ANTANANARIVO: Hundreds of mostly young protesters faced off against security forces in Madagascar’s capital Saturday days after an anti-government demonstration erupted into clashes and looting.
Police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse crowds at Thursday’s protest, which was called to condemn persistent water and power cuts in the impoverished nation but descended into violence as stores were looted and buildings and cars set alight.
Demonstrators including university students gathered again in Antananarivo Saturday, holding placards with slogans that included, “We are poor, angry and unhappy” and “Madagascar is ours.”
Mostly dressed in black and with their faces covered, some wore the colored straw hats that have become a symbol of defiance.
A wall of security forces prevented protesters from marching toward the city center and there were reports that police used tear gas to disperse them.
An unidentified hospital source said five people were killed in Thursday’s violence, but no official has released a confirmed toll.
In a video address late Friday, President Andry Rajoelina said that in response to the protest he had sacked his energy minister “for not doing his job.” He also condemned the violence as “acts of destabilization.”
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) grouping said Saturday it was concerned about “an unconfirmed number of fatalities, injuries, and extensive damage to both public and private property.”
The 16-nation SADC, of which Rajoelina is the current chairperson, commended in its statement “the government’s steadfast commitment to restoring peace and stability.”
The African Union called for restraint, calm and dialogue.
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Protesters gather again in Madagascar
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Protesters gather again in Madagascar
- Demonstrators including university students gathered again in Antananarivo Saturday
- An unidentified hospital source said five people were killed in Thursday’s violence
Australian warship transits Taiwan Strait, tracked by China’s navy
- In addition to claiming sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, Beijing views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters
SYDNEY: An Australian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a government source said on Sunday, in the latest transit of the sensitive waterway by a US ally that Chinese state-backed media said was tracked and monitored by the nation’s military.
In addition to claiming sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, Beijing views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters and has responded aggressively on occasion to foreign navies sailing there.
The Toowoomba, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, “conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait” on Friday and Saturday as part of a “Regional Presence Deployment in the Indo-Pacific region,” the source said.
“All interactions with foreign ships and aircraft were safe and professional,” the source said.
China’s state-backed Global Times newspaper, citing an unnamed Chinese military source, reported late on Saturday that “the Chinese People’s Liberation Army carried out full-process tracking, monitoring, and alert operations throughout the transit.”
Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement that it closely monitors the skies and waters around the island and that the strait is an international waterway for which all countries enjoy the right of freedom of navigation.
“The Ministry of National Defense will not proactively disclose the movements of aircraft and ships of friendly allied countries,” it added, without elaborating.
US warships traverse the strait every few months, enraging Beijing, and some US allies such as France, Australia, Britain and Canada have also made occasional transits.
China has ramped up its military presence around Taiwan and staged its latest war games around the island in late December.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
In addition to claiming sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, Beijing views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters and has responded aggressively on occasion to foreign navies sailing there.
The Toowoomba, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, “conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait” on Friday and Saturday as part of a “Regional Presence Deployment in the Indo-Pacific region,” the source said.
“All interactions with foreign ships and aircraft were safe and professional,” the source said.
China’s state-backed Global Times newspaper, citing an unnamed Chinese military source, reported late on Saturday that “the Chinese People’s Liberation Army carried out full-process tracking, monitoring, and alert operations throughout the transit.”
Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement that it closely monitors the skies and waters around the island and that the strait is an international waterway for which all countries enjoy the right of freedom of navigation.
“The Ministry of National Defense will not proactively disclose the movements of aircraft and ships of friendly allied countries,” it added, without elaborating.
US warships traverse the strait every few months, enraging Beijing, and some US allies such as France, Australia, Britain and Canada have also made occasional transits.
China has ramped up its military presence around Taiwan and staged its latest war games around the island in late December.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
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