Last July, we received and shared news from local communities struggling against the impacts of the RIO TINTO QMM mining operation, which is exploitating mineralized sands to produce ilmenite and other minerals. It focused on :
– the issuance of a search warrant by the gendarmerie against Eugène CHRETIEN and Laurent MANJARY, President and Secretary General of the LUSUD association, (Lutte pour le Sud = Struggle for the South) respectively ; and
– the arrest of more than 100 demonstrators after a police intervention.
The number of people arrested was so large that they were distributed between the prisons of Fort-Dauphin, Betroka and Ambovombe. To our knowledge, the judicial authorities in Ambovombe did not agree to keep the defendants and so they returned to their homes in Fort-Dauphin, often on foot.
The support of lawyers during trials held in Fort-Dauphin and Betroka, for charges of “unlawful demonstration” and “criminal association”, led to the release of all the defendants. Some were acquitted, received suspended sentences of several months imprisonment.
On 6 October 2023, after seeking in vain to speak with the authorities, members of LUSUD demonstrated again to demand :
– pressure-free discussions with RIO TINTO QMM, to be led by the president of the association, and
– the cancellation of search warrants against the President and Secretary General of the association.
The Committee of “Wise Persons” of Anosy (To-teny) then reacted, and announced that the two leaders of the association were now free. When the demonstrators asked for proof, the Wise responded that they would present documentary proof on Tuesday the 10th if the demonstrators stopped their movement. All the protesters returned home and waited until 17 October to reconvene. The Committee of Wise Persons then declared that it was surprised by the non-receipt of the letter of commitment on this subject from those in charge. The members of the Committee having left the premises while negotiations were in progress, the members of LUSUD decided to speak on INFINITY radio on 19 October, under the direction of an elder (ray aman-dreny), Mr Solomon.
On 19 October, people continued to demonstrate peacefully in a private enclosure. A member of the security service of the company MCS, a subcontractor of RIO TINTO QMM, entered the private compound and transmitted a message to his superiors. The demonstrators seized his equipment, kept it with them and asked him to bring the person who sent him there.
On 20 October, demonstrators identified a police officer in civilian attire who infiltrated the meeting. When law enforcement officers arriving by car asked to release their colleague, the demonstrators responded, “We will not release him until we know why he came to join us and why we have received no response to our demands.” The police then began shooting without warning.
The deceased wre allegedly shot with two bullets in the case of Mr DAMY and one bullet in the case of Ms Françia RASOLONIRINA. Mr Jean Salomon ANDRIAMAMONJY, the spokesperson for the association in the absence of the President and the General sSecretary, was reportedly arrested, then ordered to crawl on all fours on the tarmac before being dropped off at the military hospital at the end of the afternoon and dying during the night.
· Public opinion expects justice to be rendered to the victims of this violence, whose perpetrators at various levels must be arrested and held accountable before the appropriate courts.
· To calm the general atmosphere, responses to the demonstrators’ demands are urgently expected from decision-makers and regional authorities.
30th October 2023
Collective for the Defense of Malagasy Lands – TANY