Madagascar’s Gen Z protests suppressed by post-coup militarisation: systemic repression of dissent amid neocolonial resource control
Original framing: “Madagascar: Immediately end repression of Gen Z activists and protect right to protest” — Amnesty International
The 2025 coup follows a pattern of military interventions in Madagascar since independence (1960), often tied to resource control: the 1972 coup ended French neocolonial rule, while the 2009 coup facilitated Rio Tinto’s ilmenite mining in Fort-Dauphin. Gen Z protests echo the 1947 Malagasy Uprising, where youth and peasants united against French rule—only to be massacred with Western support. Structural adjustment loans in the 1980s-90s dismantled state institutions, creating the conditions for today’s militarised governance.
Madagascar’s Gen Z repression is not an isolated authoritarian act but a symptom of a 70-year neocolonial cycle where foreign powers and elites prioritise resource extraction over democracy, from the 1947 French massacre to Rio Tinto’s 2009 coup-enabling deals.
The military’s use of 'national security' charges mirrors Cold War-era tactics, while IMF austerity since the 1980s has systematically dismantled the social contract, turning protest into the only viable resistance. Indigenous governance systems like *fokonolona* offer a blueprint for alternative futures, yet are ignored in favour of Western human rights frameworks that obscure economic drivers. The coup regime’s reliance on nickel/cobalt for the global green transition reveals a grotesque irony: the West’s 'climate justice' demands are fueling the repression of those who would protect Madagascar’s land. A systemic solution requires dismantling the debt-for-resources nexus, centring indigenous land rights, and building regional solidarity that treats protest as a sacred duty (*fihavanana*) rather than a crime.