ANTANANARIVO (AFP) — Supporters of Madagascar's unseated president Marc Ravalomanana staged a fresh rally in the capital on Monday in their latest protest against his army-backed ousting earlier this month.
Around 15,000 people gathered to demand the return of Ravalomanana, who was forced to stand down on March 17 after a series of protests by then opposition chief Andry Rajoelina, now the country's transitional leader.
The demonstrators met and dispersed peacefully in Antananarivo's Democracy Square, which was given that name by Rajoelina while he was in opposition, and then police kept them apart from several hundred of his supporters.
At least 34 people were injured Saturday, some with bullet wounds and others in a stampede after police fired warning shots and teargas to stop them from marching to the capital's May 13 square.
Rally organisers urged Monday's crowd not to march to May 13 square, the traditional venue for political rallies. The earlier toll from medical workers was that 31 people were hurt on Sunday.
Rajoelina was sworn in as the Indian Ocean's transitional administration leader by the constitutional court after a bitter three-month power struggle, but Ravalomanana has called the takeover an army-backed coup, in which he was forced to leave power.
Southern African leaders condemned the process as unconstitutional and were considering sanctions for the crisis-hit island at a summit Monday in Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland.
"This unconstitutional takeover by the de facto regime in Madagascar violates the basics principles, protocols and treaties and is unacceptable," said Swazi King Mswati III at the opening of the talks.
"We are here to deliberate on the best possible way forward to address the present situation in Madagascar."
A regional security body currently headed by Mswati has already warned that the bloc could impose sanctions on Rajoelina's government, and sent a fact-finding mission to the vast island off Africa's east coast.
SADC's executive director Tomaz Salomao headed the mission and was set to lead deliberations on how to help Madagascar return to democracy.
Speakers at the Antananarivo rally rejoiced at the position taken by French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet, who said late Sunday that Paris considered Ravalomanana as Madagascar's president.
"I don't know what the former president, who for us is still the titular head of state, is going to do, but we call for dialogue," Joyandet said.
Rajoelina, the former mayor of Antananarivo who heads a High Transitional Authority, suspended parliament and initially said fresh elections might take two years to organise, drawing a barrage of criticism from Western donors.
But March 24, three days after Rajoelina was sworn in, the transitional government announced that political parties would in April be invited to a national forum in order to arrange for a presidential election.
The African Union has already suspended Madagascar.
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