1.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
2.
Rwanda
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Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a sovereign state in central and east Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland. Located a few south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi. Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is elevated, its geography is dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two seasons and two dry seasons each year. The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa, Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda, although within this group there are three subgroups, the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people descended from Rwandas earliest inhabitants. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, the language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by most Rwandans, with English. Rwanda has a system of government. The president is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, who took office in 2000, Rwanda today has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, although human rights organisations report suppression of opposition groups, intimidation and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by an administrative hierarchy since pre-colonial times. Rwanda is one of two countries with a female majority in the national parliament. Hunter gatherers settled the territory in the stone and iron ages, the population coalesced first into clans and then into kingdoms. The Kingdom of Rwanda dominated from the century, with the Tutsi kings conquering others militarily, centralising power. Germany colonised Rwanda in 1884 as part of German East Africa, followed by Belgium, both European nations ruled through the kings and perpetuated a pro-Tutsi policy. The Hutu population revolted in 1959 and they massacred numerous Tutsi and ultimately established an independent, Hutu-dominated state in 1962. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front launched a war in 1990. Social tensions erupted in the 1994 genocide, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to 1.3 million Tutsi, the RPF ended the genocide with a military victory. Rwandas economy suffered heavily during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, but has since strengthened, the economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture
3.
Ruanda-Urundi
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Ruanda-Urundi was a territory in the African Great Lakes region, once part of German East Africa, which was ruled by Belgium between 1916 and 1962. After the disestablishment of the League and World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a Trust Territory of the United Nations, in 1962, the mandate became independent as the two separate countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Before the Scramble for Africa, the region of Ruanda-Urundi was dominated by two independent kingdoms, Rwanda and Burundi, which were annexed by the German Empire in 1894, the Ruanda-Urundi region formed the westernmost part of the colony of German East Africa, which included modern-day mainland Tanzania. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Ruanda-Urundi was the scene of fighting between German and Belgian forces from the Belgian Congo which bordered the region to the west, the Treaty of Versailles divided the German colonial empire among the Allied nations. German East Africa was divided, with the vast majority of the territory, known as Tanganyika, going to the British, the western part of the colony, formally referred to as the Belgian Occupied East African Territories, was allocated to Belgium. In 1924, when the League of Nations issued a formal mandate granting Belgium full control over the area, the Belgians were far more involved in the territory than the Germans, especially in Ruanda. These funds mostly came from the cultivation of coffee in the regions rich volcanic soils. To implement their vision, the Belgians used the indigenous power structure. This consisted of a largely Tutsi ruling class controlling a mostly Hutu population, the Belgian administrators believed that the Tutsi were superior and deserved power. While before colonization the Hutu had played some role in governance, Hutu anger at the Tutsi domination was largely focused on the Tutsi elite rather than the distant colonial power. Although promising the League it would promote education, Belgium left the task to subsidised Catholic missions, as late as 1961, shortly before independence arrived, fewer than 100 natives had been educated beyond secondary level. He must be cured of his thoughtlessness, he must accustom himself to living in society, after the League of Nations was dissolved, the region became a United Nations trust territory in 1946. Independence came largely as a result of actions elsewhere, in the late 1950s, an independence movement arose in the Belgian Congo, and the Belgians became convinced they could no longer control the territory. Unrest also broke out in Ruanda where the king was deposed, in 1960, Ruanda-Urundis larger neighbour gained its independence. After two more years of hurried preparations, the trust territory became independent on 1 July 1962, broken up along traditional lines as the independent nations of Rwanda and it took two more years before the government of the two became wholly separate. The Great Lakes of Africa, Two Thousand Years of History, le Burundi sous administration Belge, la période du mandat, 1919-1939
4.
