1965 Burundian coup attempt
Date | 18–19 October 1965 |
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Location | Bujumbura, Kingdom of Burundi |
Type | Military coup |
Cause |
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Organised by | Antoine Serukwavu |
Participants | Faction within the gendarmerie and army |
Outcome | Coup fails
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History of Burundi |
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An attempted
The attempted coup d'état provoked a backlash against Hutus in which thousands of people, including the participants in the coup, were killed. The coup also facilitated a militant Tutsi backlash against the monarchy resulting in two further coups which culminated in the abolition of the monarchy in November 1966 and the proclamation of a republic with Micombero as President of Burundi.
Background
In 1962, the Belgian
On 13 October 1961, the
After Muhirwa's government resigned in 1963, the Mwami consolidated power in the court, and he attempted to cement his authority over the successive governments and bypassed parliamentary norms. This provoked protests from members of the National Assembly.[5] Meanwhile, the Casablanca group grew increasingly close to People's Republic of China, which used its connections in Burundi to support communist rebels in neighbouring states. Fearing a Chinese-sponsored coup was being planned, in January 1965 Mwambutsa dismissed Prime Minister Albin Nyamoya and asked Hutu politician Pierre Ngendandumwe to form a new government. Surprised by this development, the Casablanca leaders conspired with Rwandan refugees and assassinated Ngendandumwe a few days later.[6] The government arrested several Rwandans as well as leading figures of the Casablanca group,[7] but all of the charges were eventually dropped.[8] The lack of a conviction for the murder became a grievance for Hutu politicians.[9] Another Hutu, Joseph Bamina, was made Prime Minister as a compromise between the Casablanca and Monrovia factions.[10]
With Ngendandumwe's death having created a political crisis,
On 2 September Mwambutsa issued an arrêté-loi that reduced the number of communes in the country from 181 to 78 and made all burgomasters appointed functionaries responsible to the crown and the government instead of locally elected officials. Hutu politicians were infuriated by the Mwami's bypassing of the parliamentary government in issuing the decree and by removing their potential to consolidate their strength in communal elections. On 28 September a group of Hutu members of Parliament—including the officers of both the Assembly and the Senate—signed a letter declaring that they "absolutely refused to accept the provisions of the arrêté-loi".[14] The recasting of the burgomasters was particularly sensitive since, after the elections, disruptions and complaints arose from the countryside involving disputes with local officials due to ethnic tensions and alleged discrimination.[16] With resentment at the Mwami's increased involvement in politics building, talk of coup plots circulated among Hutu and Tutsi politicians and were repeated in reports by foreign observers.[18]
Coup attempt
Late in the night on 18 October 1965, Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie Antoine Serukwavu left Kamenge with several jeeps and troops, headed towards the Mwami's palace. Near there he was joined by a small group of mostly-Hutu paracommandos led by a Hutu non-commissioned officer (NCO), Budaga. They were quickly joined by a third group of putschists led by gendarmerie NCOs François Rusake and Albert Harimenshi. Rusake and Harimenshi proceeded to launch an attack on the palace, while a Hutu army officer, Banikwa, went to his barracks presumably to gather reinforcements.[21] The New York Times estimated that about 120 gendarmes and soldiers were involved in the attack.[22] They were aided by one of the Mwami's palace guards.[18]
At the palace, the putschists shot three sentries. According to political scientist René Lemarchand, they then attempted to breach the compound, but were met with stiff resistance from the Mwami's personal guards.[21] According to a report compiled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the putschists briefly entered the palace and killed 10 Tutsi soldiers. The document reported rumours that Mwambutsa only avoided being captured because his telephone operator told him to hide in the palace and when the putschists confronted the operator he told them that the Mwami had already fled.[23]
As Banikwa returned to his camp he was shot by a guard and thus unable to complete his mission. Army Captain Michel Micombero brought a contingent of loyalist troops to the palace and caught the putschists in a crossfire. Faced with this situation, they surrendered. While the battle was ongoing at the palace, a separate group of gendarmes drove to Biha's residence and beckoned him to step outside,[21] saying the Mwami needed to see him.[23] Unsuspecting of their motives, Biha obliged and the putschists fired at him point-blank,[21] striking his shoulder, abdomen, and leg.[24] Though seriously wounded, the prime minister escaped. Hutu troops also mutinied at Bujumbura's two main military camps, and order was not restored until the following morning.[21] Faced with the failure of the coup, Serukwavu fled to Rwanda.[25]
