Mr. Rajoelina has confronted weeks of Gen Z-led anti-government protests, which reached a pivotal level on Saturday when an elite navy unit joined the protests and referred to as for the President and different authorities ministers to step down. That prompted Mr. Rajoelina to say that an unlawful try to seize energy was underway within the Indian Ocean island and to depart the nation.
“I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life,” Mr. Rajoelina mentioned in his late-night speech, which was delayed for hours after troopers tried to take management of the state broadcaster buildings, the President’s workplace mentioned.
They have been Mr. Rajoelina’s first public feedback for the reason that CAPSAT navy unit turned towards his authorities in an obvious coup and joined 1000’s of protesters rallying in a major sq. within the capital, Antananarivo, over the weekend.
Mr. Rajoelina referred to as for dialogue “to discover a method out of this example” and mentioned the structure needs to be revered. He didn’t say how he left Madagascar or the place he was, however a report claimed he was flown in another country on a French navy airplane.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to touch upon that report.
Madagascar is a former French colony, and Mr. Rajoelina reportedly has French citizenship, which has been a supply of discontent for some Madagascans for years.
The anti-government protests started on September 25 over power water and electrical energy outages however have snowballed into wider discontent with Rajoelina and his authorities.
Protesters gesture outdoors the city corridor on Independence Avenue throughout a nationwide youth-led protest over frequent energy outages and water shortages, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. | Photo Credit: Reuters
It is essentially the most vital unrest within the island nation of 31 million folks off the east coast of Africa since Mr. Rajoelina himself first got here to energy because the chief of a transitional authorities following a 2009 military-backed coup.
The similar elite CAPSAT navy unit that rebelled towards Mr. Rajoelina was outstanding in his first coming to energy in 2009.
Elite unit claims to regulate the navy
Mr. Rajoelina hasn’t recognized who was behind this tried coup, however the CAPSAT unit has mentioned it now controls all of the armed forces in Madagascar and has appointed a brand new officer answerable for the navy, which was accepted by the defence minister in Mr. Rajoelina’s absence.
CAPSAT seems to be able of authority and in addition has the backing of different navy items, together with the gendarmerie safety forces.
A commander of CAPSAT, Col. Michael Randrianirina, mentioned the military had “responded to the folks’s calls” however denied there was a coup. Speaking on the nation’s navy headquarters on Sunday, he advised reporters that it was as much as the Madagascan folks to resolve what occurs subsequent, and if Rajoelina leaves energy and a brand new election is held.
Mr. Randrianirina mentioned his troopers had determined to face with protesters and had exchanged gunfire with safety forces who have been trying to quell weekend protests, and certainly one of his troopers was killed. But there was no main combating on the streets, and troopers driving on armoured automobiles and waving Madagascar flags have been cheered by folks in Antananarivo.
The US Embassy in Madagascar nonetheless suggested American residents to shelter in place due to a “extremely unstable and unpredictable” scenario. The African Union urged all events, “each civilian and navy, to train calm and restraint.”
Weeks of protests
Madagascar has been shaken by three weeks of lethal anti-government protests that have been initially led by a gaggle calling itself “Gen Z Madagascar.”
The United Nations says the demonstrations left a minimum of 22 folks lifeless and dozens injured and criticised Madagascan authorities for a “violent response” to what have been largely peaceable protests within the early days of the motion. The authorities has disputed the variety of deaths.
The demonstrators have introduced up a spread of points, together with poverty and the price of dwelling, entry to tertiary schooling, and alleged corruption and embezzlement of public funds by authorities officers, in addition to their households and associates.
Civic teams and commerce unions additionally joined the protests, which resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in Antananarivo and different main cities. Curfews have been nonetheless in impact in Antananarivo and the northern port metropolis of Antsiranana.
The Gen Z protesters who began the rebellion have mobilised over the web and say they have been impressed by the protests that toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
History of political crises
Madagascar has had a number of leaders eliminated in coups and has a historical past of political crises because it gained independence from France in 1960.
The 51-year-old Rajoelina first got here to prominence because the chief of a transitional authorities following the 2009 coup that pressured then-President Marc Ravalomanana to flee the nation and lose energy. Mr. Rajoelina was elected President in 2018 and reelected in 2023 in a vote boycotted by opposition events.
Madagascar’s former Prime Minister underneath Rajoelina and one of many President’s closest advisers have additionally fled the nation and arrived within the close by island of Mauritius within the predawn hours Sunday, the Mauritian authorities mentioned. Mauritius mentioned it was “not happy” that the personal airplane had landed on its territory.
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