ANTANANARIVO: Madagascar’s embattled President Andry Rajoelina said Monday he was sheltering in a “safe space” after an attempt on his life and called for the constitution to be respected as pressure mounted for him to resign.
The twice-delayed speech marked his first public address since a mutinous army unit backed anti-government protests afollowed by reports he had fled the country off the east coast of Africa.
“Since 25 September, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts. A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me,” the 51-year-old leader said in a live address.
“I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life,” he said, without revealing his location.
The protests, led by mostly young demonstrators, initially focused on chronic power and water cuts in the impoverished country but developed into a broader anti-government movement that called for Rajoelina to resign.
Rajoelina, a former mayor who came to power on the back of a coup, on Monday called for the constitution to be respected to resolve the deepening political crisis.
“There is only one way to resolve these issues; that is to respect the constitution in force in the country,” he said.
Radio France Internationale said Rajoelina left Madagascar on a French military plane at the weekend but French officials did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for confirmation.
French President Emmanuel Macron also refused to confirm this.
Madagascar’s cornered president says sheltering in ‘safe space’
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Madagascar’s cornered president says sheltering in ‘safe space’
- Andry Rajoelina says he is sheltering in a 'safe space' after attempt on his life
France, Germany, Spain to resume delayed fighter talks, sources say
- A ministerial meeting is planned for the week of November 24
BERLIN/PARIS: France, Germany and Spain are set to resume high-level talks on the next phase of a major fighter project after delays caused by the recent political crisis in France, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
A ministerial meeting is planned for the week of November 24 as the three nations try to bridge differences over the next phase of the Future Combat Air System, which calls for a flying demonstrator model, two of the people said.
A third source said a meeting was planned but that its date had not yet been announced.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is separately due to meet his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, in Paris next Monday, two of the sources said.
No comment was immediately available from the three defense ministries involved in the 100-billion-euro project to develop a system of crewed stealth fighters and packs of armed drones.
Pistorius told reporters last week that no new date for a trilateral ministerial meeting had been set, but he reiterated Germany’s call for a decision on the next phase by end-year.
Berlin has blamed French industry for blocking the program’s next phase by demanding sole leadership of the project, in a coded reference to Dassault Aviation.
Dassault, which handles France’s industrial participation in the project while Airbus represents Germany and Spain, has denied reports that it wants to control 80 percent of the project.
Pistorius said last week that he had discussed the topic with France’s Vautrin, who had stated her intention to continue with the project, which is widely known as FCAS, or its French acronym, SCAF.
Speaking ahead of a recent meeting with Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, Vautrin said there was urgency to move ahead because France’s current Rafale warplanes would need to be replaced by 2040.