Tutsi
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The Tutsi, or Abatutsi, are a population inhabiting the African Great Lakes region. Historically, they were referred to as the Watutsi, Watusi. They speak Rwanda-Rundi, a group of Bantu languages, the Tutsi are the second largest population division among the three largest groups in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa. Small numbers of Hema, Kiga and Furiiru people also live near the Tutsi in Rwanda. The Northern Tutsi who reside in Rwanda are called Ruguru, while southern Tutsi that live in Burundi are known as Hima, the definitions of Hutu and Tutsi people may have changed through time and location. Social structures were not stable throughout Rwanda, even during colonial times under the Belgian rule, the Tutsi aristocracy or elite was distinguished from Tutsi commoners, and wealthy Hutu were often indistinguishable from upper-class Tutsi. When the European colonists conducted censuses, they wanted to identify the people throughout Rwanda-Burundi according to a classification scheme. They defined Tutsi as anyone owning more than ten cows or with the feature of a longer nose, or longer neck. The Europeans believed that some Tutsis had facial characteristics that were atypical of other Bantus. By contrast, the Europeans considered the majority Hutu to be characteristic Bantu people of Central African origin, the Tutsi have lived in the areas where they are for 400–500 years, leading to considerable intermarriage with the Hutu, a Bantu people in the area. To note the names Hutu and Bantu are not the same as they imply different things, modern-day genetic studies of the Y-chromosome generally indicate that the Tutsi, like the Hutu, are largely of Bantu extraction. Paternal genetic influences associated with the Horn of Africa and North Africa are few, however, the Tutsi have considerably more Nilo-Saharan paternal lineages than the Hutu. Trombetta et al. found 22. 2% of E1b1b in a sample of Tutsis from Burundi. The subclade was of the M293 variety, which suggests that the ancestors of Tutsis in this area may have assimilated some South Cushitic pastoralists, in general, the Tutsi appear to share a close genetic kinship with neighboring Bantu populations, particularly the Hutus. With a spectrum of variation in the peoples, Belgian authorities legally mandated ethnic affiliation in the 1920s. Formal and discrete social divisions were consequently imposed upon ambiguous biological distinctions, the social categories are thus real, but there is little if any detectable genetic differentiation between Hutu and Tutsi. Tishkoff et al. found their mixed Hutu and Tutsi samples from Rwanda to be predominately of Bantu origin, prior to the arrival of colonists, Rwanda had been ruled by a Tutsi-dominated monarchy after mid-1600. Beginning in about 1880, Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in the Great Lakes region, later, when German forces occupied the area during World War I, the conflict and efforts for Catholic conversion became more pronounced
5.
Hutu
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The Hutu /ˈhuːtuː/, also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to African Great Lakes region of Africa, primarily area now under Burundi and Rwanda. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the principal population divisions alongside the Tutsi, the Hutu is the largest of the four main population divisions in Burundi and Rwanda. The Twa pygmies, the smallest of the two principal populations, also share language and culture with the Hutu and Tutsi. However, they are distinguished by a shorter stature. The Hutu are believed to have first emigrated to the Great Lake region from West Africa in the great Bantu expansion, various theories have emerged to explain the purported physical differences between them and their fellow Bantu-speaking neighbors, the Tutsi. These pastoralists were then reckoned to have established aristocracies over the sedentary Hutu, through intermarriage with the local Bantus, the herders were gradually assimilated culturally, linguistically and racially. The latter view has received support among proponents of Rwandan national unity, mahmood Mamdani states that the Belgian colonial power designated people as Tutsi or Hutu on the basis of cattle ownership, physical measurements and church records. There is a debate as to whether the Hutu and Tutsi are really separate groups or not. Modern-day genetic studies of the Y-chromosome suggest that the Hutu, like the Tutsi, are largely of Bantu extraction, paternal genetic influences associated with the Horn of Africa and North Africa are few, and are ascribed to much earlier inhabitants who were assimilated. However, the Hutu have considerably fewer Nilo-Saharan paternal lineages than the Tutsi, in general, the Hutu appear to share a close genetic kinship with neighboring Bantu populations, particularly the Tutsi. With a spectrum of variation in the peoples, Belgian authorities legally mandated ethnic affiliation in the 1920s. Formal and discrete social divisions were consequently imposed upon ambiguous biological distinctions, the social categories are thus real, but there is little if any detectable genetic differentiation between Hutu and Tutsi. Tishkoff et al. found their mixed Hutu and Tutsi samples from Rwanda to be predominately of Bantu origin, Hutus speak Rwanda-Rundi as their native tongue, which is a member of the Bantu subgroup of the Niger–Congo language family. Rwanda-Rundi is subdivided into the Kinyarwanda and Kirundi dialects, which have been standardized as official languages of Rwanda and it is also spoken as a mother tongue by the Tutsi and Twa. Additionally, many Hutu speak French, the official language of Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgian-sponsored Tutsi monarchy survived until 1959, when Kigeli V was exiled from the colony, in Burundi, Tutsis, who are the minority, maintained control of the government and military. In Rwanda, the power was transferred from the minority Tutsi to the majority Hutu. In Rwanda, this led to the Social revolution and Hutu violence against Tutsis, later, exiled Tutsis from Burundi invaded Rwanda, prompting Rwanda to close its border with Burundi
6.
