Allowed, not allowed. This is the point of debate on the political meeting that the opposition platform RMDM, intended to hold on the Place du Magro, in Behoririka, on Saturday. An intention that came up once morest an iron curtain erected by the Defense and Security Forces (FDS).
Hostilities started at 10 a.m. They resulted in the arrest of Ny Riana Randriamasinoro, general secretary of the “Tiako i Madagasikara” (TIM) party, and Jean Claude Rakotonirina, national coordinator of the opposition party. The elements of the FDS had been on the ground since early in the morning in order to square the area. Facing the press, Colonel Jocelyn Randrianarijaona, commander of the Inter-regional Circumscription of the National Gendarmerie of Antananarivo (CIRGN), affirms that “this demonstration is prohibited according to the documents which were given to us by the police headquarters”.
Opposite, the leaders of the RMDM affirm that they have received authorization from the police headquarters of Antananarivo to hold the meeting at Magro Behoririka. “We called the prefect. He gave us permission. On the radio and on television, the prefect also said that we can hold our meeting, but that we must not leave the Magro area”, vociferates Alain Andriamiseza, one of the figures of the RMDM platform, facing a curtain. security set up by law enforcement.
“Arbitrary arrest”
After several minutes of vociferation and an attempt to hold a sit-in at the entrance to the alley leading to the Magro Behoririka gates, a group of FDS elements broke through the ranks of the demonstrators and proceeded to arrest of the general secretary and the national coordinator of the TIM party. They were then taken to the headquarters of the research section of the national gendarmerie, in Fiadanana, “for investigation”, according to the explanations.
To stick to what was said in the ranks of the leaders of the RMDM, a decision to release the two politicians was decided following a telephone exchange with the prefect of Antananarivo, in the middle of the day. The secretary general of the opposition party, however, reportedly refused to leave before his lawyer arrived in Fiadanana. Once released, the two politicians made a statement broadcast on social networks, alongside Marc Ravalomanana, former President of the Republic, and national president of TIM.
The leader of the opposition party shouts “to a dictatorial drift”. Having spoken following his leader, Jean Claude Rakotonirina qualified his interpellation as an “arbitrary arrest”. He adds, “It’s a fenced and private place. A request for permission should not even be necessary. (…) Participating in the animation of political life is, moreover, the role of political parties and that is what we wanted to do at the Magro”. For Ny Riana Randriamasinoro, “we were targeted, since I don’t see why we should have been arrested. We weren’t even on the front line.”
