Antananarivo, Madagascar – Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina dissolved the government on Monday following several days of protests over water and power cuts in which at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured, according to the UN.
“We acknowledge and apologize if members of the government have not carried out the tasks assigned to them,” Rajoelina said in speech on state broadcaster Televiziona Malagasy.
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“I understand the anger, the sadness, and the difficulties caused by power cuts and water supply problems. I heard the call, I felt the suffering, I understood the impact on daily life,” he said.
Applications for a new prime minister will be received over the next three days before a new government is formed, the president explained
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, reported on Monday that at least 22 people were killed and over 100 injured in the protests in Antananarivo, Madgascar’s capital, and in other cities across the country.
In the statement, Türk confirmed that among the victims are protesters and bystanders killed by security forces, as well as people who died in subsequent violence and looting perpetrated by individuals and gangs not linked to the marches.
The protests in the capital were suppressed by the Malagasy Police with tear gas and rubber bullets, leading authorities to decree a curfew from dusk to dawn on Sep. 25.
“I am shocked and saddened by the killings and injuries in the protests over water and power cuts in Madagascar,” Türk said, urging authorities to “ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, consistent with their obligations under international human rights law.”
The organizers insisted that the protest was peaceful and blamed the unrest on “external groups.”
Riot police use teargas to disperse protesters. Photo : Zo Andrianjafy/Reuters
Despite the repression, demonstrations continued on Monday at a university in Antananarivo.
According to images released by local media, hundreds of young people held up banners, sang the national anthem, and tried to march through the city.
After the protests began, Rajoelina, who was in New York to participate in the 80th UN General Assembly, condemned the vandalism in a social media post. He called for calm and expressed regret for the damage to properties and businesses.
Two days later, in response to the crisis, he dismissed Olivier Jean Baptiste, the Minister of Energy and Hydrocarbons, for failing in his duties by delaying measures to increase electricity production.
Türk urged the security forces to refrain from using “unnecessary and disproportionate force” and to release all protesters detained without cause immediately.
He also recalled that law enforcement officers may only use firearms “when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury.”
The demonstrations spread to other cities, leading the authorities to suspend classes in schools in the capital and suburban districts due to the disturbances.
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