Rwandan monarchy referendum, 1961
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A referendum on the monarchy was held in Rwanda on 25 September 1961, concurrent with parliamentary elections. The referendum asked two questions, whether the monarchy should be retained after independence the following year, and whether the incumbent, the result was a no to both questions from 80% of voters, with a 95% turnout. Should the Monarchy in Rwanda be preserved, should Kigeli V remain King of Rwanda
7.
Uganda
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Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, Uganda is the worlds second most populous landlocked country after Ethiopia. The southern part of the country includes a portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region, Uganda also lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country. The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, beginning in 1894, the area was ruled as a protectorate by the British, who established administrative law across the territory. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962, luganda, a central language, is widely spoken across the country, and several other languages are also spoken including Runyoro, Runyankole, Rukiga, and Luo. The president of Uganda is Yoweri Museveni, who came to power in January 1986 after a protracted guerrilla war. The ancestors of the Ugandans were hunter-gatherers until 1, 700-2,300 years ago, Bantu-speaking populations, who were probably from central Africa, migrated to the southern parts of the country. According to oral tradition, the Empire of Kitara covered an important part of the lakes area, from the northern lakes Albert and Kyoga to the southern lakes Victoria. Bunyoro-Kitara is claimed as the antecedent of the Buganda, Toro, Ankole, some Luo invaded the area of Bunyoro and assimilated with the Bantu there, establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara. Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in the 1830s and they were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile. British Anglican missionaries arrived in the kingdom of Buganda in 1877 and were followed by French Catholic missionaries in 1879, the British government chartered the Imperial British East Africa Company to negotiate trade agreements in the region beginning in 1888. From 1886, there were a series of wars in Buganda. Because of civil unrest and financial burdens, IBEAC claimed that it was unable to maintain their occupation in the region, in the 1890s,32,000 labourers from British India were recruited to East Africa under indentured labour contracts to construct the Uganda Railway. Most of the surviving Indians returned home, but 6,724 decided to remain in East Africa after the lines completion, subsequently, some became traders and took control of cotton ginning and sartorial retail. British naval ships unknowingly carried rats that contained the bubonic plague and these rats spread the disease throughout Uganda. From 1900 to 1920, a sleeping sickness epidemic in the part of Uganda, along the north shores of Lake Victoria
8.
