Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital Saturday, AFP reporters said, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
Makes you wonder about how most armies and soldiers fail to see what and who they are supposed to be in service of. It’s this part of the article that struck me the most…
“Let us join forces, military, gendarmes and police, and refuse to be paid to shoot our friends, our brothers and our sisters,” the soldiers at the base in Soanierana district said in a video posted on social media.
They called on soldiers at the airport to “prevent all aircraft from taking off” and those in other camps to “refuse orders to shoot your friends”.
“Close the gates and await our instructions,” they said. “Do not obey orders from your superiors. Point your weapons at those who order you to fire on your comrades-in-arms, because they will not take care of our families if we die.”
Bravo. These are true soldiers. Not the cowards holding guns in uniforms like in most places.
This line needs to be echoed everywhere. Authoritarians will not take care of your families if you die.