Madagascar's embattled President Andry Rajoelina has said he was sheltering in a "safe place" following an attempt on his life, ignoring calls to resign after spiralling unrest that has forced him into hiding.
The twice-delayed speech marked his first public address since a mutinous army unit backed anti-government protests, and followed reports that the 51-year-old leader had fled the country.
"Since September 25, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts. A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me," he said in a live address Monday evening on Facebook.
Sources told RFI that he had left Madagascar on Sunday on a French military plane.
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"I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life," he said, without revealing his location.
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Constitution must be respected
The protests, led by mostly young Gen Z demonstrators, erupted over severe power and water cuts in the impoverished Indian Ocean country, but developed into a broader anti-government movement calling for Rajoelina to resign.
Rajoelina, a former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, called for the constitution to be respected and ignored calls to step down.
"There is only one solution to these problems: to respect the constitution currently in force," he said at the start of his address. "If we fail to do that, poverty will only worsen."
"I am on a mission to find solutions," he said.
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Mobilisations to continue
Eliott, a member of GenZ Madagascar, was sceptical. "He is clearly not open to dialogue, it is not even certain he will take part in national consultations or engage with stakeholders," he told RFI.
"Mobilisations will continue, as will efforts to organise broad national consultations to find a way out of the crisis," he added.
Rajoelina first came to power in 2009 following a coup sparked by an uprising that ousted former president Marc Ravalomanana.
While acknowledging that the constitutional framework should be respected, Ravalomanana called for the head of state to step down.
"The solution is a peaceful transition - to acknowledge the power vaccuum in Madagascar - but we are nonetheless obliged to respect the constitution," he told RFI.
Rajoelina has not appeared in public since Wednesday and his address, set for state television and radio, was twice delayed Monday as armed forces attempted to seize the state broadcaster.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, has expressed "great concern" over the island's crisis.
"It is very important that constitutional order and institutional continuity are preserved in Madagascar, because the country's stability - and the wellbeing of its people - depend on it," Macron said.
(with newswires)