Rwandan Defence Forces
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The Rwanda Defence Force is the national army of Rwanda. Marcel Gatsinzi became Minister of Defence in succession to Habyarimana. The U. S. Armys Area Handbook for Rwanda, compiled in 1968-9, describes the security forces of Rwanda in 1969 as the 2,500 strong National Guard and the National Police, about 1,200 strong. The National Guard had been established two years before independence and had gained experience by repelling small Tutsi invasions in 1963 and 1964. It was under the direction of the Minister of Defence, Juvénal Habyarimana, at that time it was composed of a headquarters, an intervention group, five other rifle companies, and five independent rifle platoons. The FAR was estimated at 7,000 strong, including approximately 1,200 members of the Gendarmerie, elite troops included the Presidential Guard, estimated at between 1, 000-1,300 troops, as well as the Paracommando and Reconnaissance units. These two units were of battalion strength by 1994, and then counted a total of 800 troops, in response to the RPF invasion of 1990, the 5, 000-man FAR rapidly expanded, with French training assistance, to some 30,000 by 1992. The Arusha Accords, signed on August 4,1993, laid out a plan for the integration of the Rwandan Government. The Rwandan government was to provide 60% of the troops for the new integrated army, the new army was to consist of no more than 19,000 soldiers and 6,000 Gendarmerie. However radical elements within the Rwandan government were opposed to implementation of the Accords and, instead. The Reconnaissance Battalions commander, François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, and his subordinates played a key role during the genocide, bizimungu was only briefly chief of staff before fleeing the country. Other top leaders in the FAR were implicated in the assassination of the Rwandan president, Juvénal Habyarimana, a number of sources, including Gérard Prunier, document U. S. aid to the RPA before the First Congo War. The officially admitted part of the training was Joint Combined Exchange Training, the brigade boundaries mirrored the political administrative boundaries, which often complicated military operations. During the First Congo War the brigade headquarters remained inside Rwanda, janes World Armies said in July 2009 that the RDF is deployed to protect the countrys borders and defend against external aggression. The Cyangugu Military Camp has been reported to house the 31st Brigade of the 4th Division, gen. Patrick Nyamvumba has been Chief of Defence Staff since June 2013. Many soldiers from the former Rwandan Armed Forces, the army under the previous regime, have been incorporated into the RDF since 1994. Gen. Gatsinzi later became Director of Security and then Minister of Defence in 2002, the International Crisis Group estimated that the RPA has between 17,000 and 25,000 troops deployed in the Congo. During the deployment on DRC, Rwandan forces fought the so-called Six-Day War against Ugandan forces over the city of Kisangani, on 17 September 2002 the first Rwandan soldiers were withdrawn from the eastern DRC
9.
One-party state
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All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections. One-party states explain themselves through various methods, most often, proponents of a one-party state argue that the existence of separate parties runs counter to national unity. Others argue that the one party is the vanguard of the people, the Soviet government argued that multiple parties represented the class struggle, which was absent in Soviet society, and so the Soviet Union only had one party, the Communist Party. Some one-party states only outlaw opposition parties, while allowing allied parties to exist as part of a permanent coalition such as a popular front. However, these parties are largely or completely subservient to the ruling party, examples of this are the Peoples Republic of China under the United Front, or the National Front in former East Germany. Others may allow non-party members to run for seats, as was the case with Taiwans Tangwai movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Within their own countries, dominant parties ruling over one-party states are referred to simply as the Party. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because one party has had a dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles. One-party states are often, but not always, considered to be authoritarian or totalitarian, however, not all authoritarian or totalitarian states operate based on one-party rule. Some, especially absolute monarchies and certain military dictatorships, have all political parties illegal. The term communist state is used in the West to apply to states in which the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism–Leninism. While the role of the Communist Party is enshrined in the constitution, no party is permitted to campaign or run candidates for election, the party was conceived by the original Black American settlers and their descendants who referred to themselves as Americo-Liberians. Initially, its ideology was influenced by that of the Whig Party in the United States. Over time it developed into a powerful Masonic Order that ruled every aspect of Liberian society for well over a century until it was overthrown in 1980, while the True Whig Party still exists today, its influence has substantially declined
10.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
11.
