User:Acntx/1995 Coup in São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe experienced a briefly successful coup, led by junior officers of the country’s military. It lasted from 15 August to 21 August 1995, when power was returned to the democratically elected government of President Miguel Trovoada.

15 August 1995
In the early hours of 15 August, troops under the command of Second-lieutenant Fernando Sousa Pontes left their barracks with the aim of attacking the presidential palace and capturing President Miguel Trovoada. When they reached the palace, the presidential guards immediately surrendered except for one who was shot. For two hours the soldiers searched for Trovoada, who had hidden in an underground shelter. He only appeared after Pontes had forced the President's wife, Helena, to phone her husband saying that the soldiers would blow up the residential wing, where his family had barricaded itself, if he did not show up immediately. Subsequently, Trovoada appeared and was detained in the barracks of the 600-man army of the tiny twin-island republic.

Once Trovoada was at the barracks, Lieutenant Manuel Quintas de Almeida ordered troops to surround the airport, port, banks, the radio station, and television building. During the action another soldier was accidentally killed. In a national radio broadcast, Almeida announced the formation of a “Junta of National Salvation. Later that afternoon, he imposed a curfew and prohibited declarations to the press without the allowance of the military and guaranteed the protection of the diplomatic missions. The Prime Minister, Carlos Graça, who had been on the neighboring island of Príncipe at the time of the takeover, was flown to São Tomé by military plane. Other government officials and their families sought refuge at embassies and other neutral areas.

The major external donors, France, Portugal, the United States, the European Union, as well as the United Nations, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Gabon, and South Africa immediately condemned the seizure of power. All demanded the reestablishment of the constitutional order, and the donor countries threatened to suspend all development cooperation.

16 August 1995
Due to international pressures and a lack of local cooperation, the military suspended their initial aim of forming a “Junta of National Salvation”. The coup plotters held talks with representatives from the three main political parties – the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe-Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD), Independent Democratic Action (ADI), and the Democratic Convergence Party-Reflection Group (PCD-GR). They also accepted the Angolan mediation offered by President José Eduardo dos Santos

17 August 1995
After two days of requests, the junta allowed the Portuguese ambassador to meet with Trovoada at the barracks. The curfew was lifted and the airspace was reopened. Talks were held with the president of the National Assembly, Francisco Fortunado Pires, the MLSTP-PSD, and justice minister Manuel Vaz. A few hours after the meeting, Pires was designated interim head of state by the coup leaders, although he immediately rejected the offer.

In a declaration broadcast by TV and radio, Manuel Quintas de Almeida repeated that the coup plotters had not been motivated by personal interests, but wanted to bring an end to the political strife and the selfish interests of the local politicians. He accused the politicians of embezzlement of public funds and criticized the government for the absence of a will to combat such acts. He deplored the bad housing and living conditions of the military. Finally, he demanded that international aid be used correctly and appealed to the donors to visit the country in order to see the deplorable state of the country for themselves.