Members of Madagascar's Army CAPSAT unit monitor the area in front of City Hall from an armoured vehicle as senior officers address the crowd during a rally Tuesday calling for President Andry Rajoelina's resignation.LUIS TATO/AFP/Getty Images
An elite military unit has seized power in Madagascar after weeks of anti-government street protests that triggered the sudden departure of the country’s president to an undisclosed foreign haven.
If the military takeover is confirmed, it will be the latest in a long series of coups in African countries over the past several years. Military forces have exploited street protests and widespread public discontent to capture power and install their allies into government in Sudan, Mali, Zimbabwe, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday denounced the takeover as an attempted illegal coup d’état, but it was unclear whether he had any levers to stop the military move. Earlier in the day, the parliament of the Indian Ocean island country had voted overwhelmingly to impeach Mr. Rajoelina, defying his order to dissolve the legislative body. Even some members of the President’s own party voted for the motion.
Huge crowds of people celebrated and cheered for soldiers in armoured vehicles in a central square of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, after the army officers announced their takeover on Tuesday afternoon.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina in Antananarivo last week.Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Mr. Rajoelina was reportedly whisked out of the country on Sunday on a French military aircraft, hours after soldiers switched sides to support the youth-led street demonstrations. Some reports say he was flown to Dubai. He has said only that he is in a “safe place” because of threats to his life.
Mr. Rajoelina tried to address the country on state television on Monday night, but soldiers prevented it by threatening to seize the television headquarters. Instead he has issued a series of angry statements on the presidential Facebook page, condemning the moves by the military and parliament. He insisted he was still in charge.
The military takeover was led by Colonel Michael Randrianirina, commander of the same elite unit that had helped Mr. Rajoelina take power in a coup in 2009 after an earlier wave of mass protests against the government at the time.
Members of the Madagascar CAPSAT military open the gates of the presidential palace in Antananarivo on Tuesday.LUIS TATO/AFP/Getty Images
Flanked by fellow soldiers, Col. Randrianirina said he was suspending all constitutional bodies, including the electoral commission, with the exception of the lower house of parliament. “We are taking power,” he told journalists at the presidential palace.
The country’s top court said on Tuesday that it was inviting Col. Randrianirina to serve as the new president. The coup leader said he will create a committee of army and police officers to rule the country. He said a civilian government will eventually be set up, and elections would follow within the next two years.
Madagascar, a former French colony of 31 million people, is one of the world’s poorest countries, with about three-quarters of the population below the poverty line. The anti-government protests began three weeks ago, sparked at first by the frequent cuts to electricity and water supplies. The demonstrations then escalated across the country, fuelled by broader grievances about corruption, inflation and unemployment.
Residents and protesters listen to soldiers at a civil society rally Tuesday.LUIS TATO/AFP/Getty Images
Security forces tried to crush the protests, killing 22 people and injuring more than 100 in late September, but the protests only grew bigger. The turning point came on the weekend when Col. Randrianirina’s soldiers threw their support to the protesters, helping them reach the central square for the first time.
The youth-led street movement in Madagascar is the latest in a global surge of demonstrations by Gen Z protesters, who have often waved a skull-and-bones banner, borrowed from a Japanese manga and anime series about pirates battling a corrupt regime.
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The manga-inspired banner has featured prominently in recent street demonstrations in Nepal, Morocco, Indonesia and the Philippines. The protests led to the torching of government buildings in Nepal last month, forcing its prime minister to resign. Similar youth-led protests in previous years have rocked the ruling elites of Bangladesh, Kenya and Nigeria. The government of Bangladesh was toppled by student-led protests last year.
The African Union, the southern African regional bloc and the United Nations have all expressed concern about the situation in Madagascar this week. The African Union’s peace and security council, after an emergency session on Monday, issued a statement saying it “totally rejects” any attempt at unconstitutional changes of government in the country.
The council also urged Madagascar’s army to “refrain from meddling in the political affairs of the country.” It asked the African Union to immediately dispatch a high-level delegation to Madagascar to seek a resolution of the crisis.
Madagascar's military has taken charge of the Indian Ocean island, an army colonel said on Tuesday, after President Andry Rajoelina fled abroad during a standoff with youth-led protesters and security forces.
Reuters