Congo Crisis
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The Congo Crisis was a period of political upheaval and conflict in the Republic of the Congo between 1960 and 1965. It began almost immediately after the Congo became independent from Belgium and ended, unofficially, constituting a series of civil wars, the Congo Crisis was also a proxy conflict in the Cold War in which the Soviet Union and United States supported opposing factions. Around 100,000 people are believed to have been killed during the crisis, a nationalist movement in the Belgian Congo demanding the end of colonial rule led to the countrys independence on 30 June 1960. Minimal preparations had been made and many issues, such as the questions of federalism and ethnicity, in the first week of July, a mutiny broke out in the army and violence erupted between black and white civilians. Belgium sent troops to protect fleeing whites and two areas of the country, Katanga and South Kasai, seceded with Belgian support, the involvement of the Soviets split the Congolese government and led to impasse between Lumumba and the President, Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Mobutu, in command of the army, broke this deadlock with a coup détat, expelled the Soviet advisors, Lumumba was placed in captivity and subsequently executed in 1961. A rival government, the Free Republic of the Congo, founded by Antoine Gizenga and Lumumba supporters in the city of Stanleyville. Meanwhile, the UN took an aggressive stance towards the secessionists after Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash in late 1961. Supported by UN troops, Léopoldville defeated the secessionist movements in Katanga, before these could be held, however, Maoist-inspired militants calling themselves the Simbas rose up in the east of the country. The Simbas took control of a significant amount of territory and proclaimed a communist Peoples Republic of the Congo in Stanleyville, government forces gradually retook territory and, in November 1964, Belgium and the United States intervened militarily in Stanleyville to recover hostages from Simba captivity. The Simbas were defeated and collapsed soon after, following the elections in March 1965, a new political stalemate developed between Tshombe and Kasa-Vubu, forcing the government into near-paralysis. Mobutu mounted a second coup détat in November 1965, now taking personal control, under Mobutus rule, the Congo was transformed into a dictatorship which would endure until his deposition in 1997. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century, the Belgian governments ambivalence about the idea led Leopold to eventually create the colony on his own account. Belgian rule in the Congo was based around the colonial trinity of state, missionary, the privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that capital sometimes flowed back into the Congo and that individual regions became specialised. There was also a degree of racial segregation. Large numbers of immigrants who moved to the Congo after the end of World War II came from across the social spectrum. One of the results of the measures was the development of a new class of Europeanised African évolués in the cities. By the 1950s the Congo had a labour force twice as large as that in any other African colony
12.
1960 Ethiopian coup attempt
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The 1960 Ethiopian coup was an attempted coup détat staged in Ethiopia on 13 December 1960. Its goal was to overthrow Emperor Haile Selassie, who was on a visit to Brazil at the time. Despite a demonstration of support by the students of Haile Selassie University, other units remained loyal to Selassie. By 17 December, loyalists had regained control of Addis Ababa, the coup attempt is considered the most serious threat to Haile Selassies rule between 1941 and his deposition in 1974 during the Ethiopian Revolution. When he had attempted to encourage the Oromo inhabitants of Wellamu to build roads, bridges and schools and he was then reassigned to Jijiga, where he was immediately confronted with the abject poverty and underdevelopment of the region and with obvious signs of official neglect. Concludes Bahru Zewde, The obstruction he encountered even in these remote posts convinced him of the need for change, Germame then persuaded his brother, Mengistu, that a military coup was feasible. Two more important members were recruited to form a clandestine Council of the Revolution, the Chief of Security Colonel Warqenah Gabayahu, and Police Commissioner Brigadier General Tsege Dibu. The next morning, after the members of the coup had secured control of most of Addis Ababa, Asfaw Wossen, in response, the students of Haile Selassie University demonstrated in support of the new government. The leaders of the coup obviously expected this demonstration would convince the other branches of the military to join them, an uneasy 24 hours followed while the conspirators awaited developments. Meanwhile, the loyalists within the military were able to come to a consensus on how to respond to this threat and these leaflets are believed to have had a great effect on the uncommitted. Fighting broke out in the afternoon of the next day, heavily outnumbered, the rebels were slowly driven back. Many ordinary soldiers of the Kebur Zabangna, once they learned they were fighting against the Emperor, the inhabitants of the capital, once the fighting started, gave their support to the loyalists. Before abandoning the capital, Germame and the others turned their machine-guns on their hostages in Genetta Leul palace, the dead included not only Prime Minister Abebe Aregai, and Makonnen Habte-Wold, but also Major General Mulugeta. General Tsege was killed in the fighting, Colonel Warqenah committed suicide, Mengistu and Germame evaded capture until 24 December 1960 when they were surrounded by the army near Mojo. Rather than face capture, Germame committed suicide, Mengistu surrendered and he was hanged a few months later. Although Paul Henze asks the relevant question, Was the 1960 coup the harbinger of the revolution of 1974 and he denies that there was a significant connection with his next sentence, Only in a very general sense, if at all. Henze emphasizes the nature of the coup, how much of the population of Ethiopia was illiterate and had little awareness of events in the capital city. Not to be overshadowed by many of the new personalities on the African scene – Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Kenyatta, on the other hand, Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde finds a very clear chain of connection between the two events
13.
