MADAGASCAR: 'Madagascar's elected President, Mr Marc Ravalomanana, and his rival, the ousted longtime ruler, Mr Didier Ratsiraka, met face-to-face in Dakar yesterday in a new round of consultations aimed at settling their bloody feud.
The President of Senegal, Mr Abdoulaye Wade, and his counterparts from Gabon, Congo, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, were mediating the talks with the rivals seated at opposite ends of a table, photographers allowed into the talks said.
Late Saturday, the African heads of state, along with Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Secretary General Mr Amara Essy and the UN special envoy in Dakar, Mr Ibrahima Fall, had met separately with Mr Ravalomanana and Mr Ratsiraka, whose rivalry has brought Madagascar to a standstill.
Mr Wade earlier told a news conference that Mr Ravalomanana and Mr Ratsiraka had diametrically opposing views over the crisis in Madagascar, but added that he did not have "a single reason to be a pessimist." The talks have been joined by French and US delegations, he added.
"We received a French delegation and an American delegation, and then listened to Mr Ratsiraka and Mr Ravalomanana," Mr Wade said.
The OAU has the authority to ensure any accords reached in Dakar are enforced, he said.
This session of discussions was dubbed "Dakar II" after a first round which ended on April 18th with the signing of a short-lived agreement between Mr Ratsiraka and Mr Ravalomanana.
The two men have divided the large island off the east African coast into rival camps since a hotly disputed presidential election in December. Almost all the armed forces have gone over to Mr Ravalomanana, but pro-Ratsiraka governors control most provinces.