2019 Saterocian coup d'etat

2019 Saterocian coup d'etat
Part of The 2019 Saterocian Revolution
Pro-coup soldiers set up military checkpoints in Kolkesburg
Date	19 May 2019
Location	Kolkesburg, Sateroc
Resulted in	Military coup successful • Georg Puoc deposed • 1973 Constitution dissolved • Agreement reached between protestors and military government
Parties to the civil conflict
Government of Sateroc Saterocian Armed Forces Brotherhood of Kolkesburg
Lead figures
Georg Puoc Julie Puoc Mandrette Puoc Erman Puoc† Juste Lavign Levett-Jean Chaun Emmanuel Paquet Paul Charov Nernev Chasques Naum Pavlavain
Casualties
23 killed

A coup d'etat in Sateroc took place in the early hours of 19 May 2019, when the Saterocian Armed Forces overthrew longtime dictator of the country Georg Puoc following months of popular protests demanding his departure. Led by Air Force commander Paul Charov, the military toppled the Puocist government, seizing the Grand Revolutionary Assembly and arresting Puoc, while also dissolving the constitution and declaring a six-month nationwide state of emergency. In the days following the coup, an agreement was reached between the military and popular civilian leaders in order to form a democratic government, leading to the election of Jonrov Mornes as president in June.

Despite not knowing of the coup at first, civilian protestors supported the coup due to the fact that Puoc had been successfully removed from office by the military. However, celebrations would quickly end and protests would continue after the interim junta continued to arrest civilian demonstrators, beginning late on 19 May and continuing all the way until 28 May, in which the junta would concede and sign a momentous agreement with the civilian organizations, which saw a transitional civilian government come to power. Throughout this period, anywhere from 300,000 to two million civilians protested against the junta in Kolkesburg, with tens of thousands of workers continuing to go on strikes until an agreement was signed, with at least 40 protestors recieving severe injuries from the crackdown.

Over the next week, dozens of influential government officials were arrested, including Georg Puoc, who called the coup an "unforgivable crime" and called on his loyalists to eliminate the mutinous officers and "restore order" to the country. However, these calls were ignored as Puoc had lost most of his supporters amidst the mass protests, and any remaining supporters were quickly jailed by the junta. While the coup was condemned by former government members, a majority of the international community commended the overthrow of Puoc, calling it a step in the right direction towards democracy in Sateroc. These governments refused to open communication channels with the junta until a civilian government was established, however.

In 2020, Puoc was indicted by the government for numerous crimes, however he is still being held by the government and has yet to be charged and jailed.

Background

After the 1953 Saterocian Revolution, the Saterocian Civil War, and the 1954 Saterocian coup d'etat, Sateroc had been placed under the rule of Arnaud Puoc, a military commander that had previously been loyal to the interim republican government until President Obout Goen refused to grant him and his supporters spots within the government. Due to this, he was overthrown in a coup and would shortly die under mysterious circumstances just weeks later. Arnaud would form a large cult of personality within his despotic regime, along with greatly strengthening the country's previously mediocre armed forces to become one of the largest in the region. Despite all these things, however, the nation experienced economic growth under his hand and things remained relatively calm for those who chose not to oppose him.

On 26 April, 1969, Arnaud Puoc would die under unknown circumstances, most likely due to an illness, and his older brother Tilmann Puoc would naturally come to power. However, less than three months after he had come to power, he would be assassinated by a member of his personal guard after an alleged disagreement. Tilmann's son, Andre Puoc, would come to power quickly after his father's death. What followed was 42 years of a brutal, oppressive, and militaristic regime mixed with Arnaud's paranoia and anger due to what had happened to his father in 1969. Hundreds of thousands were killed under his brutal rule, and this would later cause conflicts and points of tension such as the War in Cascutia, the First and Second Wheat Wars and the Vasilin Sea crisis. Sateroc was largely outed as a pariah state internationally and the country was heavily sanctioned by a majority of the international community, especially after the 1993 Saterocian nuclear test. This caused the country's economy to collapse under the weight of sanctions, and most of the country was left impoverished under his rule.

Andre would die of natural causes in 2011, being succeeded by his son Georg Puoc, who was seeking to take a softer tone than his father had. Although the country remained a brutal dictatorship, he allowed for more freedom within the country, along with opening up Sateroc and opening up negotiation channels with its neighbors. This would all come crashing down, however, after Sateroc invaded Saroq, and its president Verditis Slachmas, was publicly executed in Elmonton by the Saterocian military. Sateroc was promptly kicked out of international happenings, and Puoc resorted to brutal oppressiveness similar to his father.

On 5 October 2018, four citizens were publicly executed in Kolkesburg after it had been discovered that they vandalized autobiographies of Georg Puoc in a nearby bookstore. This move sparked protest within the local community, with locals peacefully marching against the brutality of the regime, however these protestors were arrested and it has since been rumored that at least one of them was executed. The following months would see protests multiply in number as more and more Saterocians discovered what had been going on. By 2019, hundreds of thousands were protesting daily, and in March 2019 Puoc would declare martial law all across Sateroc following an unprecedented amount of protests of the course of a few days. The following month, the Ancauix Park Massacre on 2 April would see over 90 protestors dead. This action by police reportedly caused friction within the country's police and military force, with numerous commanders disapproving of the actions taken by regime forces.