Algiers putsch of 1961
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The Algiers putsch, also known as the Generals putsch, was a failed coup détat to overthrow French President Charles de Gaulle and establish a military junta. The organisers of the putsch were opposed to the negotiations that French Prime Minister Michel Debrés government had started with the anti-colonialist National Liberation Front. The coup was to come in two phases, an assertion of control in French Algerias major cities Algiers, Oran and Constantine, the metropolitan operation would be led by Colonel Antoine Argoud, with French paratroopers descending on strategic airfields. The commanders in Oran and Constantine, however, refused to follow Challes demand that they join the coup, at the same time, information about the metropolitan phase came to Prime Minister Debrés attention through the intelligence service. On 22 April, all flights and landings were forbidden in Parisian airfields, the following day, President Charles de Gaulle made a famous speech on television, dressed with his 1940s generals uniform ordering the French people and army to help him. The majority of the French people had voted in favor of Algerian self-determination during the referendum of 8 January 1961 organised in metropolitan France. French citizens living abroad or serving abroad in the military were allowed to vote, as were all adult Algerians, regardless of ancestry, self-determination was approved by 75. 0% of voters overall and 69. 5% in Algeria. The government reported voter turnout of 92. 2%, other sources claim that four out of ten of the individuals in France and Algeria entitled to vote abstained. Following the outcome of the referendum, Michel Debrés government started secret negotiations with the GPRA, during the night, the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment, composed of a thousand men, and headed by Hélie de Saint Marc took control of all of Algiers strategic points in three hours. The units directly involved in the putsch were the 1st and 2nd REP, the 1er REC, together they comprised the elite units of the airborne divisions of the French Army. Initially there were pledges of support from other regiments but these seem to have reflected the views of senior officers only and there was no active participation. The president was informed during the entracte of the coup by Jacques Foccart, his secretary of African and Malagasy Affairs and closest collaborator. Algiers population was awakened on 22 April at 7 am to a read on the radio, The army has seized control of Algeria. Several regiments put themselves under the command of the insurrectionary generals, General Jacques Faure, six other officers and several civilians were simultaneously arrested in Paris. At 5 pm, during the council, Charles de Gaulle declared, Gentlemen. The following day, on Sunday 23 April, General Salan arrived from Spain and this power has an appearance, a quartet of retired generals. It has a reality, a group of officers, partisan, ambitious and this group and this quartet possess an expedient and limited knowledge of things. But they only see and understand the Nation and the world distorted by their delirium and their enterprise leads directly towards a national disaster
14.
Zanzibar Revolution
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The Zanzibar Revolution occurred in 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local African revolutionaries. Zanzibar was a diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east coast of Tanganyika which had been granted independence by Britain in 1963. Having overrun the countrys police force and appropriated their weaponry, the insurgents proceeded to Zanzibar Town where they overthrew the Sultan and his government. Reprisals against Arab and South Asian civilians on the island followed, the moderate ASP leader Abeid Karume became the countrys new president and head of state, and positions of power were granted to Umma party members. The new governments apparent communist ties concerned Western governments, as Zanzibar lay within the British sphere of influence, the British government drew up a number of intervention plans. However, the feared communist government never materialised, and because British, meanwhile, the communist bloc powers of China, East Germany and the Soviet Union established friendly relations with the new government by recognising the country and sending advisors. The revolution ended 200 years of Arab dominance in Zanzibar, and is commemorated on the each year with anniversary celebrations. The Zanzibar Archipelago, now part of the Southeast African republic of Tanzania, is a group of islands lying in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanganyika and it comprises the main southern island of Unguja, the smaller northern island of Pemba, and numerous surrounding islets. With a long history of Arab rule dating back to 1698, in 1890 during Ali ibn Saids reign, Zanzibar became a British protectorate, and although never formally under direct rule was considered part of the British Empire. By 1964, the country was a monarchy ruled by Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah. After Zanzibar had been conquered by the Sultanate of Oman in 1698, all of the land in the countryside had been given to Omani aristocratic families, in January 1961, as part of the process of decolonisation, the islands British authorities drew up constituencies and held democratic elections. Both the ASP and the ZNP won 11 of the available 22 seats in Zanzibars Parliament, the ZNP entered into a coalition