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The Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état〔December 31 is the feast day of Saint Sylvester, and in French, New Year's Eve is referred to as ''Saint-Sylvestre''. Although the coup d'état began on New Year's Eve and finished in the early hours of New Year's Day, scholarly sources like and have referred to the coup as the "Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état" or "Coup d'état of Saint-Sylvestre".〕 was a coup d'état staged by Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic (CAR) army, and his military officers against the government of President David Dacko on 31 December 1965 and 1 January 1966. Dacko, Bokassa's cousin, took over the country in 1960, and Bokassa, a military officer in the French army, joined the CAR army in 1962. By 1965, the country was in turmoil—plagued by corruption and slow economic growth, while its borders were breached by rebels from neighboring countries. Dacko obtained financial aid from the communist People's Republic of China, but despite this support, the country's problems persisted. Bokassa made plans to take over the government; Dacko was made aware of this, and attempted to counter by forming the gendarmerie headed by Jean Izamo, who quickly became Dacko's closest adviser. With the aid of Captain Alexandre Banza, Bokassa started the coup New Year's Eve night in 1965. First, Bokassa and his men captured Jean Izamo, locking him in a cellar at Camp de Roux. Bokassa's men then occupied the capital, Bangui, and overpowered the gendarmerie and other resistance. After midnight, Dacko headed back to the capital, where he was promptly arrested, forced to resign from office and then imprisoned at Camp Kassaï. According to official reports, eight people were killed for resisting the coup. By the end of January 1966, Izamo was tortured to death, but Dacko's life was spared because of a request from the French government, which Bokassa was trying to satisfy. Bokassa justified the coup by claiming he had to save the country from falling under the influence of communism, and cut off diplomatic relations with China. In the early days of his government, Bokassa dissolved the National Assembly, abolished the Constitution and issued a number of decrees, banning begging, female circumcision, and polygamy, among other things. Bokassa initially struggled to obtain international recognition for the new government. However, after a successful meeting with the president of Chad, Bokassa obtained recognition of the regime from other African nations, and eventually from France, the former colonial power. Bokassa's right-hand man Banza attempted his own coup in April 1969, but one of his co-conspirators informed the president of the plan. Banza was put in front of a military tribunal and sentenced to death by firing squad. Dacko, who remained in isolation at Camp de Roux, sent a letter to the Chinese ambassador in Brazzaville in June 1969, which Bokassa intercepted. Bokassa charged Dacko with threatening state security and transferred him to the infamous Ngaragba Prison, where many prisoners taken captive during the coup were still being held. A local judge convinced Bokassa that there was a lack of evidence to convict Dacko, who was instead placed under house arrest. In September 1976, Dacko was named personal adviser to the president; the French government later convinced him to take part in a coup to overthrow Bokassa, who was under heavy criticism for his ruthless dictatorial rule. This coup was carried out on 20 and 21 September 1979, when Dacko became president again, only to be overthrown in another coup two years later. ==Background== In 1958, after the French Fourth Republic began to consider granting independence to most of its African colonies, nationalist leader Barthélemy Boganda met with Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle to discuss terms for the independence of Oubangui-Chari, a French colonial territory which later became the Central African Republic (CAR).〔.〕 De Gaulle accepted his request, and on 1 December 1958, Boganda declared the establishment of the autonomous CAR, with full independence to follow soon.〔.〕 He became the autonomous territory's first Prime Minister and intended to serve as the first President of the independent CAR. However, he was killed in a plane crash on 29 March 1959, while en route to the capital, Bangui.〔.〕 Boganda's right-hand man Abel Goumba, described as "intelligent, honest, and strongly nationalistic"〔.〕 by author Brian Titley in ''Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa'', succeeded him as the leader of the CAR.〔.〕 In May 1959, a month into Goumba's term, David Dacko took control of the government. Dacko, a former member of Boganda's cabinet and party leader of the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (MESAN), had the support of the French high commissioner Roger Barberot, the Bangui chamber of commerce and Boganda's widow Michelle Jourdain.〔.〕 Two months later, Dacko dismissed Goumba from his new post as minister of finance. Goumba and Pierre Maleombho, the former president of the National Assembly who was ousted by Dacko, left the MESAN party and organized their own opposition party, Democratic Evolution Movement of Central Africa (MEDAC), on 25 June 1960.〔.〕 Meanwhile, on August 13, 1960, Boganda's dream was realized when the Central African Republic (CAR) attained formal independence from France.〔.〕 MEDAC became moderately popular, was approved by Etienne Ngounio (the Dacko-appointed president of MESAN),〔.〕 and received significant support in by-elections on 20 September.〔.〕 Dacko viewed MEDAC as a dissident party and sought to disestablish it—he soon received power from the National Assembly to deal with his opponents in any way he saw fit. In December 1960, Dacko dissolved MEDAC and Goumba was arrested for "fomenting disorder by questioning Dacko's assumption of power".〔 Goumba was eventually sentenced to life in prison, but fled into exile in France. On 1 January 1962, Dacko's cousin, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, left the French Army and joined the military forces of the CAR with the rank of battalion commandant.〔.〕 Over a year later, Bokassa became commander-in-chief of the 500 soldiers in the Central African army. Due to his relation to Dacko and experience abroad in the French military, Bokassa was able to quickly rise through the ranks of the army, becoming the Central African army's first colonel on 1 December 1964.〔.〕 Bokassa sought recognition for his status as the army's leader; he frequently appeared in public wearing all his military decorations, and in ceremonies often tried to sit next to President Dacko to hint at his importance in the government.〔.〕 Bokassa constantly involved himself in heated arguments with Jean-Paul Douate, the government's chief of protocol, who admonished him for not following the correct order of seating at presidential tables. At first, Dacko found his cousin's antics for power and recognition amusing.〔 Despite the recent rash of African military coups, Dacko publicly dismissed the possibility that Bokassa would someday try to take control of the country. At a state dinner, he said, "Colonel Bokassa only wants to collect medals and he is too stupid to pull off a coup d'état".〔.〕 Other members of Dacko's cabinet saw Bokassa as a major threat to the regime. Jean-Arthur Bandio, the minister of interior, recommended that Bokassa be brought into the cabinet, which he hoped would both satisfy the colonel's desire for recognition and break his connections with the army.〔 To prevent the possibility of a military coup, Dacko created the gendarmerie, an armed police force of 500, headed by Jean Izamo, and a 120-member presidential security guard, led by Prosper Mounoumbaye.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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