Madagascar: controversy around the major works of the Queen's Palace

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For a few days now, the eyes of the Tananarivians have been focused on the highest hill in the city which houses the Rova, that is to say the royal enclosure in which the Queen's Palace is located, several small traditional palaces, tombs royal or a royal chapel. The site, historic and sacred, is part of a program of major works that are already problematic.

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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Sarah Tétaud

The major rehabilitation works were ordered by the Madagascan president for the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the country's independence, on June 26.

The problem is that in addition to the renovation of the Queen's Palace, a concrete amphitheater at the foot of the emblematic building is being built. This work, looking like a Roman colosseum, is supposed to host popular and cultural representations on the history of the country. For its detractors, it is a sacrilege. Several petitions have been launched online in the past two days. One of them collected more than 8,200 signatures in less than 24 hours.

"  Faced with the cultural genocide resulting in the construction of a Colosseum within the Rova […], we, Madagascan citizens from all over the world, demand the immediate cessation of works and the demolition of the building in question  ". It is with these words that the online petition begins, which has been driving Madagascan social networks for 48 hours.

At the heart of the controversy, there is, in fact, the "  Kianja Masoandro  ", an all-concrete arena, with a capacity of 400 seats whose construction began in early February. The main structure should be delivered by June 26, says French manufacturer Colas.

To counter the increasingly sharp criticism, the Minister of Culture invited the journalists to the site on Friday 22 May. “  No, this arena was not built to feed the ego or respond to a whim of the President of the Republic. No, this is not the suicide of the national heritage  , "she insisted.

The choice of the building was thought to allow telling stories from the history of the country " in an educational way ". As for its architecture, the Minister underlines that the arches of the arena reflect those which adorn the Queen's Palace. Decisions, finally recalls the Minister, which have all been validated by a scientific committee made up of specialists: historians, archaeologists or even museologists.

Present on the spot, none of the ten members of this famous committee wished to speak, being an astonishing silence for a group of people presented as free and independent.

Last March, several associations had already alerted, in writing, the management of the Unesco World Heritage Center of the incongruity of the project and of the difficulty of certain members of the committee to be heard by a President of the Republic described as "  Adamant in the face of abundantly provided arguments and explanations  ". In order to avoid " an open crisis" with the presidency, some of the members then ended up "deeming it wiser to remain silent ".

Since 2016, the Upper Town of Antananarivo and therefore its Rova have been in the race to obtain a UNESCO World Heritage listing. This modern arena on a historic hill shuffles the cards and adds a little more difficulty to demonstrate the “  exceptional universal value  ” of the place.

The total amount of the renovation of the Rova and the construction of this arena have not yet been revealed, but the minister said: "  everything was funded from the Malagasy state budget alone to mark its sovereignty  ".

The idea, basically, of the President of the Republic for Rovan'Antananarivo, when it is rebuilt, is that it is a symbol of the sovereignty of Madagascar, of our regained independence.

"A symbol of the sovereignty of Madagascar"

Sarah Tétaud

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