Sawt Falasteen - Madagascar army installs new chief, president denounces power grab

The soldiers from the CAPSAT contingent joined protesters for a second day in a row, attending a rally in the capital to remember the people killed in more than two weeks of anti-government demonstrations that erupted on September 25.

The unit, which played a major role in a 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina to power, on Saturday declared it would "refuse orders to shoot" on demonstrators.

Soldiers then entered the city centre to meet several thousand protesters, who welcomed them with jubilation and praise.

Early Sunday the contingent claimed in a video statement that "from now on, all orders of the Malagasy army -- whether land, air or the navy -- will originate from CAPSAT headquarters".

Hours later, its pick for new Chief of the Army Staff, General Demosthene Pikulas, was installed during a ceremony at the army headquarters attended by the armed forces minister, Manantsoa Deramasinjaka Rakotoarivelo.

"I give him my blessing," said the minister, who was appointed by Rajoelina last week.

Pikulas admitted to journalists that events in Madagascar over the past few days had been "unpredictable". "So the army has a responsibility to restore calm and peace throughout Madagascar," he said.

Asked about calls for Rajoelina to resign, he said he refused to "discuss politics within a military facility".

Rajoelina said earlier Sunday that "an attempt to seize power illegally and by force, contrary to the Constitution and to democratic principles, is currently under way."

"Dialogue is the only way forward and the only solution to the crisis currently facing the country," he said in a statement.

CAPSAT Colonel Michael Randrianirina said his unit's decision to join the protesters did not amount to a coup. "We answered the people's calls, but it wasn't a coup d'etat," he told reporters.

- 'We will prevail' -

The protests were initially focused on chronic power and water cuts in the impoverished Indian Ocean country but developed into a broader anti-government movement that called for 51-year-old Rajoelina to resign.

The United Nations has said that at least 22 people were killed in the first days, some by security forces and others in violence sparked by criminal gangs and looters in the wake of the demonstrations.

Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying last week there were "12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals".

Large crowds of people joined prayers outside the Antananarivo city hall Sunday for the victims, who included a CAPSAT soldier killed in a clash with gendarmes on Saturday.

"We will prevail, because evil will not prevail in Madagascar," Randrianirina told the gathering were officers were joined on stage by opposition political figures, including former President Marc Ravalomanana, who was ousted in the 2009 uprising.

- 'Excesses' -

Officers of the gendarmerie, accused of heavy-handed tactics against the demonstrators, said in a video statement that they recognised "faults and excesses during our interventions".

"We are here to protect, not to terrorise," they said.

To try to defuse the protests, the president last month sacked his entire government.

Meeting one of the demands of the protesters, the Senate announced Sunday the dismissal of its president, Richard Ravalomanana, a former general of the gendarmerie paramilitary police.

Amid rumours that Rajoelina had fled, his government said Saturday he remained in Madagascar and was managing national affairs. The new prime minister, Ruphin Zafisambo, said the government was "standing strong".

Neighbouring Mauritius meanwhile confirmed that ex-prime minister Christian Ntsay and businessman Maminiaina Ravatomanga, a close adviser to Rajoelina, had flown in from Madagascar early Sunday on a private flight.

Air France suspended its flights to the island until at least Tuesday while the African Union expressed "deep concern" and urged dialogue, calm and restraint. South Africa called upon "all parties to respect the democratic process and constitutional order".

Madagascar has had a turbulent political history since it gained independence from France in 1960.

Although rich in natural resources for farming, forestry, fishing and minerals, nearly three-quarters of the population of 32 million lived below the poverty line in 2022, according to the World Bank.

strs-br/jcb/yad

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST