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STP Military Coup of 2003

The De Menezes' government was deposed for a few weeks in 2003 in a bloodless coup whose leaders protested mis-management of the country's wealth. This is the second coup attempt in this former Portuguese colony since independence on July 12, 1975. The attempted coup d'etat by a few members of the military and the Christian Democratic Front (mostly representative of former Sao Tomean volunteers from the apartheid-era Republic of South African Army) in July 2003 was reversed by international, including American, mediation without bloodshed. The coup plotters won last-minute guarantees on oil resources. The two sides signed an "annex" to an accord which had ended the week-long military takeover. The amendment gives the military a role "overseeing" oil dealings to ensure transparency. Under the annex, a part of the military will have access to all oil information, to prevent corruption.

Eight years after the military coup which showed the political power of the military would not have a passive attitude in face of the worsening of living conditions in Sao Tome and Principe, there came a new military coup. In addition to remain the conditions of extreme precariousness in FASTP, new factors contributed to given this event.

In 2003, the military rebels made the "the people's misery," the main argument for the coup. On that date the economic indicators show that Sao Tome 90% almost mattered of the products consumed, that close to 80% of the population lived below the poverty line, unemployment reached 45% of the population, the average salary of a civil servant was EUR 28, which the average pension was about 13 euros and that 80% of the budget of State resulted from international aid. The State social support is reduced to its minimum expression, and some NGOs to provide the basic care that the population needs.

In the early 2000, exploration confirmed the discovery of important oil reserves in the exclusive economic zone of São Tomé and Prince, it is estimated that there is about of 2 billion barrels of crude in the archipelago EEZ. Generated, firstly, a dispute lit by the Sao Tome oil, with Nigeria to open negotiations with Sao Tome with a view the redefinition of boundaries between economic zones MICAS are unique for both countries, the creation a Joint economic zone and deals of a joint operating agreement rather favorable to Nigeria.

In addition to the meager living conditions of the population, the precariousness in the armed forces, the oil factor and the necessary internal disputes and external discovery generated from 2000 on, moreover the destabilisation caused ahead of Christian democracy (FDC). This political party without parliamentary representation, linked to dissidents are-Sao Tome, which in the years 20TH century 80 integrated the 32nd Battalion of the South African defence forces (known as "Buffalo Battalion") that during the apartheid regime fought Armed Popular forces for the liberation of Angola (FAPLA) in southern Angola,

He was accused of being behind the second coup State of the country. After the Government announced the intention to cancel the payment of subs - monthly radio integration in society that had been granted to "ex-búfalos", the events precipitated, resulting in military coup July 2003.

Taking advantage of a visit to Nigeria by the President of the Republic, Fradique de Menezes, a group the military led by the chief of Sao Tome's military academy, major Fernando Pereira, known as "Cobó", unleashed a coup, operations at dawn of the day 16 July 2003. Some hundreds of soldiers led by Pereira seized power and formed a "Military Junta of National Salvation" in the poverty-stricken Gulf of Guinea archipelago in a bloodless coup. Prime Minister Maria das Neves and the minister of defense were detained in the coup. The military also captured the country's radio and television stations, which have both stopped transmission.

Sao Tome's coup was widely condemned by the international community and some countries and financial bodies have threatened the archipelago with diplomatic isolation if constitutional order is not speedily returned. Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who was recently elected as chairman of the AU said over state radio that Mozambique and the AU vehemently condemn this coup and demand that those who perpetrated it return Sao Tome and Principe to constitutional rule as soon as possible. South African President Thabo Mbeki joined other African leaders in condemning the military coup, saying his country did not condone any unconstitutional transfer of power in Africa and urged the coup leaders to restore the duly elected government. African leaders attending the Six Leon Sullivan Summit in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Wednesday also unanimously condemned the coup d'etat in Sao Tome. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said "I express my heartfelt support for the president of Sao Tome and Principe, who is here with us today. We strongly condemn the action of the coupists and call on the military adventurers to hand over power to the elected president."

The government of Angola, which had close ties with Sao Tome, also unequivocally condemned the coup in a public statement, appealing to the rebels to restore the constitutional and democratic order in that country. "It was with great concern that the government of the Republic of Angola took notice of the occurrence of a military movement that interrupted the constitutional legality and democratic order in Sao Tome and Principe," according to the statement.

Four days later, the Ministers and other leaders politicians started to be released. On July 22, a memorandum of understanding between the Junta and the negotiators was signed, that allowed the return President Fradique de Menezes. Fradique de Menezes, the president of Sao Tome and Principe, returned to his west African island country on 24 July 2003 from Gabon after signing an agreement with coup leaders to restore constitutional order on the archipelago. By the end of July, the Government progressively assumed functions and reinstated the normal functioning of the institutions. It is even enacted a law of amnesty for the military rebels and the parties signed an annex to the text of the agreement that gives by ending the coup, according to which the institution assumes a role of military supervision in business pipelines, with access to the full informstion about the sector.

Like the 1995 coup, in 2003, the constitutional order was quickly retaken in Sao Tome and Principe, due to lagging the rebels to establish a new order and especially as a result of international pressure. The mediation of the community of the Portuguese Language countries (CPLP), the pressures Nigeria and the United States, which with Angola are the main countries interested in petroleum Sao Tome, as well as the neighbors Gabon and Congo Brazzaville, led to the normalization of the functioning democratic institutions in space just over a week.

Former mercenary Arlesio Costa, who led a brief and bloodless military coup in 2003 year, said the United States and other countries should focus first on helping Sao Tome's armed forces. The coup ended with promises of better governance and amnesty for all the coup participants, but Costa warned it could happen again. "We cannot be hostage of our own forces," he said. "Let's go down and try to finalize this to see what is the problem, why they are not happy. They are not happy. If you talk about army, they don't have medical assistance, sometimes they don't have water, the barracks are not in the proper condition for living in. And the government, we say every day, they must concentrate on the army and know what are their problems, to finalize this once and for all."