Exiled president barred from returning home

(19 Feb 2011) 1. Wide of ousted Malagasy president Marc Ravalomanana at Johannesburg airport, surrounded by journalists 2. Mid of Ravalomanana holding a letter from the Civil Aviation Authority of Madagascar forbidding South Africa Airways to let him onto their commercial flight 3. Close-up of letter, tilt up to Ravalomanana 4. Cutaway of media 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Marc Ravalomanana, ousted president of Madagascar: "Yes, I am very, very, very disappointed right now, because, right here, I received this notice from the civil aviation (authority). If the company, SAA Airlink, received it, I cannot do anything." 6. Cutaway of South African Airlink board 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Marc Ravalomanana, ousted president of Madagascar: "(inaudible) I am persona non grata, not getting into the airport. This is the letter from them." 8. Mid of Ravalomanana walking away 9. Ravalomanana leaving Johannesburg airport, speaking to journalist 10. Ravalomanana getting into car and driving away from airport STORYLINE: Madagascar's ousted president has been barred by officials in his homeland from returning from exile in South Africa on Saturday, the politician told reporters at Johannesburg's airport. Marc Ravalomanana said aviation authorities in Madagascar had written to South African Airways to say he was not welcome. Ravalomanana had been booked on the carrier's regular Saturday flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital. Speaking to reporters at the airport, Ravalomanana said he was "very disappointed and that "if the company, SAA Airlink, received it, I cannot do anything." He added that the civil aviation authority did not say he was "persona non grata" or that he could not enter the airport. The democratically elected Ravalomanana has been in South Africa since being ousted in 2009 by Andry Rajoelina, a former disc jockey turned Antananarivo mayor who was supported by the army. Rajoelina has been shunned by the international community and has so far rejected attempts by South Africa and other neighbours to mediate a solution that would restore democracy. By not getting on the plane Saturday, Ravalomanana avoided a possible showdown at the airport in Antananarivo. He faces arrest in Madagascar after a court set up by Rajoelina convicted him last year of conspiracy to commit murder, charges linked to the unrest surrounding his ousting. The court sentenced Ravalomanana to life with hard labour. After Ravalomanana told reporters in Johannesburg earlier this week that he was returning, South Africa, the region's main power broker, cautioned him against taking "unilateral measures". Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...