The President of Madagascar Flees the Country

Featured image: Thousands enter in the Government Palace in Antananarivo. Source: Zo Andrianjafy/Reuters.

The people’s uprising makes Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina flee the country. It was reported today that he fled the country after losing most of his supporters, including the military. French imperialism provided a military plane to evacuate him and his relatives and closest collaborators.

Some of the fiercest clashes in the past weeks took place on Thursday, when several people were injured as security forces dispersed protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and armored vehicles. On Saturday, the demonstrators heavily clashed with police, but the State’s troops refused to shoot on the demonstrators. The demonstrations on Saturday were the largest in several days in the uprising that has toppled the Rajoelina government.

On Saturday CAPSAT (elite unit) forces decided to take control over the armed forces and refuse to follow orders from Rajoelina. These same CAPSAT forces were the forces who put Rajoelian in power through a coup d’état in 2009, after leading protests against the government as the mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, which resulted in a military-backed overthrow of President Marc Ravalomanana.

Rajoelina was expected to address the nation this evening, but his location was uncertain until his evacuation was confirmed. On Sunday, October 12, President Rajoelina was reportedly transferred by helicopter to Sainte-Marie Island, off Madagascar’s east coast, before boarding a French military plane. Rajoelina and French imperialism were already aware that the people’s uprising would overthrow the government. Other French lackeys, such as former prime minister Christian Ntsay and businessman Mamy Ravatomanga, a close collaborator of Rajoela, flew to Mauritius on a private jet on Saturday night, according to local reports.

You can read our previous reports on the situation of Madagascar here: