Kung fu coup bid thrown

Press, 3 August 1985, Page 10

Kung fu coup bid thrown

NZPA-Reuter Antananarivo, Madagascar

The Malagasy Government said that 20 people were killed and 31 injured in clashes yesterday between troops and kung fu martial arts fanatics, accused of wanting to seize political power. Among the dead was Pierre Misael Andrianarijaona, considered the “Grand Master” of kung fu on this Indian Ocean island, said a Government statement carried by the official Radio Madagascar. Two hundred and eight arrests were made and 295 rifle cartridges seized, the radio added. The Government had decided to storm Mr Andrianarijaona’s house and other kung fu strongholds in a suburb of the capital, Antananarivo, to put an end to the “existence of a state

within the State”, it said. Kung fu fans had declared “their wish to seize power and to create a new political order based on religion and the laws of kung fu,” the statement said. Troops were reported to be hunting kung fu martial arts fanatics after using tanks to attack their headquarters. Last December, 48 hours of bloody clashes left scores of people dead when the kung fu enthusiasts attacked and set fire to a camp of delinquents originally patronised by the Government as security forces looked on.

The delinquents, known as the T.T.S. had been blamed for theft and racketeering in the city. The authorities officially banned the practice of kung fu, but a number of kung fu sects have the protection of local politicians.