Coup Attempt by Military Is Reported in Madagascar

[struggle4progress]

Source: NY Times

By BARRY BEARAK
Published: November 17, 2010

JOHANNESBURG — Military officers in Madagascar on Wednesday proclaimed that they had seized the government. The mutinous group included some of the same men who had taken over the country last year and handed power to the president they now seek to topple.

The streets in Antananarivo, the capital, remained calm into the evening, leaving residents to wonder what would result from the latest twist in what has now become a two-year tale of political intrigue, with constant rumors of coups and even the occasional attempt. The question hovered: Would this mutiny succeed or merely be another dashed power play?

Col. Charles Andrianasoavina is a ringleader of the latest effort. Speaking at a barracks near the capital’s airport, he declared that a military council was assuming power for the “welfare of the people.”

Gen. Noël Rakotonandrasana, a key figure in the installation of Andry Rajoelina as president in March 2009, was also there, according to Agence France-Presse ...


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/world/africa/18madagascar.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[Ian David]

1. Was it the lemurs or the penguins?

[Poll_Blind]

2. My kids love that show- and it's clearly the lemurs. n/t

PB

[WatchWhatISay]

4. self-delete

[nyy1998]

3. A military coup on Africa(atleast an island off of Africa)? We've never heard that one before

:sarcasm:

[panzerfaust]

5. Not surprising. Oh, Madagascar, NOT America

Well. That IS a surprise then.

[struggle4progress]

6. Madagascar regime in talks with dissident officers

By Aline Ranaivoson (AFP) – 6 hours ago

ANTANANARIVO — Authorities in Madagascar held talks Thursday with a group of dissident soldiers who claim to have seized power, in the latest twist to a prolonged political crisis on the Indian Ocean island.

Around 20 soldiers led by General Noel Rakotonandrasana suspended government institutions Wednesday and declared that a military council was in charge. The claim came as the country voted in a constitutional referendum supposed to be the first step in the resolution of its prolonged crisis ...

In downtown Atananarivo, residents carried on their daily businesses as usual and there was no special police presence. Shops were open and traffic flowed normally, an AFP correspondent said.

The mutineers were holed up at an army base outside the capital and only one soldier was standing guard at the entrance ...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gv7H_72esb6E6FEQoGgAJfoNy5bg?docId=CNG.9be0c029adaf0eb4667c81e939f5af84.3c1

[struggle4progress]

7. Madagascan Soldier Says Dissident Officers Surrendered (VOA)

20 November 2010

A Madagascan soldier says dissident officers who launched a failed coup attempt three days ago have surrendered after Madagascan troops stormed their barracks.

The soldier says the mutineers gave themselves up Saturday at the base near the capital, Antananarivo. Earlier, shots were fired as at least 50 Madagascan troops raided the camp. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The dissident officers said Wednesday they were taking over power from President Andry Rajoelina, who grabbed power himself with military backing last year, when he was an opposition leader. But the mutinous soldiers did not gain support from the rest of the military ...

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Madagascan-Soldier-Says-Dissident-Officers-Surrender-109472164.html

[Johnny Harpo]

8. So...Is This Now Another Place Where The U.S.

will need to put 'boots on the ground'?