with the Zanzibar and Pemba Peoples Party and this time took 13 seats, while the ASP, despite receiving the most votes, won just 10. Electoral fraud was suspected by the ASP and civil disorder broke out, to maintain control, the coalition government banned the more radical opposition parties, filled the civil service with its own appointees, and politicised the police. In 1963, with the number of seats increased to 31. The Umma Party, formed that year by disaffected radical Arab socialist supporters of the ZNP, was banned and this removed a large portion of the only security force on the island, and created an angry group of paramilitary-trained men with knowledge of police buildings, equipment and procedures. In Parliament, the Minister of Finance Juma Aley responded to questions from Karume by insultingly saying he need to answer questions from a mere boatman. The government did not help broaden its appeal to the majority by drastically cutting spending in schools in areas with high concentrations of blacks. Complete independence from British rule was granted on 10 December 1963, much of the cabinet which was seeking closer ties with Egypt did not want British troops in Zanzibar anyway
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National Liberation Council
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The National Liberation Council led the Ghanaian government from February 24,1966 to October 1,1969. The body emerged from a violent coup détat against the government led by Kwame Nkrumah. The Ghana Police Service and Ghana Armed Forces carried out the coup jointly, the new government implemented structural adjustment policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Money in the national budget shifted away from agriculture and industrialization towards the military, National enterprises, property, and capital were privatized or abandoned. Whereas Nkrumah had condemned the development projects of multinational corporations as signs of neocolonialism, the Ghanaian cedi was devalued by 30%. These economic changes did not succeed in reducing the debt or in increasing the ratio of exports to imports. The National Liberation Council regime won support from groups in Ghanaian society, local chiefs, intelligentsia. However, its policies of economic austerity were not beloved of workers at large, in 1969 the regime underwent a carefully managed transition to civilian rule. Elections held on August 29,1969 thus inaugurated a new government led by the NLCs chosen successor, from 1951–1966, Ghana was controlled by the Convention Peoples Party and its founder Kwame Nkrumah. During the 1950s, the CPP sponsored a variety of economic projects. In 1960 the CPP moved to nationalize the Ghanaian economy and heavily tightened its control in such as currency. By 1963 the public was suffering from shortages and price gouging, fewer and fewer businesspeople benefited from party membership. Amidst growing unpopularity the Party increased its repression of political opponents and it used the Preventive Detention Act to jail its opponents without trial for up to five years. In 1964, Nkrumah won a heavily rigged referendum that made the CPP the sole legal party, General Afrifa later commented, regarding Radio Ghana, From early morning till late at night there poured forth a sickening stream of Stalinist adulation and abject flattery. News was so often distorted or suppressed that Ghanaians stopped believing what they heard, the Party acted as a political monolith, with functional control over powerful civil organizations such as the Ghana Trades Union Congress and Ghana Muslim Council. Thus, the CPP had centralized political and economic power in order to pursue rapid industrialization under national control, behind the scenes was an elite group of economic planners which stood to advance its agenda under military rule. These technocrats within the government found common cause with the military, one such figure was B. A. Bentum, former Secretary-General of the Agricultural Workers Union and subsequently the Minister of Forestry under the CPP. Bentum disapproved of the countrys socialist tendencies and collaborated with the plotters by supplying them with information, kojo Botsio, chairman of the State Planning Commission, was similarly disposed if not as closely involved
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National Redemption Council
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The National Redemption Council was the ruling Ghana military government from 13 January 1972 to 9 October 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I. K. Acheampong, who was also the Head of state of Ghana. The NRC came into power through a coup led by Colonel Acheampong. This was a coup that overthrew the democratically elected Progress Party government of Dr. K. A. Busia. The constitution was suspended and all political parties banned, one of the main grievances leading to the coup was the currency devaluations undertaken under the PP regime. On 9 October 1975, the NRC was replaced by the Supreme Military Council and its composition consisted of Colonel Acheampong, the chairman, who was also promoted straight from Colonel to General. The others included the military hierarchy consisting of Lt. Gen. Akuffo the Chief of Defence Staff, the NRC introduced the Ghana National Pledge. Operation Feed Yourself - an Agricultural campaign for national self-sufficiency in food supplies, operation Keep Right - The changeover from driving on the left to the right which occurred on August 4,1974
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