Madagascar’s coup leader accuses rivals of coup

The boyish (at 35, he’s officially too young to be in office) Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina, has disallowed opposition party members to return home from Mozambique, after they agreed to press ahead with a proposed unity government. Madagascar’s major political players have been in talks in Maputo, mediated by former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano. Rajoelina boycotted the talks, but now says agreements made in his absence constitute a coup d’état. Those are pretty ironic words, as he toppled former Madagascan president Marc Ravalomanana in March with the help of the military. Since then, he’s been under huge international pressure, and is doing his best to make all the choices in appointing posts in a transitional government. It looks like his opponents eventually went ahead without him, so he told them he couldn’t guarantee their safety if they returned home. Read more: Reuters, UN News Centre