After disappearing from view for two days, while his authority was being challenged by widespread rioting and looting, Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana reemerged Wednesday to vow an end to the unrest that claimed dozens of lives, according to dpa. Ravalomanana visited the state radio and TV station building in Antananarivo that was looted and torched by demonstrators Monday after an opposition rally. He also visited one of his destroyed Magro supermarkets, where people were still carting off looted goods. In a television interview the 59-year-old president of seven years accused the nephew of his longtime foe, Didier Ratsiraka, of being the "brain" behind the looting. Roland Ratsiraka, nephew of Didier, ran against Ravalomanana for president in 2006 but trailed him in third place. An arrest warrant for him has been issued, the president said. Ravalomanana also ruled out talks with his opponent, Antananarivo's mayor Andre Rajoelina, who drew thousands of supporters at yet another rally in a city square - his third show of force in a week. On Monday, Rajoelina led a demonstration of over 50,000 people in protest over what he calls the president's growing authoritarianism. The rally to mark a general strike degenerated when groups of people began destroying and looting businesses. Meanwhile, 14 more charred bodies were found in the ruins of a gutted shopping mall in Antananarivo, bringing to 39 the number of people, some of them thought to have been looters, that died in Tuesday's blaze. Police have vowed to deal harshly with looters. The pro- opposition Radio Antsiva said security forces shot dead several looters in Antananarivo and the southwestern city of Tulear. No independent confirmation was available. A variety of radio, television and newspaper reports put the total number of dead at over 80, including several people that were reportedly shot dead by security forces on Tuesday when caught looting. Radio France Internationale (RFI) said at least 34 people died, including two demonstrators that were shot dead by police on Tuesday. The violence is the worst since Ravalomanana and Didier Ratsiraka fought for control of the island after disputed elections in 2001 that Ravalomanana said he won outright. Ravalomanana was declared president the following year. Relations between him and Rajoelina soured in December after the state shut down the mayor's radio and television station for broadcasting an interview with Ratsiraka. Like Ravalomanana, Rajoelina has also fobbed off attempts by Western diplomats at kickstarting dialogue. Madagascar is one of the world's poorest countries, where most eke out an existence from subsistence farming. The president's vast business interests - he owns the country's biggest food company, a road construction company, a chain of supermarkets and a TV station - have sparked resentment and made his businesses a target for looters.
