POLICE in Madagascar have declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew after violent protests by Gen Z on Friday, September 26, sparked by recurring power outages and water shortages.
In Antananarivo, hundreds of mostly young protesters took to the streets, but the demonstration was forcefully broken up as police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Unlike Thursday, when security forces patrolled the city to prevent gatherings, police presence on Friday was confined to the capital’s main central square.
Demonstrators expressed frustration over ongoing water and power outages that frequently leave homes and businesses without electricity for more than 12 hours a day in Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest nations.
Many have accused President Andry Rajoelina’s government of failing to improve citizens living conditions.
The unrest escalated after nightfall, leading police to enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew as banks and shops were looted and set ablaze, the homes of three pro-government lawmakers were also torched.
One of the stations of the city’s newly launched cable car system, a flagship government infrastructure project, was also torched.
In the country’s capital, the streets were mostly empty on Friday evening as residents assessed the destruction left behind by a day of violent unrest.
A Gen Z activist who went back to help clean up a looted bookstore said they had left before the unrest intensified but admitted that others could have been behind the destruction.
“Maybe they were frustrated. Maybe they were sent to break things. They’re already poor and have nothing. So they take what little they see,” he said, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Although the city centre appeared calm, reports of looting persisted in a commercial area on the outskirts of Antananarivo.
The French embassy in Madagascar strongly advised against non-essential travel in the capital and in Antsirabe, the country’s third-largest city. The British embassy also urged caution, warning that “further protests and disorder are expected and may spread to other parts of Madagascar”.
Rajoelina, who is in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, denounced the violence and appealed for calm.
“Division and hatred are not the solution. Conflict leads to destruction and no one benefits from it except those who only look out for their own interests,” he posted on Facebook.
The 51-year-old secured a third term in office late last year in an election boycotted by the opposition, with fewer than half of registered voters participating.
He initially rose to power in 2009 in Madagascar, the world’s leading vanilla producer, after spearheading a popular movement and benefiting from a coup that toppled former president Marc Ravalomanana.
He did not run in the 2013 election due to international pressure but returned to win back the presidency in 2018.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.