Fresh unrest gripped Madagascar’s capital on Monday as police fired tear gas at thousands protesting water and power outages, with the youth-led demonstrations entering their third day and calls growing for the government to step down.
Inspired by the so-called “Gen Z” protests in Kenya and Nepal, the demonstrations are the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years, and the most serious challenge President Andry Rajoelina has faced since his re-election in 2023.
Authorities declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Thursday after protests in the capital Antananarivo turned violent.
“There are unfortunately individuals taking advantage of the situation to destroy other people’s property,” General Angelo Ravelonarivo, who heads a joint security body that includes the police and the military, said in a statement he read on privately owned Real TV late on Thursday.
Placards, National Anthem At Protests
Protesters on Monday gathered at a university in Antananarivo where they waved placards and sang the national anthem before attempting to march through town, footage from 2424.MG news channel showed.
In another part of town, police cleared rocks and telephone poles that protesters had used to barricade roads, and fired teargas to disperse the crowd, footage broadcast on Real TV showed.
Many in the crowd called for the resignation of Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, his government, and Rajoelina.
‘Looking For Ways To Correct Everything’
The latest protests come after Rajoelina said on Sunday he would thoroughly review and reform the governance in the country.
“If there have been mistakes, I recognise them, and I am now looking for ways to correct everything,” he said in a speech in the Anosibe neighbourhood of Antananarivo, where some looting and vandalism took place on Friday.
The protesters have adapted a flag used in Nepal where protesters forced the prime minister to resign this month and have also used similar online organisation tactics as protests in Kenya last year that culminated in the government scrapping proposed tax legislation.
(With inputs from Reuters)
