A key opposition leader in Madagascar has called for more protests against the president, a day after security forces killed 28 of his supporters.
Andry Rajoelina, who was dismissed last week from his post as mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, spoke as he visited injured supporters in hospital.
He is locked in a power struggle with President Marc Ravalomanana, who he says should step down.
There have been repeated protests against the firing of the ex-mayor.
Demonstrators had been marching towards President Ravalomanana's compound on Saturday when police opened fire, killing 28 and injuring more than 200.
Earlier, during a rally attended by 20,000 people, the former mayor's supporters had declared him head of a "transition higher authority".
Mr Rajoelina, a 34-year-old former DJ, has successfully tapped into widespread frustration with the government.
"I tell the people that their lives, their blood was lost," he said on Sunday. "(But) we cannot stop. The struggle continues,"
"The people need change," he said. "What is Ravalomanana's answer? Shots."
There was an uneasy calm on the streets of the capital Sunday as heavily armed security forces patrolled, correspondents said.
Prime Minister Charles Rabemananjara announced that a night-time curfew already in force in the capital would be extended for a week, AFP news agency reported.
The sacked mayor accuses President Marc Ravalomanana of misspending public money and being a dictator.
President Ravalomanana, 59 and also a former mayor of Antananarivo, has blamed the opposition leader for the violence and called for a return to calm.
Dozens of people were killed in unrest in January after anti-government protests turned into rioting and looting.
Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island, has become a destination for tourists as well as foreign companies, searching for oil, gold, cobalt, nickel and uranium.
I really have no clue what's going on, because despite rioting in the capitol and dozens dead, nobody from Fox News to the BBC seems to be talking about this on TV. Anyone know anything?
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Madagascar was a socialist run tyranny until 1990 which left them with no functional economy, though they did fly MiG-21s, typical for states with Soviet backing. Ever since then democratic politics have been very messy. The current guy Ravalomanana is hated by a large part of the country that thinks he’s a corrupt fraud who’s rigged the vote to win and to amend the constitution. Much of that may well be true, I don’t know that much of the details but yeah, messy place in general.
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A key opposition leader in Madagascar has called for more protests against the president, a day after security forces killed 28 of his supporters.
A caring opposition leader, that is. They just killed 28 of his supporters and, instead of considering other strategies, he just goes on and calls for more demonstrations. It reeks of "power for power's sake" to me.
I guess democracy is not for some (at their present state). But, then, what could be done to help them?
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A key opposition leader in Madagascar has called for more protests against the president, a day after security forces killed 28 of his supporters.
A caring opposition leader, that is. They just killed 28 of his supporters and, instead of considering other strategies, he just goes on and calls for more demonstrations. It reeks of "power for power's sake" to me.
I guess democracy is not for some (at their present state). But, then, what could be done to help them?
Or it could be he wants to show that brute force won't work against him and his supporters. If killing stopped them, it would positively reinforce the president to continue down that route. Instead he will learn to bribe/assassinate his enemies.
Samuel wrote:Or it could be he wants to show that brute force won't work against him and his supporters. If killing stopped them, it would positively reinforce the president to continue down that route. Instead he will learn to bribe/assassinate his enemies.
A dire prospect either way, IMHO.
BBC News wrote:Defence Minister Cecile Manorohanta has resigned, saying she wants no part of a government that kills civilians.
There are (were) still some decent people in the government, it seems.
BBC News wrote:Now, with its fledgling reputation as a stable investment prospect in tatters and a population that feels both poor and disenfranchised, the country's future looks gloomy once again.
If Madagascar is not to spiral further out of control it will take the two men at the centre of this increasingly bloody stand-off to talk. Both are proud. President Ravalomanana is not renowned for his largesse when dealing with opponents. It is likely that Mr Rajoelina's popularity is all that has saved him from arrest. Furthermore there is speculation that he is being supported by political heavyweights from the country's past - groups keen to topple the current government but lacking the charisma or popular appeal to do it.
Unless a compromise can be reached the bloodshed could continue.
Again, a dire prognosis, but we've seen worse get their act together, eventually. I wonder what the G8's position on this matter is.
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GENERATION 29
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Have a classmate over there studying abroad right now. Hope she is okay.
Anyways, I've heard that much of Madagascar's population is ethnically distinct from that of the African mainland.
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As a bit of background, the opposition leader is also the mayor of the capital. The current president became president from being mayor of the capital, then staging strikes and protests/riots, until he controlled most of the country. Which is exactly what is happenning now.
Shrooms: It's interesting that the taste of blood is kind of irony.
I wonder how much persuasion it would take to get the Indians or South Africans to send some sort of stabilization force into the country, at least around the capital.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
South Africa is no longer interested in foreign intervention, what with the association South Africans have between intervention and the Apartheid government (and current economic, infrastructure, and crime problems), and India really has no interests in the area, especially with the current troubles with Pakistan.
Shrooms: It's interesting that the taste of blood is kind of irony.
