for the CIA.
embassy in the alleged plot y
inMry. DI;B xl:ki;s s't+la' SPC_LS
U.u. SOUI4C'~e insist the rsIt 'I Charles Pray said that
document is a blatant forgery two of the five \,'ere ern-
pioyed by the U.S. inforina-
tio.1 Service, and the others
were in political, adininistra-
tive and consular affairs.
Asked if any were CIA
men, Bray said: "All are em-
ployes of the U.S. govern-
rnent." Pressed on which
ripen work for the State De-
partment, he replied: "That's
a difficult question
have to leave it there" that all are U.S. goverment
employes:
But Bray insisted that his
denial covered all U.S. agen-
cies. "It is our strong be-
lief," he said, "that no basis
exists for any question of the
propriety of the role of the
ambassador or the personnel
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,J V I J J
. Tlie State Department an.
nounced that it has wit:h-
drawr`n its ambassador and five
of his aides from the Malagasy
Republic, but. it denied allega-
tions that American officials
.had interfered in `the country's
internal affairs.
Spokesman 'Charles W. Bray
said the ambassador, Anthony
D. Marshall, had been called
home for "consultat.ioris" and
;~voulcl not return. '
"We have made clear our
-strong belief that no basis ex-
ists for any question concern-
ing the propriety of the role of
the ambassador or the person-
f c,;. A.,. Four of tiiesc are State De-
--
o
gasy government when his
name was proposed in 1969.
bassy," Bray said, were indications that the fifth
The 'Malagasy government may he a CIA official. The
refused to produce the evi- five are being withdrawn
donee it said it had in its pos_ "forthwith," State Department
session, he said. U.S. officials officials said.
believe the charges are based Evidence Not Produced
on some forged document. The United States originally
Nevertheless, rumors that proposed sending a high-level
U.S. intelligence agents were delegation to Madagascar to
look into the evidence on,
involved in a plot on tl.1e is- which the allegations were
land of Madagascar-, combined ased. 1i'hen the Malagasy
with the fact that Marshall V refused to present
had been a CIA employee for the evidence, the United
almost a decade did little to' States 'concluded that such a
s delegation world . serve, no
improve the, U.S. image amid "useful purpose," State Do-
growing unrest in the country. partmcnt. officials said.
Marshall's CIA connections "We have been given no rca-
were made clear to the Male-.(son for the . . .. refusal to'
ability.
Returns Memo
The ambassador was called
in by the, government on May
30, and it was suggested that
his embassy 'had been involved
.in improper activities. It .Was
further suggested that he re-
turn to Washington for con-
sultations, which he did on
June 7.
At that meeting and for scv-
oral (lays thereafter, U.S. offi-
cials said, Marshall was as-
sured that the charges were
not directed at him,personally.
Since June 10, however, U.S.
officials said there have been
unsubstantiated allegations
that Marshall himself was per-
sonally involved. During the
first week of Jitile, these offi-
cials said, the Malagasy gov-
ernment also asked that five
employees of the U.S. embassy
be withdrawn.
ment in Tananarive said his igascar has been hit by politi-
former CIA connections would -cal agitation. President I'hili-
have no bearing on his accept- ibert Tsi.ranana, who has been
present its with the evidence it
says it has in its possession,"
. sate(.
U.S. officials said thg govern J
For more than a year Mada.
in poor l;calth but who report-
edly is trying to assure his
own reelection in 1972, all-
nounced on June 1 that he had
uncovered an "imperalist
plot:"
Tsiranana has also under-
taken what has been called a
"purge" of his Social Demo
cratie Party, which led to the
ouster and arrest of Andre Re-
sampa, .former Vice President,
Interior Minister, and secre-
tary general of the party.
Resampa, who had been con-
sidered Tsiranana's heir ap-
parent, was progressively re-
lieved of one job after another
until the "plot" charge, in
which he was accused of collu-
sion with a foreign power. His
ouster appeared to remove the
only significant threat to Tsi-
ranan's reelection.
Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3