Opposition Supporters Continue Mass Protests
Hundreds of thousands of protesters again defied a state of emergency and swamped Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, to support an opposition leader who has declared himself president. Thousands also ringed Marc Ravalomanana’s house for a third day to protect the millionaire from arrest.
Eight people were hurt in clashes between police and protesters in Fianarantsoa, 200 miles south of the capital, residents said, but security forces, facing the Indian Ocean island’s biggest protests in a decade, have pledged to stay neutral.
Provisional results from Dec. 16 elections showed that neither Ravalomanana nor President Didier Ratsiraka won an outright majority. The government wants to hold a second round of voting March 24.
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