“Soccer Game in a Rice Field”:
The Dangers of Lawbreaking Practices in the 4th Republic of Madagascar
by Adrien M. Ratsimbaharison
The Malagasy concept of “baolina an-tanimbary” (literally: soccer game in a rice field) seems to be a very useful concept for understanding of the current political game in Madagascar. One could even say that this concept sums up in some way the new political order that prevails in the country since the election of the First President of the 4th Republic, Mr. Hery Rajaonarimampianina. Mrs Saraha Georget Rabeharisoa, President of the Green Party and also representative of the political alliance of Ambodivona (ARMADA), used several times this concept during the talk show “Don-Dresaka” on TV Plus(*) on 26 April 2015. The Minister of Education, Mr. Paul Rabary, picked up the concept during the same show, and gave a definition of what “baolina an-tanimbary” would mean to him. Thus, according to the Minister, “baolina an-tanimbary” would be a game in which all players would run after the one who would dribble ball and try to tackle him/her. Consequently, in this logic, since President Hery Rajaonarimampianina would be currently the one who would dribble the ball (i.e., the one who would hold the political power), all of the other politicians would run after him and would try to overthrow him.
Those who have had the opportunity to play, if only once in their life time, the Malagasy “baolina an-tanimbary” in the proper sense, would certainly recognize that this definition is incomplete, if not totally wrong. Some would even say that this definition would rather demonstrate the Minister’s the failure to understand both the rural world (where the “baolina an-tanimbary” in the proper sense is usually played) and the mechanism of the current Malagasy political system (to which some people apply the concept of “baolina an-tanimbary” in the figurative sense). Thus, before talking about the application of this concept to the political system of the 4th Republic and the dangers that may arise, it would be appropriate to review its definition.
The “baolina an-tanimbary” in the proper sense
Having grown up in both rural and urban areas in the southern part of the central highlands of Madagascar, and having played soccer on rice fields, as well on the legal and international soccer field of Ampasambazaha (as a student in different schools of Fianarantsoa), I can say for sure that, for most Malagasy youth, the rice field, after the harvest and during the dry season, is a pretty good field to play soccer. However, the soccer game played on this type of field does not (and cannot) follow every rule of the soccer game as laid down by the international governing body (FIFA), hence the name of “baolina an-tanimbary” used to call it. And by analogy, many Malagasy people call “baolina an-tanimbary” everything that does not follow laws and regulations. In other words, “baolina an-tanimbary” occurs when laws and regulations exist to govern certain practice (a soccer game, for instance), but these laws and regulations are deliberately ignored or violated.
In a nutshell, here’s why the “baolina an-tanimbary” does not (and cannot) follow the rules of soccer game:
First, the dimensions of the fields and goals are not in compliance with the FIFA rules, and cannot be regulated in any case. Indeed, it would be impossible to find in the rural areas of Madagascar some rice fields and goals whose dimensions could correspond exactly to those laid down by FIFA. Besides, the dimensions of the fields and goals in a “baolina an-tanimbary” can be changed at any time by the players themselves during the game (this would remind us about the so-called “majority with variable geometry,” as Pastor Richard Andriamanjato once described the National Assembly of Madagascar)!
Second, the ball being played in a “baolina an-tanimbary” is not always legal. If players are lucky, they could play with genuine leather balls, in compliance with the FIFA rules. But most of the time, they play with anything that falls into their hands (balls made of straw, used cloth, paper, plastic, etc.).
Finally, and most importantly, the fundamental rules of the soccer game are not applied consistently in a “baolina an-tanimbary.” For example, the “offside,” which is very important in any regular soccer game, is never called in a “baolina an-tanimbary.” Moreover, since there is no referee respected by the players, it is always the strongest who dominate and impose their rules in a “baolina an-tanimbary.”
In short, it’s not at all the way to play (i.e., chasing and tackling the one who would dribble the ball, to paraphrase the Minister of Education), but rather the application or not of the fundamental rules of the soccer game that mainly characterizes the “baolina an-tanimbary” from the regular soccer game.
The “baolina an-tanimbary” in the 4th Republic of Madagascar
With regard to the new political order prevailing in the 4th Republic of Madagascar, most observers have noted the reluctance, if not the refusal, of those in power to apply some provisions of the current Constitution and existing laws, especially when these provisions are not in their favor. More than once (if not frequently), some provisions of the current Constitution and existing laws are even violated not only by Ministers and simple agents of the state, but also by the President of the Republic himself!
