Madagascar soldiers join protesters, refuse orders to shoot
Madagascar soldiers on Saturday joined thousands of protestors in the capital, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators, according to AFP and France 24.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
The demonstrations on Saturday were the largest in several days in the youth-led movement that was sparked by anger over power and water shortages, evolving into a broader anti-government movement. It was unclear how many soldiers had joined the call on Saturday.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. Protesters thanked the soldiers, some of whom were waving Madagascar flags.
The soldiers had said in a meeting that they would not take action against the protestors. “Let us join forces, military, gendarmes and police, and refuse to be paid to shoot our friends, our brothers and our sisters,” the soldiers at the base in Soanierana district said in a video posted on social media.
They called on soldiers at the airport to prevent all aircraft from taking off and those in other camps to refuse any shoot orders.
“Close the gates and await our instructions. Do not obey orders from your superiors. Point your weapons at those who order you to fire on your comrades-in-arms, because they will not take care of our families if we die.”
Recall that in 2009 the military base in Soanierana led a mutiny in a popular uprising that brought the current president, Andry Rajoelina, to power.
The newly appointed Minister of the armed forces, General Deramasinjaka Manantsoa Rakotoarivelo called on troops to remain calm in a press conference on Saturday . “We call on our brothers who disagree with us to prioritise dialogue. The Malagasy army remains a mediator and constitutes the nation’s last line of defence,” he said.
Security forces had on Thursday dispersed protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and armoured vehicles with several persons sustaining injuries.
The United Nations on Friday reacted by calling on authorities to “desist from unnecessary force and to uphold the rights to free association and peaceful assembly”.
According to the UN, at least 22 people were killed in the first days of the protests that started on September 25 at the call of a youth-led movement called “Gen Z”.
President Andry Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying on Wednesday that there were “12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals”.
The President had initially adopted a conciliatory tone, sacking his entire government in response to the protests, but had in recent time become tougher, after appointing a military officer as Prime Minister on October 6 and picking the first members of his new cabinet from among the armed forces, public security and armed police, announcing that the country “no longer needs disturbances”.
Madagascar has undergone frequent popular uprisings since independence in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced then-president Marc Ravalomanana from power as the military installed Rajoelina for his first term. He won re-election in 2018 and again in 2023 in contested polls which the opposition boycotted.
source: France 24 with AFP
