PREVIEW
No sign of end to unrest after protests began over woeful public services
President Andry Rajoelina says that he is ‘ready to listen, ready to extend a helping hand, and above all, ready to bring solutions to Madagascar’. He is, however, not ready to resign, amid youth-led protests demanding basic services.
Rajoelina sacked his Prime Minister and disbanded the government on 29 September in an attempt to quell public anger. But the move has done little to address grievances that initially erupted in the capital on 25 September over worsening water shortages and power outages.
The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the first few days of the protests, though the government has rejected these figures.
The protest movement started when two local councillors in the capital city Antananarivo were arrested after attempting to organise a peaceful protest over water shortages and electricity blackouts. Their trials have since been postponed to 11 November (AC Vol 62 No 25, Economy under the weather).
Peaceful demonstrations were met with tear gas, rubber bullets and arrests. Then, amid escalating tensions, looting broke out across Antananarivo.
Rajoelina, whose own rise to power began with a coup in 2009, has promised a ‘new chapter’ and a tougher stance on corruption. Civil society activists say that the protest movement is a major challenge to Madagascar’s political elites. Failure to listen could result in more violence and a hardening of public opinion, they warn (AC Vol 59 No 9, Polls code sparks crisis).
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