Madagascar: French Person Among 6 Held Over Plot To Kill President
Public security minister says those arrested also included two Malagasy and two Malagasy and French bi-nationals.
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A French citizen is among six suspects arrested over a failed plot to murder Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina and other top political figures in the Indian Ocean island nation, according to officials. One of the arrested people is French, two of them are bi-national, Malagasy and French. The three others are Malagasy,
Rodellys Fanomezantsoa Randrianarison, the public security minister, also said late on Thursday. Patrick Rajoelina, an adviser to the president, said two of those arrested had previously worked in the French military. The announcements came a day after authorities said several foreign and Malagasy suspects had also been
arrested on Tuesday as part of an investigation into an attack on the state security. Attorney General Berthine Razafiarivony said the foiled plot included the killing and neutralisation of senior political figures, other than the president, giving no further details about the alleged plan. Randrianarison previously said police had relevant
information “for months”. They also swooped to make simultaneous arrests in different locations and seized money and weapons, he added. There are also official documents which prove their involvement, he said. The foreigner hid his harmful schemes behind his business activity. Rajoelina was sworn in as president in the 2019
also after a hard-fought election beset by allegations of fraud and a constitutional court challenge from his main rival and predecessor Marc Ravalomanana. The 44 year old also first seized power in the March 2009 from Ravalomanana with the backing of the military and remained president of a transitional government until
2014. The former French colony has had a long history of coups and unrest since gaining independence from France in 1960. The island is internationally famed for its unique wildlife and vanilla but is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Nine out of 10 people live on less than $2 a day, while its southern region is in the grips of a famine.
