1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état attempt

The 1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état attempt was an event which took place on 28 February 1983, in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso), just a few months after a previous coup d'état on 7 November 1982, carried out by radical elements of the army against the regime of Colonel Saye Zerbo, who himself came to power in a 1980 coup against Major General Sangoulé Lamizana.[1] The coup attempt on 28 February, which targeted the Council of Popular Salvation (CPS) and its leader Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, failed.[2]

1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état attempt
Date28 February 1983
Location
Ouagadougou, Upper Volta
Result Government victory.
Belligerents
Government Armed Forces
Commanders and leaders
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo Saye Zerbo

Events

Several army officers intended to massacre the CPS in assembly and restore Zerbo's regime. When they delayed they were arrested by other officials. One of the leading putschists was a commandant who had been considered for the presidency following the 1982 coup. When questioned about the incident, Ouédraogo told the press, "Since our regime makes many people uneasy, it is quite normal that people should plan this sort of reaction."[3] He publicly declared his determination to "guarantee order and security" and asserted that "the army will not allow itself to be dissuaded by tribal fights and ideologies". He also stated that corruption and fraud in the business community had, in part, facilitated the state of "total anarchy" over which the government presided, and announced that the national administration would be restructured to mitigate the disorder.[4]

August coup

August 1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état
Date3 August 1983
Location
Ouagadougou, Upper Volta
Result Revolutionary victory, Thomas Sankara installed as the first President of Burkina Faso
Belligerents
Government
Moderate armed forces faction		 Left-wing armed forces faction
Commanders and leaders
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo Thomas Sankara
Blaise Compaoré

President Ouédraogo would however not remain in power for long – large protest against his rule began on 17 May, after he purged the government of several radicals including Captain Thomas Sankara. Within a few months, he was deposed in a coup on 3 August, led by Captain Blaise Compaoré, who made his close friend Sankara President. This began a period of societal transformation in Upper Volta, soon renamed Burkina Faso by the left-wing revolutionary Sankara, who himself would be overthrown in 1987 by Compaoré.[5]

See also

Citations
  1. Manson, Katrina; Knight, James (2012). Burkina Faso. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 26–27. ISBN 184-162-352-0.
  2. Rupley, Lawrence; Bangali, Lamissa; Diamitani, Boureima (2013). Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 52. ISBN 081-088-010-5.
  3. Recent Unsuccessful Coup Attempt Explained 1983, p. 770.
  4. Coup Plot Discovered 1983, p. 6781.
  5. Lentz, Harris M., ed. (2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. London: Routledge. p. 122. ISBN 113-426-490-9.

References
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