1999 Ivorian coup d'état
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Ivorian coup d'état took place on December 24, 1999. It was the first coup d'état since the independence of Côte d'Ivoire
.
. During the first decades of his rule, Côte d'Ivoire enjoyed economic prosperity and was politically stable. However, the later years of his rule saw the downturn of the Ivorian economy and signs of political instability.
Henri Konan Bédié
succeeded as president after Houphouët-Boigny's death in 1993. The economic situation continued to worsen. Bédié was accused of corruption, political repression, and of stripping immigrants from neighboring countries of their political rights by promoting the concept of Ivoirité
, which placed in doubt the nationality of many people of foreign origin and caused tension between people from the north and the south of Côte d'Ivoire. Dissatisfaction kept growing.
, although not having led the coup d'état, was put in power as head of a National Public Salvation Committee .
Scattered gunfire were heard around Abidjan
. Guéï announced the dissolution of parliament, the former government, the constitutional council and the supreme court. The rebels took control of Abidjan Airport and key bridges, set up checkpoints, and opened prison gates to release political prisoners and other inmates. Mobs took advantage of the power vacuum to hijack cars. Some parts of Abidjan were also looted by soldiers and civilians.
On television, Guéï announced that he had seized power. He also made a television address to the people and foreign diplomatic personnel, in which he gave assurances that democracy would be respected, international agreements would be maintained, the security of Ivorians and non-Ivorians would be guaranteed, missions to foreign countries would be sent to explain the reasons for the coup, and the problems of farmers would be addressed.
Many Ivorians welcomed the coup, saying that they hoped the army would improve Ivory Coast's shaky economic and political circumstances. France
, the United States
and several African countries, however, condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule. Canada
suspended all direct aid to Côte d'Ivoire.
There were indications within a few months of the coup that the country was sliding into a pattern of arbitrariness. The Ivorian Human Rights League
issued a condemnation of human rights abuses, charging the security forces, among other things, with summary executions of alleged criminals without investigation and of harassment of commercial entities. Many cases of abuse were committed by the soldiers. Also, soldiers demanded increases in pay or bonus payments, causing many mutinies. The most serious one of these mutinies took place on July 4, 2000. The mutineers targeted the cities of Abidjan, Bouake
, Katiola
, Korhogo
, and Yamoussoukro
in particular. After some days of confusion and tension, an agreement was reached between the discontented soldiers and the authorities. Under the agreement, each soldier would receive 1 million CFA francs (about $1400).
Following the mutiny of July 2000, four officials of the Rally of the Republicans
were also arrested during an investigation into a possible coup attempt. The RDR is the party of Alassane Dramane Ouattara, Félix Houphouët-Boigny's last Prime Minister and the political rival of the ousted former president Henri Konan Bédié. The four arrested officials, including Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the Deputy Secretary General of the RDR, were released without charge some days later.
Despite the junta's denunciation of Ivoirité, the campaign against people of foreign origin continued. In April 2000, Robert Guéï expelled the representatives of the RDR from the government. A new constitution, approved by referendum on July 23, 2000, controversially barred all presidential candidates other than those whose parents were Ivorian, and Ouattara was disqualified from the 2000 presidential election.
The tension between people from the north and the south still remained unsolved, as many people in the north are of foreign origin. Discrimination toward people originating in neighboring countries is one of the cause of the Ivorian Civil War, which broke out in 2002.
A presidential election
was held on October 22, 2000. All of the major opposition candidates except for Laurent Koudou Gbagbo
of the Ivorian Popular Front
(FPI) were barred from standing. Guéï was defeated by Gbagbo but refused to recognize the result. Ouattara, excluded from this election, called for a new election. Street protests broke out, bringing Gbagbo to power, and Guéï fled to Gouessesso
, near the Liberia
n border. Laurent Gbagbo took office as president on October 26, 2000.
On November 13, Guéï recognised the legitimacy of the presidency of Gbagbo. On December 10, 2000, parliamentary elections were held and won by Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front. However, the election was not held in northern Côte d'Ivoire because of the unrest related to the election boycott by the DRD until the by-election on January 14, 2001.
