Central African Republic, 1980s-1990s
Prior to 1979, The Central African Republic was a monarchy that had been founded in 1976 by Emperor Bokassa I. Emperor Bokassa I was formerly Col. Jean-Bedel Bokassa who took power in following a 1966 coup, after which Bokassa became President of the Republic, abolished the constitution of 1959, dissolved the National Assembly, and placed all legislative and executive control under the President, until ultimately the republic became a monarchy with the creation of the imperial constitution and President Bokassa's proclamation as Emperor Bokassa I. This was followed by a rapid deterioration in human rights.
Emperor Bokassa I was overthrown with French backing in 1979 by former President David Dacko, whom Bokassa had overthrown in 1966. The coup followed riots in the capitol and the murder of between 50 and 200 schoolchildren. Although Dacko attempted a program of economic and political reforms, but these proved to be ineffectual and and was overthrown again in a bloodless coup in 1981. General Andre Kolingba, who led the coup against Dacko, took power as the head of the Military Committee for National Recovery (CRMN). This lasted until 1985 when the CRMN was dissolved and a return to civilian rule was begun, as marked by Gen. Kolingba naming a new cabinet with increased civilian membership. Eventually, the Rassemblement Democratique Centrafrican(RDC), a political party, was founded, a new constitution was approved in a national referendum in 1986, and the same year Gen. Kolingba was sworn in as constitutional President. The following year a National Assembly was elected. However, in 1991, mounting pressure on President Kolingba allowed for the creation of a multi-party system and while multi-party elections were held in 1992 they were late canceled following serious logistical and other irregularities. Ange Felix Patasse won in the rescheduled elections and was re-elected to another 6- year term in September 1999. The later period of the Patasse government was marked by salary arrears, labor unrest, and unequal treatment of military officers from different ethnic groups, which led to three mutinies against Patasse. The disturbances were put down with the help of the French, and African peacekeepers were deployed to the Central African Republic until `1998 when a UN peacekeeping mission was deployed to the country. Despite the foreign presence, the damage caused by the mutinies, energy crises, and poor governance caused the Patasse government considerable trouble and was clearly not helped by the 2000 departure of the UN forces. Soon after, in 2001, Kolingba led rebel forces in the military in a coup against Patasse, who needed Libyan and Congolese rebel help to put down the coup. In addition there was scattered fighting between government forces and the sacked Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Francois Bozize who had fled to Chad.
In 2003 Bozize finally succeed where Kolingba had failed and overthrew Patasse. Bozize declared himself President, dissolved the National Assembly, and suspended the constitution, installing a National Transitional Council instead. At present, some progress has been made to restore order to the country and Bozize had stated intentions to promote national reconciliation, improve the economy, and hold multi-party elections and has so far backed up these intentions by issuing an electoral calendar, creating an independent commission to oversee the elections, and has included some oppositionists in his government. However, while Bozize has shown promise, it remains to be seen if this promise will actually pay off.
