2010 Guinea-Bissau military unrest

Last updated

Military unrest occurred in Guinea-Bissau on 1 April 2010. Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was placed under house arrest by soldiers, who also detained Army Chief of Staff Zamora Induta. Supporters of Gomes and his party, PAIGC, reacted to the move of the military by demonstrating in the capital, Bissau; Antonio Indjai, the Deputy Chief of Staff, then warned that he would have Gomes killed if the protests continued. [1]

Contents

Events of 1 April

In the morning of 1 April 2010, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior's office was besieged by soldiers. Gomes was detained by the soldiers and moved to a military camp, although he was taken to his home later in the day and kept there under guard. Zamora Induta, the Army Chief of Staff, was also detained and held at the camp. Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto, who had taken refuge at the United Nations compound in Bissau 95 days beforehand due to allegations of a coup plot, was picked up from the compound by soldiers and promptly emerged as one of their leaders. [1]

After Gomes was taken by the soldiers, hundreds of his supporters demonstrated near his office and then his home, protesting the soldiers' actions. At a news conference, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, Antonio Ndjai, warned the demonstrators that he would have Gomes killed unless they stopped their protest. [1] [2] He also characterized Gomes as a "criminal" who should be put on trial. [2] Na Tchuto, meanwhile, expressed contempt for the protesters, saying that they had failed to show any support for himself while he was stuck in the UN compound: "I spent 11 years fighting for Guinea-Bissau's independence. Gomes did not take part in that fight. If the population continues to go out into the streets, I will send the military to clean the streets." [1] The protesters subsequently dispersed, apparently heeding the warnings. [2]

Despite his initial, bellicose statements, Ndjai adopted a less confrontational tone later in the day, describing the events as "a purely military problem" and saying that they "do not concern the civil government". He also stressed that "military institutions remain, and will remain, submissive to political power." President Malam Bacai Sanha characterized the events in a similar fashion and said that he would seek "a friendly solution to this problem". [2]

Subsequent events

The situation was less tense by 2 April, and the radio was no longer playing the martial music which had initially been interpreted as signifying a coup attempt. The government held a meeting and condemned the soldiers' treatment of Gomes. Subsequently, the soldiers took Gomes to meet with President Sanha; after the meeting, Gomes declared that he would not resign. He appeared to downplay the situation, describing it as an "incident" and saying that "institutions will return to their normal functions." [3]

A delegation headed by presidential adviser Mario Cabral visited Induta, who remained in detention at a barracks, on 3 April. According to Cabral, Induta was "being treated well and is fine". [4] Prime Minister Gomes left Guinea-Bissau in late April 2010 and went to Portugal, where he remained for several months; his extended stay in Portugal was officially explained as being related to his health. He eventually returned to Bissau on 16 June. Upon his return, he vowed that he and his government would remain in office and that he would not resign; he said that he could be removed only through a PAIGC extraordinary congress. While describing himself as a "factor for stability", he said that his efforts to "end the political crisis" depended on "the goodwill of people who are trying at all costs to plunge the country into chaos". Gomes met with Indjai, who subsequently said that he and Gomes could cooperate and "everything has now been smoothed out." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Guinea-Bissau</span> Political system of Guinea-Bissau

The politics of Guinea-Bissau take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system, wherein the President is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National People's Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People (Guinea-Bissau)</span>

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People is the national military of Guinea-Bissau. It consists of an army, a navy, an air force, and paramilitary forces. The World Bank estimated that there were around 4,000 personnel in the armed forces. The estimated military expenditure are $23.3 million, and military spending as a percentage of GDP is 1.7%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luís Cabral</span> President of Guinea-Bissau from 1974 to 1980

Luís Severino de Almeida Cabral was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the first President of Guinea-Bissau. He served from 1974 to 1980, when a military coup d'état led by João Bernardo Vieira deposed him. Luís Cabral was a half-brother of Amílcar Cabral, with whom he co-founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumba Ialá</span> President of Guinea-Bissau from 2000 to 2003

Kumba Ialá Embaló, also spelled Yalá, was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was president from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003. He belonged to the Balanta ethnic group and was President of the Social Renewal Party (PRS). In 2008 he converted to Islam and took the name Mohamed Ialá Embaló. He was the founder of the Party for Social Renewal. In 2014, Ialá died from a cardiopulmonary arrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Gomes Júnior</span> Bissau-Guinean politician (born 1949)