Aftermath
Civil unrest
Shortly after the attempted putsch, bands of Hutu militants began attacking Tutsi families and setting fire to homes. Most disturbances took place in Muramvya Province, though violence occurred in other places, particularly around Cibitoke near Rwanda.[25] Twa people also participated in the hostilities.[23] The Muramvya attacks were largely attributed to the Jeunesse Mirerekano, a youth political organisation created by Mirerekano to support Hutu candidates for public office, though its role in the violence remains contested.[26] At least 500 Tutsi civilians were killed, while approximately 1,000 sought shelter at a Catholic mission in Bukeye and an additional 500 found refuge at the mission in Muramvya.[25] The army and "self-defence" groups under its supervision launched reprisals. In Muramvya, one local commissioner, Tharcisse Ntavyubhua, shot at nearly every Hutu he encountered.[27] The incumbent Hutu governor of the province was executed and Ntavyubhua subsequently replaced him.[28] An estimated 2,500–5,000 Hutus were killed, and hundreds more imprisoned,[27] including in Gitega Province, where there had been no violence. Approximately 4,000 refugees fled to Rwanda.[29]
Government response
Shaken by the fighting, Mwambutsa fled his palace and by the morning of 19 October had taken refuge in the city of
On 21 October, a government-sponsored
As Mwambutsa fled to Europe he suspended the powers of the Biha government, leaving all authority with the ministries' director-generals, the secretaries of state, and the provincial governors.[37] Mwambutsa restored the powers of the Biha government on 20 November.[39] However, with the Mwami outside of the country and the prime minister incapable of discharging his duties, de facto governance fell to the army and the civil service. [39] In December the Foreign Ministry ordered the expulsion of Donald A. Dumont, the United States Ambassador, accusing him of "rightly or wrongly" being under suspicion of having alleged contacts with the perpetrators of the coup attempt.[40] The United States government denied any involvement and asked for evidence of such, but the Burundian authorities never provided any.[41]
Long-term implications
Parliament ceased to exist in wake of the coup and was not reconstituted until 1982.
On 8 July 1966 Ndizeye took control of the government and became the new head of state of Burundi. His usurpation was orchestrated by the young radicals and army officers with the hope that they could shape the nature of the Burundian regime while using the symbols of the monarchy to retain legitimacy.[48] Ndizeye dismissed the Biha government and appointed a new one led by Micombero as prime minister. On 1 September he was formally crowned as Mwami Ntare V.[49] Soon thereafter conflict arose between Ntare, who wished to actively rule, and the new government and its supporters, eager to implement progressive reforms without interference from the crown.[50] On 28 November, while Ntare was abroad, the army launched a coup.[51] The army proclaimed the transformation of Burundi into a republic under the leadership of a National Revolutionary Council and Micombero as the new President of Burundi.[52] In the following years, some Tutsi government officials feared that Hutu soldiers would attempt to enact a "repeat of '65".[53] A plot by Hutu army personnel was uncovered in September 1969, and in response the Micombero regime purged the armed forces and government, solidifying Tutsi hegemony in the country.[54]
The attempted putsch has generally been portrayed in historiography as a "Hutu coup".[23] Burundian academic opinion on the coup attempt remains divided along ethnic lines,[55] with Hutu writers being more sympathetic to the perpetrators and Tutsi writers portraying them more negatively. Different accounts of the events are offered, with some scholars suggesting that the putschists located and addressed the Mwami in his palace, and some saying the coup failed when the rebellious soldiers and gendarmes began shooting at each other in confusion. There is also debate surrounding the motives of the putschists, such as whether they intended to capture or kill the Mwami, or whether they intended to repress the Tutsi population after seizing power.[56] Some Hutu scholars suggest that Tutsi officers were party to the plot and opportunistically blamed it on Hutus to their advantage.[57]
References
- ^ a b Tshimba, David-Ngendo (21 January 2016). "2015 as a repeat of 1965 in Burundi: the stubbornness of political history". Thinking Africa. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 11.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 342.
