MALAGASY DEMONSTRATORS QUIETENED AFTER POWER IS TRANSFERRED TO ARMY

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CIA-RDP80-01601R000700120001-3
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December 20, 1999
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~ 1 G 1(0N POS` Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 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 ? Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 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. Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 NEWSWE K Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 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 - -- - -- - Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3TATINTL 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 Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 -_ -- Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP8O-01601 2GJUN sr71 R000700120001-3 :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 Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP8O-01601 R000700120001-3 F_ Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 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 Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-01601 R000700120001-3 ,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