François Bozizé Yangouvonda (14 octobre 1946-) est un homme politique centrafricain, président depuis le coup d’État du 15 mars 2003 qui l’a porté au pouvoir.
Engagé très tôt dans l’armée, François Bozizé devient général de brigade sous Jean Bédel Bokassa.
Sous le régime militaire du Général André Kolingba, le Général Bozizé soutient l’opposition et fomente un coup d’État en 1982. Suite à l’échec de ce coup d’État, Bozizé et Ange-Félix Patassé, le chef politique du coup d’État partent en exil au Togo.
Dix ans plus tard, le Général Kolingba, suivant le mouvement amorcé dans les anciennes colonies francophones, tient des élections présidentielles libres, multi-partites et équitables. Patassé est élu président.
Au fil des ans Bozizé devient un des hommes forts du régime Patassé et surtout sa courroie de transmission dans l'armée. Bozizé rétablit, avec l’aide militaire de la France, le calme après les mutineries de 1996 et 1997. Devant la montée des mécontentements dans l’armée, Patassé ressent le besoin de donner plus de pouvoirs à Bozizé en le nommant chef d’état-major des armées centrafricaines. Bozizé sert loyalement Patassé lors des très fréquentes mutineries et autres tentatives de coup d’État.
Lors d'un autre coup d’État en mai 2001 contre le de plus en plus contesté Patassé, ce sont les troupes libyennes qui assurent la sécurité du président. Le putsch échoue mais Bozizé est sur la sellette, de plus en plus contesté dans l’entourage du président, on lui reproche une participation à cette tentative de renversement ou tout du moins un certain laissez-faire. Sentant venir sa fin proche, Bozizé fuit la RCA pour le Tchad voisin avec quelques troupes.
Du Tchad, Bozizé mène quelques incursions en RCA mais rien de bien inquiétant pour le pouvoir toujours vacillant mais désormais soutenu par la puissante armée libyenne du président Patassé. La tentative de renversement d'octobre 2002 échoue, Patassé recevant en plus l’appui du Mouvement de Libération du Congo MLC, un groupe de miliciens soutenus par l’Ouganda et actifs dans la guerre civile en République démocratique du Congo voisin.
Le soutien ou tout du moins la bienveillance tchadienne à l’égard des activités militaires de Bozizé irrite Patassé au plus haut point, d’autant plus que l’armée centrafricaine est acquise au général en exil. Patassé accuse son homologue tchadien et cherche l’aide de la France pour assurer sa sécurité. À plusieurs reprises l’ancienne puissance coloniale était déjà intervenue pour sauver le soldat Patassé mais devant l’instabilité chronique de la RCA et le manque total de soutien populaire, la France laisse poliment tomber Patassé.
Le 15 mars 2003, alors que Patassé est en voyage au Niger, Bozizé rentre au pays et s’empare de Bangui sans coup férir. Patassé doit alors partir en exil au Cameroun puis au Togo. Bozizé devient chef de l’État et promet un sacro-saint processus de normalisation politique pour le retour à la démocratie. Des élections démocratiques et multipartites sont promises par Bozizé qui les fixe, après plusieurs reports dus à la mise à jour des listes électorales, au 13 février 2005.
Après les émeutes des Chimères en mars 2004, le président haïtien Jean-Bertrand Aristide est renversé et part en exil en RCA, accueilli par Bozizé. |
François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born October 14, 1946) is the President of the Central African Republic. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé and ushered in a transitional period of government. He won the country's 2005 presidential election; he received the most votes in the first round in March 2005, but less than a majority, requiring a second round, which he won in May 2005.
Early life and Kolingba's rule
Bozizé was born in Gabon, a member of Gbaya people, and attended a military officers' training college in the Central African province of Bouar. He became a second lieutenant in 1969, a lieutenant in 1970, and a captain in 1975. He was appointed brigadier-general by Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1978. After Bokassa was ousted by David Dacko in 1979, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Defense. Following Dacko's ouster by André Kolingba in September 1981, Bozizé was appointed Minister of Information and Culture, but fled into exile after being accused of involvement in a coup attempt led by Patassé in early March 1982. After being arrested in Cotonou, Benin in July 1989, Bozizé was imprisoned and tortured, but he was acquitted in December 1991.
Kolingba held elections in 1993 and Bozizé became a presidential candidate. He took only 1.5% of the vote; Patassé was elected president in a run-off against Abel Goumba.
Supporting Patassé
For many years Bozizé was considered a supporter of Patassé and helped him suppress army mutinies in 1996 and 1997. Bozizé was then named the Armed Forces Chief of Staff.
Bozizé showed no activity against Patassé and frequently crushed revolts against the president.
Against Patassé
On May 28, 2001, a coup was attempted against Patassé and defeated with the help of Libyan troops and Congolese rebels of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo. Afterwards, Bozizé's loyalty was questioned, and in late October 2001 he was dismissed as army chief of staff. Fighting erupted when the government tried to arrest Bozizé on November 3; after five days of this, government forces aided by Libyan troops captured the barracks where Bozizé was based, and Bozizé fled north to Chad.
Fighting between government forces and Bozizé's rebels continued during 2002. From October 25 to October 31, his forces unsuccessfully attacked on the capital, Bangui; the Congolese MLC, who again came to Patassé's aid, were accused of looting and rape.
This period was marked by tensions between Chad and Patassé's government. Patassé's ruling party accused Chadian president Idriss Déby of destabilizing the Central African Republic by supporting Bozizé with men and equipment.
The final coup, transition period, and election as president
On March 15, 2003, Bozizé finally succeeded in seizing power, with his forces entering Bangui unopposed. Patassé was returning from a meeting in Niger at the time, but could not land because Bozizé's forces controlled the airport. Patassé took refuge in Cameroon and then Togo.
Bozizé appointed Abel Goumba as Prime Minister soon after seizing power in March, later making him vice-president in December and appointing Célestin Gaombalet in his place as prime minister. Bozizé also suspended the country's 1995 constitution after seizing power, and a new constitution, reportedly similar to the old one, was approved by voters in a referendum on December 5, 2004. After seizing power, Bozizé initially said he would not run in a planned future presidential election, but after the successful constitutional referendum, he announced his intention to stand as a candidate on December 11:
After thinking thoroughly, and being deeply convinced and keeping in mind the nation's interest, I grasped the deep sense of my people's calls. As a citizen, I'll take my responsibility.
I'll contest the election to achieve the task of rebuilding the country, which is dear to me and according to your wish.
On December 30, 2004, Bozizé was one of five candidates approved to run in the presidential election scheduled for early 2005. On January 4, 2005, Bozizé announced that three initially excluded candidates would also be allowed to run, although former president Patassé was not included in either group. In late January, it was announced that more candidates would be permitted to run in the election, bringing the total to 11 and leaving only Patassé barred. The elections were also delayed by one month from the previously scheduled date of February 13 to March 13.
Bozizé came in first in the March 13 election, taking just under 43% of the vote according to official results. He faced Patassé's last prime minister, Martin Ziguélé, in a second round of voting; this was held on May 8 and according to official results announced on May 24, he won with 64.6% of the vote. He was sworn in on June 11.
The parliament authorized Bozizé to rule by decree for three months, from January 1 to March 31, 2006; his prime minister, Élie Doté, said that this period of rule by decree was successful, enabling Bozizé to take measures to streamline the civil service.
In addition to being president, Bozizé has been defense minister since taking power. After the end of the transitional period, he remained in this post when Doté named a new cabinet in June 2005, and also kept it following a September 2006 cabinet reshuffle. |