According to the UN, 22 people have died in Madagascar since President Andry Rajoelina fired his cabinet in an effort to end days of unrest. Today, protesters are back on the streets.
The youth-led movement is based on the “Gen Z” protests in Indonesia and Nepal. It is aimed at ending established bad government in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, which has been plagued by periodic power and water cuts, according to AFP.
Rajoelina sacked all of his ministers yesterday, apologized for their lack of action, and promised to find a way to fix the country’s problems.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the protests; the organizers called for a new gathering in the capital this morning.
A student protester remarked yesterday, “They call us the TikTok generation, a generation of idiots, and when we rise up, they won’t even let us speak.” She was wearing black to honor those who had died, as was called for on social media.
“Mr. Andry Rajoelina, it was okay for you to lead protests. “But when we young people stand up for our country, you try to shut us up,” she remarked.
There were a lot of police officers in and around the city center today.
There was little activity on the outskirts, but the streets were still busy with schoolchildren and people pulling carts.
Protesters want Rajoelina to step down. He came to power after a coup that was followed by an uprising.
Rajoelina remarked late yesterday, “When the Malagasy people suffer, I want you to know that I feel that pain too. I have not slept, day or night, in my efforts to find solutions and make things better.”
The UN says that at least 22 people have died and more than 100 have been hurt in previous protests that the police heavily responded to.
According to the office of the UN’s human rights chief, some of the victims were demonstrators or bystanders who were murdered by the police or security forces. The chief criticized the use of live ammunition.
The administration has said that the count is not accurate and is “based on rumors or false information.”
Political problems
World Bank data shows that protests began in the capital, Antananarivo, on Thursday and then extended to other cities in the country, which has around 32 million people.
After the protests in Antananarivo last week, there was a lot of looting all night long.
A coup that removed former president Marc Ravalomanana put Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, in charge.
The 51-year-old leader was re-elected in 2018 after not running for office in 2013 because of pressure from other countries.
He asked for applications for a new premier yesterday, and they will be accepted for the next three days before a new government is established.
Since the end of French control, this is the most recent instability in Madagascar.
After a bloody insurrection, Philibert Tsiranana had to give up authority to the army in 1972. He had been in charge of the country since it became independent.
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, but it is also the biggest producer of vanilla, which is one of the most expensive spices after saffron.
The World Bank says that around 75% of the people lived below the poverty level in 2022.
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