2021 South Kabuese coup d'état
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| 2021 South Kabuese coup d'état | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Parliament square after being fired upon by a tank | |||
| Date | 13 November, 2021 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | 2021 South Kabuese constitutional crisis | ||
| Goals | Oust Premier Susilo Dwi and dissolve the People's Senate | ||
| Resulted in | Susilo Dwi killed, People's Senate dissolved, President Tirto Sutikno assumes emergency powers
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| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 87 | ||
| Injuries | 1872 | ||
| Arrested | 174 | ||
The 2021 South Kabuese coup d'état took place on 13 November 2021. President Tirto Sutikno assumed emergency powers and ordered members of the armed forces to surround the Senate building in Kutha Pamungkas to end the 2021 South Kabuese constitutional crisis. The order came after senators loyal to Premier Susilo Dwi barricaded themselves inside the Senate building and called for an armed revolution to oust Tirto as President. The siege ended in the evening of 13 November after a fire broke out within the Senate building, engulfing it in flames and causing surviving Senators and pro-Susilo forces to surrender. Susilo Dwi was killed in unclear circumstances during the coup d'état.
87 people including Susilo Dwi and 2 foreign nationals were killed in the coup, most by gunfire during the siege. 11 people were killed during the fire in the Senate building which was completely engulfed and burnt down. (Brief section on international reactions)
In the aftermath of the coup d'état, President Tirto assumed emergency powers and announced new Presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in July 2022. The coup d'état has been described as a autocoup carried out by Tirto Sutikno and councilist factions of the Kabuese Section of the Workers' International. The coup d'état occurred shortly before the 2021 North Kabuese legislative election.
Background
2021 South Kabuese constitutional crisis
In early 2021, Tirto Sutikno announced his intention to end the State of Emergency in South Kabu and transition towards a councilist system before the end of his term as President. Attempts at passing laws to end the State of Emergency were blocked by Premier Susilo Dwi and hardline factions within the Kabuese Section of the Workers International (BKMI). Tensions between Susilo Dwi and Tirto Sutikno grew throughout 2021.
On 2 October a fourth attempt at ending the State of Emergency was blocked by Susilo Dwi leading to moderate Senators walking out of the Senate in protest to the decision. Susilo also blocked an attempt to hold a Vote of no Confidence against him. Pakaryan, the state-ran newspaper also ran with an editorial demanding Susilo's immediate resignation: "for the good of Socialism in Kabu". In response Susilo and the remaining Senators began a boycott of the newspaper and called for the editor of the paper to resign in disgrace. After a week of negotiations President Tirto Sutikno set 7 November as the final date before he would dissolve the Senate and call for new elections if the Senate had not returned.
On 8 November after missing the deadline, Tirto announced the dissolution of the Senate and demanded Susilo's immediate resignation as Premier. Susilo called Tirto's Presidency "illegitimate" and refused to resign or acknowledge the dissolution of the Senate. 4 days later, the Senators and Susilo Dwi barricaded themselves inside the Senate building alongside dozens of staffers, security officials and Pro-Susilo demonstrators to prevent the official dissolution of the Senate.
Coup d'état
Launch
Around 6AM local time, forces led by General Budi Darma took over Kutha Pamungkas International Airport with no resistance and cancelled all outgoing flights citing a security issue at the airport. Two planes travelling towards Kutha Pamungkas were subsequently diverted and people inside the airport were ordered to remain in place for several hours. After the takeover of Kutha Pamungkas airport, the following actions were delayed as troops had not been in place when Budi took over the airport. News of the closure of the airport travelled quickly and the involvement of the Kabuese People's Armed Forces was noted on social media.
At 9AM ABRK soldiers took over the offices of the state-run media and the offices of the Pakaryan newspaper. General Budi Darma issued a statement on national television announcing the coup and stated his loyalty to Tirto Sutikno and the BKMI. Budi stated the coup's missions as to enforce Tiro Sutikno's earlier dissolution of the Senate and to arrest Susilo Dwi and several lawmakers close to him. Budi also announced that Tirto would be making an official televised address to the nation in the following hours. The coup received widespread backing from the Kabuese political establishment and was backed by most local leaders. The coup also received the backing of many Senators loyal to Tirto and the ABRK.
Evacuation of the government district
After Budi's speech on Television, ABRK soldiers took over Kutha Pamungkasn police stations and Kutha Pamungkas city hall where Senators loyal to Tirto had been meeting for several weeks. Police and ABRK forces then moved to evacuate buildings nearby to the Senate building and along Parliament square. An evacuation order was placed for the entire government district of Kutha Pamungkas at 12PM and roads towards the district were sealed off. Pro and Anti coup protests began near the government district and some within the district refused to be evacuated and staged a protest within the district. ABRK soldiers charged towards these protesters firing live ammunition which killed several people. ABRK tanks were moved into Kutha Pamungkas during the coup and reportedly fired at the entrance of an evacuated metro station near the protesters. Kutha Pamungkasn police and ABRK soldiers arrested dozens of protesters.
Gunfire was heard in the government district throughout the day and several explosions were reported. State media at the time claimed no deaths had occurred and the gunfire was coming from the Senate building which was still occupied by anti-Tirto protesters and politicians. Internet access in Kutha Pamungkas was heavily restricted during the coup. According to the Coius Monitor, the internet was cut by the ABRK to prevent damaging information from spreading.
Fire and surrender
The Senate Building was surrounded and was fired upon by ABRK soldiers. At 5PM, a fire was reported within the Senate building. Firefighters were not permitted to enter Parliament square by police despite being called. The fire spread rapidly throughout the building leading to many within the building surrendering to escape the fire. The fire had completely engulfed the building by 9PM at which point firefighters were allowed to enter Parliament square. The remains of the Senate building collapsed as a result of the fire which at it's core was over 1000°C. Search and Rescue operations were suspended at 2AM when it became unlikely that anyone still within the building had survived. Pictures of the Senate building in flames were censored by the Ministry of Information and a freelance journalist was arrested after sharing images of the fire.
According to the Ministry of Information, the fire was started: “intentionally by those within the building in a desperate attempt to discredit the Kabuese government as terrorists”. This is disputed by independent analysists who suggest that it is likely the ABRK was involved with starting the fire. This has been denied by the South Kabuese government.