JanguKamaJangu
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 7, 2022
- 2,780
- 6,607
Maandamano makubwa yametokea katika Mji wa Antananarivo Nchini Madagascar yakihusisha mamia ya Wananchi ambao hoja yao kubwa ni maisha kuzidi kuwa magumu wakiilaumu Serikali ya Rais Andry Rajoelina kuhusu hali hiyo.
Polisi wamelazimika kuingilia na kuwashikilia viongozi wawili wa juu wa Chama cha TIM, Rina Randriamasinoro na Jean-Claude Rakotonirina lakini waliachiwa baada ya muda baada ya kutokea sintofahamu kati ya waandamanaji na maofisa wa usalama wakishutumiwa kutoa kauli za kuhamasisha chuki.
Uchumi kuyumba na mfumuko wa bei ni hali zilizipo kwa sasa sababu ikitajwa kuwa ni COVID-19 pamoja na vita ya Urusi na Ukraine.
==============================
Arrests as Madagascar Opposition Protest Living Costs
Police in Madagascar detained two leading members of the main opposition party on Saturday during a protest in the capital against rising living costs and economic hardship.
Several hundred anti-government demonstrators gathered in the center of Antananarivo in the morning, watched by a heavy military and police presence.
Police said they arrested Rina Randriamasinoro, the secretary general of the opposition Tiako I Madagasikara (TIM) party, and its national coordinator Jean-Claude Rakotonirina following tensions between demonstrators and security forces. The pair were later released.
"They were arrested and placed in police custody because they made comments inciting hatred and public unrest," Antananarivo's prefect Angelo Ravelonarivo told AFP.
Inflation has soared to the highest level in decades in many countries, fueled by the war in Ukraine and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Organizers had wanted to hold the rally inside a warehouse belonging to opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana, but demonstrators arrived to find security forces blocking access to the venue.
Protesters then staged a sit-in outside the building.
Footage shared on social media showed police pulling Randriamasinoro and Rakotonirina from the crowd before taking them away in a police vehicle.
"The rally was authorized yesterday by the prefect and then this morning we discovered the police outside the gate," said opposition lawmaker Fetra Ralambozafimbololona.
The arrests sparked further remonstrations, with demonstrators vowing not to leave the area until the two men were released -- before eventually dispersing in the afternoon.
Randriamasinoro and Rakotonirina were eventually let go early in the evening, a police spokesperson said, adding authorities were yet to decide whether to press charges against them.
Protests are rare in the country with the opposition and rights groups accusing the government of President Andry Rajoelina of stifling dissent and rarely allowing demonstrations.
"We can't say anything anymore," said Samuel Ravelarison, a 63-year-old accountant attending the rally. "We came to demonstrate against the high cost of living."
Ravelonarivo, the prefect, said that while the demonstration had not been banned, he had suggested it be held at a different location away from the city center.
One of the poorest nations in the world, Madagascar is still reeling from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and a series of extreme weather events.
Source: VOA
