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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Shots fired as Madagascar's ex-president denounces 'coup' |
| 2009-03-26 |
| Madagascar police fired shots on Wednesday after supporters of the island's toppled leader clashed with those backing his foe, as former president Marc Ravalomanana urged his people to "save the nation". "It is up to us, it is up to you, it is up to me ... to save the nation, defend the union and our national unity," said Ravalomanana in a pre-recorded message at a rally of about 10 000 people in the capital Antananarivo. "Madagascar was on the road to development and now they are destroying our country with their coup," said Ravalomanana in his first comments after being forced to resign last week following a three-month power struggle. Police fired warning shots in the air to disperse the crowd, which held up banners dating back to Ravalomanana's 2006 election campaign and proclaimed, "Father, the country is waiting for you." The action came after scuffles between the rival political movements broke out towards the end of the rally, after a broadcast of Ravolomanana's message. Andry Rajoelina, a former mayor of the capital who replaced him, was also backed by street protests but crucially won the support of the large Indian Ocean island nation's armed forces at the height of the tussle for power. Ravalomanana is currently in Swaziland ahead of a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a 15-nation regional bloc which will discuss possible sanctions against Rajoelina at a meeting next week. The crowd gathered in downtown Antananarivo on Wednesday, the third day in a row that Ravalomanana's supporters have protested against Rajoelina, who was sworn in as president by the Constitutional Court last Saturday. |
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