Antananarivo, Madagascar
Reuters
—
Madagascar’s president has fled the African country, opposition leaders and other officials announced Monday, marking the second time youth protesters have overthrown the government in weeks of global Gen Z unrest.
Parliamentary opposition leader Siteny Landriana Soloniaiko told Reuters that President Andriy Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday after military units defected and joined demonstrators.
“I called the presidential staff and they confirmed that he has left the country,” Landriana Soloniaiko said, adding that Rajoelina’s current whereabouts are unknown.
The presidential palace did not respond to requests for comment.
Rajoelina said in an address to the nation broadcast on Facebook late Monday that she had to be moved to a safer location to save her life. Although he did not reveal his whereabouts, he took a defiant stance, saying, “I will not allow Madagascar to be destroyed.”
Diplomatic sources said after the speech that Rajoelina was refusing to resign.
Rajoelina left the former French colony of Madagascar on a French military plane on Sunday, a military official told Reuters. French radio RFI reported that he had reached an agreement with President Emmanuel Macron.
Speaking in Egypt after a summit on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage agreement, President Macron said he could not immediately confirm reports that France had helped Rajoelina flee the country. He added that constitutional order must be upheld in Madagascar, and said France understood the grievances of the country’s youth, but that the military should not exploit them.
A French Army Casa aircraft landed at Madagascar’s Sainte-Marie airport on Sunday, military officials said. “Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived and transferred the passengers to the casa,” the official said, adding that the passenger was Rajoelina.
Demonstrations broke out in the former French colony on September 25 over water and electricity shortages, but quickly escalated into violence over widespread grievances including corruption, bad governance and a lack of basic services.
The anger reflects recent protests against ruling elites in countries such as Nepal and Morocco, whose prime ministers were forced to resign last month.
Rajoelina appeared increasingly isolated after losing the support of CAPSAT, the elite force that helped him seize power in a 2009 coup.
Over the weekend, CAPSAT said it refused to fire on protesters and escorted thousands of demonstrators through the main square of the capital Antananarivo.
Rajoelina then warned on Sunday of attempts to seize power in the island nation off southern Africa, as the country announced it had taken control of its armed forces and appointed a new military commander.
On Monday, a faction of the paramilitary gendarmerie supporting the protests also took control of the gendarmerie in a formal ceremony attended by senior government officials, a Reuters witness said.
The Senate said in a statement that the president of the Senate, who had been the focus of public outrage over the protests, had been removed from his post and Jean-André Ndremanjari had been appointed on an interim basis.
In the absence of the President, the Senate Majority Leader assumes the role until an election is held.
Thousands of people gathered in the capital’s squares on Monday, chanting: “The president must resign now!”
Adriana Ribony Fanogantsoa, 22, a hotel worker, told Reuters her monthly income of 300,000 ariary (about $67) is barely enough to cover food costs, explaining why she joined the protests.
“For 16 years, the president and the government have done nothing but enrich themselves while the people remain poor. And it is the young people, Generation Z, who are suffering the most,” he said.
At least 22 people have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces since September 25, according to the United Nations.
Madagascar has a population of about 30 million people with a median age under 20, three-quarters of whom live in poverty, and GDP per capita plummeted by 45% between independence in 1960 and 2020, according to the World Bank.
The country is best known for producing much of the world’s vanilla, but other exports such as nickel, cobalt, textiles and shrimp are also vital to overseas income and employment.
In what appeared to be one of his final acts before leaving the country, Rajoelina pardoned several people on Sunday, including two French nationals, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. The contents were confirmed by a presidential source.
Two French nationals, Paul Maillot Raffanoharana and François Marc-Philippe, were found guilty of undermining national security in connection with the 2021 coup attempt.