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
.
Background
Ever since independence in 1960, Côte d'Ivoire had been controlled by Félix Houphouët-BoignyFélix Houphouët-Boigny
Félix Houphouët-Boigny , affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux, was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally a village chief, he worked as a doctor, an administrator of a plantation, and a union leader, before being elected to the French Parliament and serving in a number of...
. During the first decades of his rule, Côte d'Ivoire enjoyed economic prosperity and was politically stable. However, the later years of his rule saw the downturn of the Ivorian economy and signs of political instability.
Henri Konan Bédié
Henri Konan Bédié
Aimé Henri Konan Bédié is an Ivorian politician. He was President of Côte d'Ivoire from 1993 to 1999, and he is currently the President of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire - African Democratic Rally .-Biography:...
succeeded as president after Houphouët-Boigny's death in 1993. The economic situation continued to worsen. Bédié was accused of corruption, political repression, and of stripping immigrants from neighboring countries of their political rights by promoting the concept of Ivoirité
Ivoirité
The word Ivoirité was first used by Henri Konan Bédié in 1995. It initially referred to the common cultural identity of all those living in Côte d'Ivoire, especially foreigners in Ivory Coast .However, nationalist and xenophobic ideas fanned by politics and the press changed it to mean...
, which placed in doubt the nationality of many people of foreign origin and caused tension between people from the north and the south of Côte d'Ivoire. Dissatisfaction kept growing.
The coup
A group of soldiers rebelled on December 23, 1999. Refusing to step down at the soldiers' demand, Bédié was overthrown by a coup d'état the following day. Robert GuéïRobert Guéï
Robert Guéï was the military ruler of the Côte d'Ivoire from December 24, 1999 to October 26, 2000.Guéï was born in Kabakouma, a village in the western Man region, and was a member of the Yakouba tribe. He was a career soldier: under the French administration, he was trained at the Ouagadougou...
, although not having led the coup d'état, was put in power as head of a National Public Salvation Committee .
Scattered gunfire were heard around Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
. Guéï announced the dissolution of parliament, the former government, the constitutional council and the supreme court. The rebels took control of Abidjan Airport and key bridges, set up checkpoints, and opened prison gates to release political prisoners and other inmates. Mobs took advantage of the power vacuum to hijack cars. Some parts of Abidjan were also looted by soldiers and civilians.
On television, Guéï announced that he had seized power. He also made a television address to the people and foreign diplomatic personnel, in which he gave assurances that democracy would be respected, international agreements would be maintained, the security of Ivorians and non-Ivorians would be guaranteed, missions to foreign countries would be sent to explain the reasons for the coup, and the problems of farmers would be addressed.
Many Ivorians welcomed the coup, saying that they hoped the army would improve Ivory Coast's shaky economic and political circumstances. France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and several African countries, however, condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule. Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
suspended all direct aid to Côte d'Ivoire.
There were indications within a few months of the coup that the country was sliding into a pattern of arbitrariness. The Ivorian Human Rights League
Ivorian Human Rights League
The Ivorian Human Rights League is a human rights organization in Côte d'Ivoire, founded on 21 March 1987 by René Degni-Segui. LIDHO is present in almost all major cities in Côte d'Ivoire....
issued a condemnation of human rights abuses, charging the security forces, among other things, with summary executions of alleged criminals without investigation and of harassment of commercial entities. Many cases of abuse were committed by the soldiers. Also, soldiers demanded increases in pay or bonus payments, causing many mutinies. The most serious one of these mutinies took place on July 4, 2000. The mutineers targeted the cities of Abidjan, Bouake
Bouaké
Bouaké is the second largest city in Côte d'Ivoire, with a population of 775,300 . It is the main urban settlement of the Bouaké Department with a population exceeding 1.2 million, in the Vallée du Bandama Region...