- ^ Eggers 2006, pp. 95–96.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 364–365.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 387–388, 395.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, pp. 212–213.
- ^ Eggers 2006, pp. 113–114.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 213.
- ^ Russell 2019, p. 152.
- ^ Eggers 2006, p. 114.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 411–412.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 413–414.
- ^ a b c Lemarchand 1970, p. 414.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 261.
- ^ a b Lemarchand 1970, pp. 414–415.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 86.
- ^ a b c Russell 2019, p. 154.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 415.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 87.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lemarchand 1970, p. 416.
- ^ a b "Burundi Fearful of Tribal Killing: Toll Believed High Already in Riots in Wake of Revolt". The New York Times. 25 October 1965. p. 20.
- ^ a b c d e Russell 2019, p. 155.
- ^ "Burundi Shoots 34 For Role in Revolt". The New York Times. Reuters. 23 October 1965. pp. 1, 8.
- ^ a b c Lemarchand 1970, p. 417.
- ^ "Mirerekano, Paul (1921–1965)". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b Lemarchand 1970, pp. 417–418.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 222.
- ^ a b Russell 2019, p. 157.
- ^ "Burundi Is Placed Under Martial Law". The New York Times. Reuters. 21 October 1964. p. 4.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 421–422.
- ^ Lemarchand 1966, p. 425.
- ^ a b Lemarchand 1970, p. 418.
- ^ a b Lemarchand 1970, p. 419.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 76.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 227.
- ^ a b Weinstein 1976, p. 15.
- ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 233.
- ^ a b Lemarchand 1970, p. 421.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 424.
- ^ "Burundi". Capsule Facts For The Armed Forces. United States Directorate for Armed Forces Information and Education. August 1967. pp. 1–4.
- ^ Ndayizeye, Jean Bosco (10 December 2011). "Historique". Assemblée Nationale du Burundi. (in French). National Assembly of Burundi. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 419–421.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 422.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 423.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 445.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 424–425.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 426–428.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 428.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 429.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 433, 438.
- ^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 445, 447.
- ^ Russell 2019, pp. 212, 214.
- ^ Russell 2019, pp. 212–214.
- ^ Banshimiyubusa 2018, p. 248.
- ^ Manirakiza 2011, pp. 24–26.
- ^ Banshimiyubusa 2018, p. 249.
Bibliography
- Banshimiyubusa, Denis (2018). Les enjeux et défis de la démocratisation au Burundi. Essai d'analyse et d'interprétation à partir des partis politiques (PDF) (PhD thesis) (in French). Université Pau et des Pays de l'Adour. OCLC 1085890695.
- Eggers, Ellen K. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Burundi (third ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5302-7.
- Lemarchand, René (December 1966). "Social Change and Political Modernisation in Burundi". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 4 (4): 401–433. S2CID 153869124.
- Lemarchand, René (1970). Rwanda and Burundi. New York: Praeger Publishers. OCLC 254366212.
- Manirakiza, Désiré (2011). "Les intellectuels burundais face au piège de l'ethnisme". Revue Africaine de Sociologie (in French). 15 (1): 20–47. JSTOR 24487939.
- Russell, Aiden (2019). Politics and Violence in Burundi: The Language of Truth in an Emerging State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-49934-7.
- Weinstein, Warren (1976). Historical Dictionary of Burundi. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-0962-8.
Further reading
- Mariro, Augustin. Burundi 1965: La 1ère Crise ethnique. Genèse et contexte géopolitique. Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-7475-9021-1.