1975 Marivistan coup d'etat
| 1975 Marivistan coup d'etat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Marivista | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of Marivista | Supreme Salvation Council | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Eric Woanly | John Dermen | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| About 60 killed | |||||||
The 1975 Marivistan coup d'etat occured on 23 December, 1975, when elements of the Marivistan Defense Forces overthrew the authoritarian government of Eric Woanly in Port of Carpal. The coup killed about 60 people in total, and ended after Woanly and his remaining loyalists finally surrendered to coup forces following a failed attempt to flee on helicopter. After his arrest, Woanly was sentenced to life in prison directly by the military junta after being charged for "crimes against the Marivistan people", having imposed forced-disappearances on nearly 3,000 Marivistans during his regime from 1956 up until 1975. In 1977, the junta formally agreed to give up power to a civilian-led government, choosing to remain as a simple defense forces.
Background
After gaining independence from Quetana in 1956, the four nations of Marivista ultimately agreed to unite in order to form the Federation of Marivista. Eric Woanly, a prominent figure in both Marivista's independence and unification movements, was elected to presidency by the country's congressional body. However, Woanly quickly began showing elements of authoritarianism, specifically after he started to round up political opposition in Port of Carpal, having been accused of torturing and even executing them. After a round of protests in 1960, Woanly subsequently consolidated his national political power by purging congress of opposition and replacing them with loyalists. Woanly's reign as an authoritarian head of state was marked by his extensive use of state violence against any opposition activists and leaders. By 1970, it was estimated that at least 3,000 Marivistans had gone missing. In March of 1975, after foreign intelligence reports confirmed that at least 50 political opposition activists were confirmed dead, another wave of protests hit Marivista, this time resulting in the death of 16 protestors. A number of Defense Force commanders chose to criticize Woanly over his handling of the unrest, which resulted in their swift removal by Woanly.
The coup
In the fall of 1975, Woanly ordered the country's military to occupy the congressional building after numerous members resigned in protest of his policies. Then, in late November, several former military commanders who had been fired from their positions mysteriously went missing, inciting fears that Woanly was willing to round up officials who were once close to him.
On 23 December of the same year, commanders within the Marivistan Defense Forces, alongside some who had been fired by Woanly, led a coup against the Woanly government in the Port of Carpal. Just hours before the coup, Woanly's government became aware of the plot, and in response to this, he ordered his loyalists to fiercely defend the city while he fled the city in case the coup succeeded. The coup was backed by every territory of the federation, which all declared their allegiance to the junta in order to resolve the crisis in a more feasible way. Within just hours, all government institutions in Port of Carpal had been seized, and John Dermen, a prominent commander within the Defense Forces who had become a vocal critic of Woanly in the weeks folloeing up to the coup, was declared as interim president. As this was happening, Woanly and his remaining loyalist guards had attempted to sneak into an airbase in southern Carpal in order to steal a helicopter and flee the country. However, this plan was foiled as the airbase was being guarded by pro-coup soldiers, and after a short gunfight that left 5 dead, Woanly surrendered.
Shortly after the coup, Woanly was charged and sentenced to life in prison by the junta, which he served until his death in 1993. Meanwhile, the junta continued to hold onto power throughout 1976 as negotiations with civilian organizations continued. On 1 January, 1977, the junta formally handed power over to a democratic, civilian-led government after a final agreement was concluded.