, Katiola
Katiola
Katiola is the chief town of Katiola Department of Côte d'Ivoire. It lies in Vallée du Bandama Region. The city of Katiola is located at around .- Transport :Katiola is served by a station on the national railway system, and by Katiola Airport....
, Korhogo
Korhogo
Korhogo is a town in Korhogo Department in the north-central region of Côte d'Ivoire. It has a population of 174,000 . It produces and/or processes goods such as cotton, kapok, rice, millet, peanuts, corn, yams, sheep, goats and diamonds. The town was on an important pre-colonial trade route to...
, and Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro
The District of Yamoussoukro is the official political capital and administrative capital city of Côte d'Ivoire, while the economic capital of the country is Abidjan. As of 2010, it was estimated to have 242,744 inhabitants...
in particular. After some days of confusion and tension, an agreement was reached between the discontented soldiers and the authorities. Under the agreement, each soldier would receive 1 million CFA francs (about $1400).
Following the mutiny of July 2000, four officials of the Rally of the Republicans
Rally of the Republicans
The Rally of the Republicans is a liberal party in Côte d'Ivoire. It is presently the country's governing party; the party's leader, Alassane Ouattara, is the current President of Côte d'Ivoire....
were also arrested during an investigation into a possible coup attempt. The RDR is the party of Alassane Dramane Ouattara, Félix Houphouët-Boigny's last Prime Minister and the political rival of the ousted former president Henri Konan Bédié. The four arrested officials, including Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the Deputy Secretary General of the RDR, were released without charge some days later.
Despite the junta's denunciation of Ivoirité, the campaign against people of foreign origin continued. In April 2000, Robert Guéï expelled the representatives of the RDR from the government. A new constitution, approved by referendum on July 23, 2000, controversially barred all presidential candidates other than those whose parents were Ivorian, and Ouattara was disqualified from the 2000 presidential election.
The tension between people from the north and the south still remained unsolved, as many people in the north are of foreign origin. Discrimination toward people originating in neighboring countries is one of the cause of the Ivorian Civil War, which broke out in 2002.
A presidential election
Ivorian presidential election, 2000
A presidential election was held in Côte d'Ivoire on 22 October 2000. Robert Guéï, who headed a transitional military regime following the December 1999 coup d'état, stood as a candidate in the election. All of the major opposition candidates except for Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivorian Popular Front ...
was held on October 22, 2000. All of the major opposition candidates except for Laurent Koudou Gbagbo
Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Koudou Gbagbo served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A historian by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist....
of the Ivorian Popular Front
Ivorian Popular Front
The Ivorian Popular Front , known by its French initials FPI, is a centre-left, democratic socialist and social democratic, political party in Côte d'Ivoire....
(FPI) were barred from standing. Guéï was defeated by Gbagbo but refused to recognize the result. Ouattara, excluded from this election, called for a new election. Street protests broke out, bringing Gbagbo to power, and Guéï fled to Gouessesso
Gouessesso
Gouessesso is a village of the Department of Biankouma, Dix-Huit Montagnes Region, Côte d'Ivoire, near the Liberian border.- References :*...
, near the Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
n border. Laurent Gbagbo took office as president on October 26, 2000.
On November 13, Guéï recognised the legitimacy of the presidency of Gbagbo. On December 10, 2000, parliamentary elections were held and won by Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front. However, the election was not held in northern Côte d'Ivoire because of the unrest related to the election boycott by the DRD until the by-election on January 14, 2001.
See also
- Economy of Côte d'IvoireEconomy of Côte d'IvoireThe Ivorian economy is largely market based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Almost 70% of the Ivorian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. Côte d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil...
- Ivorian Civil War
- Ibrahim CoulibalyIbrahim CoulibalyIbrahim Coulibaly was a military and rebel leader in Côte d'Ivoire. A Staff Sargent in the Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire, Coulibaly had served since at least the early 1990s. As Côte d'Ivoire slid into communal conflict, Coulibaly joined the 1999 coup led by Robert Guéï...
, one of the rebel leaders in the 1999 coup.