Opposition Protests Turn Violent in Madagascar
By VOA News
26 January 2009
Pro-opposition protesters in Madagascar have set fire to the state television building, as political tensions reach the highest level in years.
Witnesses in the capital, Antananarivo, say the demonstrators looted the television building before setting it ablaze. Residents say the state radio and TV stations have gone off the air.
Elsewhere in the capital, demonstrators blocked streets, demanding a new government and the return of an opposition TV station taken off the air last month.
Earlier, opposition leader Andry Rajoelina addressed a rally of his supporters in a main city square, calling for the government to resign.
President Marc Ravalomanana has cut short a visit to South Africa and returned home vowing to "restore order." He said the civil disobedience amounts to a coup d'etat.
Rajoelina, who had called a general strike ahead of the rally, accuses the president of growing authoritarianism.
The opposition leader also is the mayor of the capital city, the same job Mr. Ravalomanana held before he became president in 2002.
The country was torn by political strife in the months before Mr. Ravalomanana took office, after his predecessor refused to leave office following disputed elections.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP
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