A bloodlessmilitarycouptook place inBurundion 3 September 1987.TutsipresidentJean-Baptiste Bagazawas deposed whilst traveling abroad and succeeded by Tutsi MajorPierre Buyoya.[1][2]
 Location ofBurundiinCentral Africa | |
| Date | 3 September 1987 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bujumbura,Burundi |
| Type | Military coup |
| Motive | Regime change |
| Target | Presidential Palace, Bujumbura |
| Organised by | Pierre Buyoya |
| Outcome | Coup succeeds
|
Background
editJean-Baptiste Bagazawas appointed president of Burundi following amilitary coup in 1976,that deposedMichel Micombero.As president of theUnion for National Progress(UPRONA) party, he was the sole candidate in the1984 presidential electionand was re-elected with 99.6% of the votes.[3]During Bagaza's presidency, there were long-standing tensions over the repression of theRoman Catholic Church,in a country where 65 percent of citizens were practicing Catholics.[4]This was later described by diplomats as a key factor in the coup.[5]
Coup and aftermath
editIn September 1987, Bagaza travelled to Quebec, Canada, to attend afrancophonesummit.[2]The army took over, led by Bagaza's cousin, Major Pierre Buyoya.[6]Hearing of the coup, Bagaza immediately returned to Africa butBujumbura Airportwas closed, and in Nairobi, he was refused entrance to Kenya.[5]Following the coup, Bagaza fled to Uganda, and then in 1989, Libya, where he was granted political asylum.[7]
Buyoya formed the Military Committee for National Salvation to take control, suspended the country's constitution and was inaugurated as president on 2 October 1987.[3]Buyoya, a Roman Catholic, said that he would lift measures imposed on the Catholic Church by Bagaza's government.[8]He was succeeded byMelchior Ndadayefollowing the1993 presidential election,and came to power in Burundi for a second time following amilitary coup in 1996,that oustedSylvestre Ntibantunganya.[9]
References
edit- ^Sheila Rule (1987-09-04)."Burundi's President Is Ousted by Army".The New York Times.Retrieved19 January2021.
- ^abKieh, George Klay(2007).Beyond State Failure and Collapse: Making the State Relevant in Africa.Lexington Books.p. 73.ISBN978-0-7391-0892-5.
- ^abEuropa World Year, Book 1.Taylor & Francis.2004. p. 946.ISBN1-85743-254-1.
- ^Rule, Sheila (24 September 1987),"Burundi Leader Attempts East-West Balance",The New York Times,retrieved8 June2010
- ^abHarden, Blaine (5 September 1987),"Dismay at Anti-Catholic Measures Said to Have Inspired Burundi Coup",The Washington Post,archived fromthe originalon 4 November 2012,retrieved8 June2010
- ^Europa Publications (2004).Africa South of the Sahara 2004.Routledge.p. 135.ISBN1-85743-183-9.
- ^"Burundi's Ex-President Granted Asylum in Libya",Spartanburg Herald-Journal,The New York Times Company, 17 January 1989,retrieved8 June2010
- ^Rule, Sheila (27 September 1987),"New Burundi Leader Vows to Lift Curbs on Church",The New York Times,retrieved8 June2010
- ^Palmer, Mark(2005).Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025.Rowman & Littlefield.p. 221.ISBN0-7425-3255-0.