Carlos Domingos Gomes Júnior is a Bissau-Guinean politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 10 May 2004 to 2 November 2005, and again from 25 December 2008 to 10 February 2012. He has been the President of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) since 2002 and is widely known as "Cadogo". He resigned as prime minister on 10 February 2012 to run in the presidential election triggered by President Malam Bacai Sanhá's death on 9 January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde</span> Political party in Guinea-Bissau

The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal, the party turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was one of the belligerents in the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. Towards the end of the war, the party established a socialist one-party state, which remained intact until multi-party democracy was introduced in the early 1990s. Although the party won the first multi-party elections in 1994, it was removed from power in the 1999–2000 elections. However, it returned to office after winning parliamentary elections in 2004 and presidential elections in 2005, since which it has remained the largest party in the National People's Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">João Bernardo Vieira</span> 2nd President of Guinea-Bissau (1980–99, 2005–09)

João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999, except for a three-day period in May 1984, and from 2005 until his assassination in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Guinea-Bissau presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 19 June 2005, with a second round runoff on 24 July. The elections marked the end of a transition to democratic rule after the previously elected government was overthrown in a September 2003 military coup led by General Veríssimo Correia Seabra. The result was a victory for former president and independent candidate João Bernardo Vieira.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malam Bacai Sanhá</span> President of Guinea-Bissau from 2009 to 2012

Malam Bacai Sanhá was a Guinea-Bissau politician who was President of Guinea-Bissau from 8 September 2009 until his death on 9 January 2012. A member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Sanhá was President of the National People's Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and then served as acting President of Guinea-Bissau from 14 May 1999, to 17 February 2000, following the ouster of President João Bernardo Vieira. Standing as the PAIGC candidate, he placed second in the 1999–2000 presidential election as well as the 2005 presidential election before winning the June–July 2009 presidential election.

The Party for Social Renewal is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. It is one of the country's leading parties and is currently the main opposition party.

Ansumane Mané was a Bissau-Guinean soldier who led a 1998 uprising against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira, which caused a brief but bloody civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aristides Gomes</span> Bissau-Guinean politician (born 1954)

Aristides Gomes is a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 8 November 2019 until 28 February 2020. He previously served as Prime Minister from April 2018 to October 2019, and again from 2 November 2005 to 13 April 2007. He has subsequently served as President of the Republican Party for Independence and Development (PRID).

Mohamed Lamine Sanha was a Bissau-Guinean Naval Chief of Staff. Sanha was implicated in several attempted coups against the government of Guinea-Bissau. Sanha was an ally of Ansumane Mané, who led the military rebellion against President Nino Vieira in the 1998 civil war.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. the first or maternal family name is Ndafa and the second or paternal family name is Kabi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Guinea-Bissau parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 16 November 2008. The result was a victory for the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which won 67 out of the 100 seats in the National People's Assembly, while the Party for Social Renewal (PRS) won 28 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raimundo Pereira</span> Interim President of Guinea-Bissau (2009, 2012)

Raimundo Rodrigues Pereira is a Bissau-Guinean lawyer and politician who was interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 3 March 2009 to 8 September 2009 and again in 2012, following the departure of President Malam Bacai Sanhá for medical treatment abroad; he continued in that capacity after Sanha's death. Pereira was elected as President of the National People's Assembly on 22 December 2008. Pereira is a member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). He was ousted in a coup on 12 April 2012 and succeeded by Mamadu Ture Kuruma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Guinea-Bissau presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 28 June 2009 following the assassination of President João Bernardo Vieira on 2 March 2009. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a second round was held on 26 July 2009 between the two leading candidates, Malam Bacai Sanhá of the governing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and opposition leader Kumba Ialá. Sanhá won with a substantial majority in the second round, according to official results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état</span> Military overthrow of interim President Raimundo Pereira

On 12 April 2012, a coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau was staged by elements of the armed forces about two weeks before the second round of a presidential election between Carlos Gomes Júnior and Kumba Ialá. The coup started in the evening with military personnel and equipment making its way onto the streets, followed by the state-owned media being taken off-air.

Zamora Induta is a Guinea-Bissauan military leader He was the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People of Guinea-Bissau from October 27, 2009 to April 1, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election</span> Election of Umaro Sissoco Embaló as President of Guinea-Bissau

Presidential elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 24 November 2019. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 29 December. Incumbent president José Mário Vaz finished fourth in the first round of voting, failing to progress to the runoff. Umaro Sissoco Embaló won the second round with 54% of the vote, becoming the first president to be elected without the backing of the PAIGC.

References

Further reading


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.