Malagasy unionists arrested over QMM protests must be released!
19 July, 2023From 26 June to 3 July, Madagascar’s independence days, communities from the villages surrounding the Rio Tinto subsidiary QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) mining site at Mandena in Toalagnaro (Fort Dauphin) protested inadequate financial compensation on loss of livelihoods, water pollution, and community exclusion from consultations when the mining licence was renewed by the government. In dispersing the protestors, the police and gendarmerie used disproportionate force which saw ten demonstrators injured and over 80 arrested and imprisoned, including five trade unionists.