By May, the protests had reached a breaking point and had threatened to throw the country into a civil war. Because of this, Puoc personally fired and ordered the arrest of Chief of Staff Paul Charov of the country's armed forces on 14 May. The following day, he released an official statement, claiming that he and his forces would "strike back".

Coup

Unfolding of the coup

On the night of 18 May, the Saterocian government would release an official statement claiming that the city was on "military lockdown" following what seemed to be real threats from influential high-ranking commanders within the military who were residing within the city. The military dismissed these claims, however just hours later military vehicles were spotted around Kolkesburg, with soldiers blocking routes into and out of the city. It was unclear at the time whether these soldiers were part of the coup. At around 2 in the morning, more military vehicles were reportedly rushing into the city in order to block even more routes within the city, as these soldiers set up checkpoints to prevent government officials from fleeing. Sateroc's national broadcasting service was taken over by the military, and Paul Charov appeared publicly for the first time since his removal from his post by Puoc. Gunshots were then heard across the city, with reported gunfights taking place between Puoc's personal guard and mutinous soldiers. Puoc's motorcade was heavily damaged, as well as the country's large Kolkesburg Patriotic Palace, where Puoc was reportedly taking shelter as the coup was unfolding. Charov claimed that by this point, numerous ministers and members of the country's Grand Revolutionary Assembly had been detained by military forces.

By sunrise, the situation around Puoc's palace had turned into a standstill after coup forces set up position around the large building. The military claimed control of the entire city, stating that most of Puoc's "loyalist" soldiers defected within just minutes of the coup starting. Citizens waking up to the news would go out to celebrate the coup, unaware that Puoc was still out of the military's hands, and he would later release a statement urging the coountry's military to "come to its senses" and for his loyalists to fight with their lives against the military takeover. However, at nearly 8 in the morning, the military would raid his palace following a tense standoff, and after 30 minutes and two alleged deaths, Georg Puoc and his remaining defense would finally be detained. Paul Charov would swiftly announce on live television that Puoc had been detained by the military, and that he had allegedly agreed to resign and allow for a new interim junta to take his place. A statement from an Owler account claiming to be Saterocian Air Force commander Nernev Chasques's account claimed that the military takeover had ended in success.

Aftermath

Following these statements, a communique was issued stating that Charov was to become the National Unity Council's emergency president as most of the country's government was shut down, the constitution was suspended, a curfew was imposed, and a six-month state of emergency was declared. With the declaration of Charov as president, celebrations quickly turned into protests as opposition groups denounced the coup as a "complete military takeover". Despite protests, the Council went ahead with forming a new junta government as they named several state ministers and refused to hand over power to civilian organizations. The next nine days would see a tense standoff between the junta and civilian demonstrators with the junta becoming increasingly more defiant as they refused to hand over power. Amidst this, the Civilian Transitional Authority was created by prominent names, including ex-commander Jonrov Mornes who advocated for an end to the junta. On 25 May, however, a series of closed doors negotiations began between members of the junta and members of the CTA, with pressure on the junta to hand over power becoming increasingly high. Then, on 28 May, the junta announced that they had approved the creation of a transitional civilian government, and that they would oversee elections which would end up taking place in June, resulting in a landslide victory for Jonrov Mornes.

As Mornes was president and a civilian government was formed with the establishment of the National Assembly, hopes were high for the beginning of a new era for peace, freedom, and stability in Sateroc. However, these hopes were rapidly diminished as Mornes began a journey of abusing his powers as president, and his popularity would sink to record-breaking levels in 2020 after he pressured the National Assembly into firing the country's Minister for Labor and Economics Laur Haus after he accused Mornes of plans to delay elections. In 2023, following the deadly 2023 Kolkesburg airport bombing, he delayed elections for five months once again, and four years of stability in Sateroc would come crashing down after Paul Charov would launch another attempted coup against Mornes's government, which rapidly deteriorated into the 2023 Sateroc conflict after fighting spread elsewhere.

Reactions

Domestic

Protests take place against the junta

On 19 May, civilians celebrated the coup in the streets of Kolkesburg after hearing news of Puoc's arrest by the military, with many supporters waving military symbols in order to show solidarity with the soldiers. Some civilians reportedly yelled things such as "Down with Puoc" and "Long live Charov!". Some protestors even stormed Puoc's palace after soldiers reportedly invited citizens into the palace, with many choosing to trash symbols of the Puoc regime. Crowds gathered in the capital to sing songs, honk their car horns, and dance. Many civilian organizations that had been at the head of protests against Georg Puoc praised Charov and his affiliates after the coup had taken place. "Charov and his affiliates have built up the courage to face the devil himself, something much of us didn't have the power to do...", stated Mornes.

However, after the junta appointed Charov as the junta's president, celebrations quickly ended and protests soon started back up as many claimed that the military had "broken their fragile trust". Flags of the military that were once being waved in support of Charov were then seen burning on the streets after Charov was sworn in as the country's interim president, most likely due to the fact that the junta had failed to communicate with civilian organizations. Protests became increasingly violent in the following days as demonstrators reportedly showed their frustration with living under militaristic, non-democratic governments. Many were heard chanting "Down, down with the military" and some protestors even waved flags of western nations, potentially showing that some citizens wanted the international community to intervene in the crisis. It was only after the agreement between the junta and the CTA that protests ended.