Open letter to the Credentials Committee

Your Excellencies,
At the last session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the author of the March 17, 2009 coup d’état in Madagascar, Mr. Rajoelina, attempted to speak to your most august body. Thanks to the vigilance of a number of individuals who respect democratic principles and the rule of law, the attempt failed.
During the upcoming 65th meeting of the Assembly, it is likely that Mr. Rajoelina (or his representatives) may again try to take the floor. We believe that it is crucial that the international community remember that Mr. Rajoelina (along with his ruling body, the High Authority of the Transition, or HAT), were sentenced in February of 2010 to individual and collective sanctions by the Council for Peace and Security of the African Union. These sanctions will surely gain increased gravity if considered and observed by the UN.

Mr. Rajoelina recently sent his foreign minister to the United Nations to explain their governance goals and to demonstrate control of the situation in Madagascar. Far from a message of democratic consensus on the Island, this demonstration was built upon the exclusion of millions of Malagasy voices. This week, the HAT assembled a new National Conference without the support of the international community, the Malagasy people or the opposition.
Ladies and gentlemen, the mere presence on the United Nations floor of a person who has ousted a democratically-elected leader and seized power by force at a meeting whose theme is good governance is an affront to the entire international community and the Malagasy people living in poverty and terror.
On behalf of the Malagasy democracy now on the brink of ruin, we posit to you that the UN forum is a most inappropriate place to receive Mr. Rajoelina. We therefore take advantage of this opportunity to invite the United Nations to honor the agreements already signed in Maputo and Addis Ababa between all parties in Madagascar, providing a way out of this crisis in a collaborative and inclusive manner.
With hope that you will give due heed to our call, ladies and gentlemen please accept our humble regards.

GTT North America