Many cases of violations have been raised by journalists, members of civil society and the opposition, but the most flagrant case was the violation of Article 168 of the current Constitution concerning the national reconciliation. Indeed, the current Constitution of the 4th Republic clearly stipulates in its Article 168 that: “Within the framework of the process of national reconciliation, a Council of the Malagasy Fampihavanana whose composition, attributions, and modalities of functioning are determined by the law, is instituted.” This Council of the Malagasy Fampihavanana (Reconciliation), which is better known in Malagasy language as the FFM, is already set up, and began its works for the national reconciliation since the transitional government (2009–2013). Yet, despite this very clear provision of the Constitution, the President of the Republic and the FFKM (the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches) have assumed the right to lead the national reconciliation. They even produced, during the last general assembly for the national reconciliation, held recently at the International Conference Center in Ivato, resolutions whose implementation could lead to other more serious violations of the Constitution: particularly, the establishment of a new Constituent Assembly charged with manufacturing of other constitutions, from which the people would be asked to vote in the future! This simply means the abolition of the current Constitution and the 4th Republic with it, through unconstitutional precedure!
Above all, Ministers and simple agents of the state decide anything, anytime, as they please. A typical example of a whimsical decision, a decision that surprised and horrified those who hoped for a total respect of democracy and human rights in Madagascar, was the decision of the Ministry of the Interior to prohibit the insertion of the photos and names of candidates on the ballots used during the next municipal elections (July 2015)! This would never happen in any modern democracy! Indeed, how can one even imagine that candidates running for public offices in France, in the United States, or elsewhere, would run anonymously, and wouldn’t be allowed to put their picture and name on the ballot? In this case, not only did the Ministry of Interior decide to change the rules as the candidates were already filing their applications, but it also denied the candidates their right to be recognized as individuals (not as simple symbols or representatives of their political parties), and the voters the right to know the candidates for whom they will vote! And more importantly, it also happened that the Ministry of Interior did not even have the right to make such a decision, since, according to the existing electoral laws, decisions concerning the organization and the technical aspects of elections would fall to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI, or CENI-T during the transitional government), and not to the Ministry of Interior (As the former President of the National Committee for the Observation of Elections, Patrick Raharimanana, put it: “Article 54 of the Electoral Code stipulates that it is the Independent National Electoral Commission, CENI, which determines the characteristics of the single ballot model, for each class of elections.”)
Going back to the concept of “baolina an-tanimbary,” it appears clearly that the proponents of the current regime are engaged in the practices of “baolina an-tanimbary.” Laws and regulations already exist to govern certain political processes (such as national reconciliation and elections), but these laws and regulations are deliberately ignored or even violated by the proponents of the current regime.
The dangers of “baolina an-tanimbary” in the future
If the proponents of the current regime persist in these practices of “baolina an-tanimbary,” two well-known social and political phenomena may occur, and may lead to grave dangers for the country and the people of Madagascar in the future. The first phenomenon could be simply described as the phenomenon of “slippery slope” (“mauvaise pente” in French, or “tanana zatra mitsotra” in Malagasy); and the second phenomenon could be called “popular reactions” or “backlashes” (which may range from the general apathy of the people to violent popular revolts or revolutions).
The first phenomenon is easy to understand, and does not even deserve a long explanation here. Indeed, after the violation of the above provisions of the current Constitution and laws, it is more than likely that the proponents of the current regime would go on to commit other violations of other provisions of the current Constitution and laws, especially those that are very important for the protection of democracy and the rights of citizens. This is the phenomenon known as “slippery slope,” which means that once a person (or a regime, in this case) gets used to do bad things, it would be difficult for this person to stop by himself or herself, and for other persons to stop him or her from doing bad things! Thus, the grave danger of this “slippery slope” in the case of Madagascar would be the autocratization of the regime, or the return to the kind of “socialist dictatorship” instituted by Didier Ratsiraka in the 1970s and 80s. It is worth remembering here the case of Germany. Indeed, Adolf Hitler was democratically elected by the German people in a democratic regime in 1933. However, within just a few years, he was able to transform this democratic regime into a totalitarian regime!
With regard to the popular reactions, it is difficult to predict what the Malagasy people would do in a few months or a few years. However, one can imagine that the Malagasy people, who are now among the poorest people in the world, the most poorly educated and poorly fed, are just tired of the cyclical crises of the past, and would simply accept everything the current regime would throw at them. This would lead to a dangerous social and political situation resembling to some extent that of North Korea: totally apathetic people facing an all-powerful regime supported by the armed forces! It is also possible that the people would be fed up sooner or later. In that case, as in the past, they would rise up, overthrow the regime and destroy everything they could destroy (as in 1972, 1992, 2002, 2009). However, between these two scenarios, it is possible that the people would just imitate what those in power are doing. In other words, as the proponents of the current regime are engaged in the practices of “baolina an-tanimbary,” the people would also take part in these practices: they would just ignore or violate any rule and regulation that would not be convenient for them, they would even administer justice for themselves, etc. In this case, the 4th Republic of Madagascar could very well end up as a “Republic of outlaw,” a “Republic of gangsters, from the top to bottom”!
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(*) TV Plus is a private television station based in Antananarivo, the Capital City of Madagascar.
