President of Madagascar flown out after violent protests

After weeks of protests on the island state of Madagascar, head of state Andry Rajoelina has left the country. As the President announced in a live broadcast speech on Monday evening, he had to go to a safe place to protect his life.

The protests in Madagascar began around three weeks ago. The triggers were regular power outages and problems with the water supply. According to the UN, at least 22 people have been killed and more than a hundred others injured since the protests began. The demonstrators are demanding Rajoelina’s resignation.

Rajoelina was flown out by a French military plane on Sunday, as the French radio station RFI reported. Accordingly, there was a corresponding agreement with French head of state Emmanuel Macron. Rajoelina received French citizenship in 2014. Where he is is not known.

Despite its abundance of raw materials, Madagascar, located off the African east coast, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

The speech was postponed several times after, according to the presidency, the state media was taken over by armed forces. There were also technical problems with the transmission of the speech. Rajoelina did not comment on a possible resignation.

Instead, he appealed to the people of his country to respect the existing order. “If we don’t do this, poverty will continue to get worse,” said the Malagasy president. He later declared himself “open to dialogue to find a way out of this situation.”

Tens of thousands of young people have been demonstrating in the Indian Ocean island nation since the end of September to demand Rajoelina’s resignation. The uprisings were triggered by power and water outages, deficiencies in the education system as well as high unemployment and widespread poverty. Violence also broke out after peaceful protests. At least 22 people were killed.

The presidential office denounced an attempted coup against Rajoelina on Sunday. His representatives denied rumors about his departure on Sunday evening and claimed that Rajoelina was in the bunker in the presidential palace.

Shortly before the departure, an insurgent army unit announced that it had taken control of the land, air and sea forces of the island state off the southeastern coast of Africa. Numerous soldiers joined the protests. However, Madagascar also has a gendarmerie that operates separately from the police and military.

The protest movement grouped together under the name “Gen Z” is calling for Rajoelina’s resignation, the dissolution of the Senate, the Constitutional Court and the Election Commission, and the criminal prosecution of businessman Mamy Ravatomanga, who is said to be Rajoelina’s main financial backer.