ANTANANARIVO - Thousands marched in
Madagascar's capital on Monday to protest against new electoral
laws and the death of a person in a similar march at the
weekend, a Reuters witness said.
On Saturday, police fired teargas at an opposition
demonstration where the person died and more than a dozen were
treated for injuries, some caused by teargas
canisters.
On Monday, thousands of demonstrators, most of them dressed
in white, assembled in front of the city hall and a public
square. They brought the coffin of the victim of Saturday's
clashes with them, the Reuter witness said.
Supporters of opposition politician Marc Ravalomanana, a
former leader of the Indian Ocean island nation, say the new
electoral laws are designed to block him from running in the
election. The opposition is also challenging provisions on
campaign financing and access to media in the laws.
Ravalomanana, who was removed in a 2009 coup, has teamed up
with the man who succeeded him, Andy Rajoelina, to oppose the
laws pushed by President Hery Rajaonarimampianina.
Before Monday's march began, General Beni Xavier
Rasolofonirina, the defence minister, appealed to politicians to
find an outcome that would avoid violence.
"The security forces invite politicians to discuss and find
a political solution to a political problem. The police will
never accept power that does not come from the electoral
process," he said in a statement.
He said police would stay away from the area where people
were marching.
"The police remind us that their mission is to protect the
population and its property (...). To avoid violent clashes, the
police decided to withdraw from the protected area (closed to
demonstrations)."