Former Madagascar president Marc Ravalomanana, who is under house arrest after returning from exile, will not be deported but asked to take part in national reconciliation, the presidency says.
"We are not a country that exiles or deports its own citizens," presidency chief of staff Henry Rabary-Njaka said.
"That's not at all our mentality. He's here and we hope that Mr Ravalomanana will actually participate in this (reconciliation) process."
Earlier, Madagascar police used tear gas to break up a rally by supporters of the former president, who was ousted in a 2009 coup and arrived back in the country last Monday.
Up to 300 people threw stones at police cars and set fire to cardboard boxes at the banned protest in the capital Antananarivo.
Police arrested two people, including a politician who addressed the gathering.
Ravalomanana is under house arrest in Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) in the north of the Indian Ocean island, with no means of communicating with the outside world.
While he did not say when Ravalomanana would be released, Rabary-Njaka said the situation "will evolve very, very quickly".
The former head of state was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment with hard labour.
On his return he told supporters he still held "lots of power" and that his presidential successor was "not the people's choice".
The fierce rivalry with his immediate successor, Andry Rajoelina, polarised the island nation.
Current president Hery Rajaonarimampianina is a Rajoelina ally, but the presidential chief of staff stressed that he and Ravalomanana were not "enemies".
"Today they are political opponents and that means there is a process (of reconciliation) that needs to be respected," he said.
