Arrests fuel fears among Madagascar’s Gen Z protesters that new regime is no better than one they overthrew | Madagascar

The arrest of several protesters in Madagascar has raised fears among young people that the military regime that took power last year huge Gen Z demonstrations will be no better than the government it overthrew.

Four Gen Z activists, Herizo Andriamanantena, Miora Rakotomalala, Dina Randrianarisoa and Nomena Ratsihorimanana, were arrested on April 12, one of their lawyers said, two days after they took part in a protest calling for an election date to be set.

They are charged with offenses related to undermining state security and criminal conspiracy, Aliarivelo Maromanana said. “They all denied it and there is no evidence whatsoever,” he said.

Col. Michael Randrianirina came to power in a coup in October 2025 after weeks of youth-led protests under the banner Gen Z Madagascar.

His spokesman, Harry Laurent Rahajason, asked about the arrests and said: “In here Madagascar there is what we call the separation of powers. “So the presidency has nothing to do with matters handled by the national police.”

Two of the activists were released on Tuesday and admitted to hospital, Maromanana said. On Friday, only Herizo, the group’s leader, was still in custody. Local media quoted the national police as saying that the activists were not injured or intimidated during detention and the two in the hospital were taken ill.

Two more activists were arrested on Wednesday night, Gen Z 261, one of the groups that emerged from the previously leaderless Gen Z Madagascar movement, said on Thursday. No further information was available on their detention.

Young people were jubilant when the previous president, Andry Rajoelina, fled in October. However, many have since become disillusioned with Randrianirina’s choice of government officials, who they see as part of the old, corrupt elite; a lack of economic reforms; and the new regime’s closeness to Russia.

The arrests raise “serious concerns about the respect for fundamental freedoms,” said Ketakandriana Rafitoson, a Transparency International Madagascar board member. “This is a pattern that we saw under the previous administration and one that many hoped would be broken with the transition. So (last) Friday’s protests were a test for this regime and they failed it.”

An Indian Ocean island of 32 million people, Madagascar is rich in biodiversity and natural resources, including vanilla, rubies and sapphires.

However, the former French colony has been marred by coups and corruption, as well as cyclones and droughts exacerbated by the climate crisis. In 2024 it was the fifth poorest country in the world, with a GDP per capita of $545 (£403), according to the World Bank.

September’s protests erupted after two councilors were arrested in the capital, Antananarivo, for protesting against water and electricity cuts. Since the regime change, these services have not improved significantly, said Elliot Randriamandrato, a leader of Gen Z Madagasikara, another Gen Z Madagascar group.

He said: “For the moment, there are no real reforms implemented by the government. That’s maybe why everyone is so frustrated, because we don’t see anything clear and visible.”

Randriamandrato said he was less concerned about the government announcing an election date – the president said it would be within two years of his October takeover – than about a new constitution.

“We are asking for more clarity on the date of the constitutional consultation because the date and the methodology and the way they are going to lead this important moment… it is during those consultations that the real issues are going to be addressed,” he said.

He cited electoral reform as one example of the change his group wanted, adding: “It’s (currently) a system that only allows people with more money to win.”

Asked about the constitutional reform process, the president’s spokesperson referred to a press conference he held on Wednesday where he tell Reporters authorities investigated corruption estimated at 3.811 billion ariary (£679m), and linked the investigations to threats against the president.

On the night of April 11, Rahajason showed a video of drones flying over the president’s house. Radio France Internationale reported. He also said there was a plan to set fire to the national parliament.

Meanwhile, the military regime received donations from military trucks, helicopter and tanks from Russia, to Randrianirina Putin visited in Moscow in February.

Shely Andriamihaja, a member of Gen Z Madagasikara, said her group was “very concerned about the risk of new statehood from abroad,” adding that she was not defending Madagascar’s former colonial ruler, France.

Rahajason confirmed there were Russians in Randrianirina’s presidential guard. Asked for the number and the reason for their presence, he replied: “Why do you ask this question? …Why did the Ukrainian president call for guards of other nationalities? Why is this normal? And why, when a Malgasse calls in the services of international guards, why is it not normal?”