ANTANANARIVO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- While supporters of Madagascar's Highest Transitional Authority (HAT) President Andry Rajoelina link Sunday's attempted attack on the premiership to former president Marc Ravalomanana, those of Ravalomanana's group calls it a cinema.

On Sunday, colonel Rene Lilison of the Special Intervention Forces (FIS) close to Rajoelina announced that an attempted coup d'etat was thwarted and that the military officers and some civilians were arrested for having planned the overnight attack on the prime minister's palace, which is situated in the southeast of the capital Antananarivo.

According to the website www.actumada.mg, which is considered to be pro-Rajoelina, the arrestees included two military officers close to Ravalomanana.

One was identified as chief warrant officer Rodolphe, a former member of the presidential guard under the regime of Ravalomanana. Another was reported to be lieutenant colonel Cesar, who was guarding Fetison Rakoto Andrianirina, the co-transitional president from Ravalomanana's camp.

General Raoelina, the head of presidential guard under Ravalomanana was also mentioned in the coup attempt, although he was suffering from cardio-vasicular disease and hospitalized in Antananarivo.
The same website said Rodolphe had admitted that the money they spent in planning the coup was from former president Ravalomanana. Cesar was quoted as saying, "Besides the 20 U. S. dollars they were paid every day, they were each going to be compensated with a sum of 1,000 dollars if the mission is successful."

FIS led by colonel Lilison has arrested 21 people including a general who turned up for investigation on Monday.

General Desire Ramakavelo of HAT declared, "Some people are seeking nothing else than to create disorder in this country even though they know a solution to get the Great Island from the crisis is being sought."

"No other group wants to do this except Ravalomanana's movement," he said.

Ramakavelo accused Ravalomanana's camp and the other two led respectively by former presidents Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy of rejecting "the proposals advanced by the Madagascan people to resolve the crisis."

On the side of Ravalomanana's camp, Congress Transitional President Mamy Rakotoarivelo declared, "It was a coup of a splinter group and not a coup d'etat."

Raharinaivo Andrianantoandro, the spokesman for Ravalomanana's party Tiako i Madagasikara (TIM), which means "I Love Madagascar", announced, "We are pushing towards a negotiated solution to the crisis. We condemn all acts of violence irrespective of where they are coming from."

Jean-Louis Rakotoamboa, the leader of activists in Ravalomanana's camp, said, "If this kind of attempted coup exists, it is because there are people who are disappointed."

"It is difficult to start accusing people especially Marc Ravalomanana over this situation. The supporters of the former president chose to organize peaceful but determined protests. If they had opted for this kind of attempts, they would have done it in broad daylight," he pointed out.
"We condemn all actions that are aimed at destabilizing the country. HAT has always reneged on the conventional agreements that were signed in Maputo and Addis Ababa," he said, ruling out the intention from the movement of Ravalomanana to attempt any takeover of the kind.

"Whenever a solution to the country's crisis is about to be found, these kinds of acts take place," he argued.

Concerning the former presidential guards arrested for the coup attempt, the official of Ravalomanana's camp reiterated, "Since the withdrawal of the guards in the month of December, we have not had any contacts with them."

Ravalomanana has himself declared that he "supports a democratic solution."

"Rumors suggesting anything on the contrary are totally false and any thoughts on the contrary want to achieve political ends and they are not only cynical but also have destabilizing potential," the former president said.

In Zafy's camp, Dr. Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, the transitional co- president, affirmed that in the face of this situation, "we demand to know whether the HAT president will go to Johannesburg for the dialogue with Ravalomanana scheduled for April 28, since last time his vehicle was attacked and they talked of homemade petrol bombs."

"Unfortunately, despite this act, no inquiry has been opened into the issue of petrol bombs, while as for the Sunday case, people were arrested without any evidence being produced," he complained.

The coup attempt was reported after Prime Minister Camille Vital dismissed former minister of armed forces Noel Rakotonandrasana On April 7.

Vital said Rakotonandrasana had held suspicious meetings with senior officers without informing him, accusing him of causing confusion in the military ranks.
But Rakotonandrasana insists that he will still hold his post unless the prime minister himself comes to him so that he could hand over power. He says he will accept the dismissal if all the military officers want him to leave.

Rakotonandrasana was the main actor in the process of power transfer to Rajoelina, who ousted Ravalomanana with the backing of the military in March 2009. The change is widely seen as unconstitutional.

Last month, the African Union imposed sanctions on Rajoelina and 108 other officials for failing to form a new government with the three former presidents.

The four parties reached agreements in Maputo and Addis Ababa last year on power sharing, but failed to carry them out amid differences.

Last week, Rajoelina admitted that France, South Africa and the Southern African Development Community had proposed a new roadmap to end the crisis after last year's international mediation failed.

He said he had accepted the offer and would meet Ravalomanana in Johannesburg, South Africa, in late April to discuss the signing of a new agreement. He also promised that the other two camps would share the future government if the planned talks turn out a success.

There were rumors saying the coup attempt was a trick by extremists from Rajoelina's camp to block the planned dialogue in South Africa.