Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 9,001
"Vive l'Empereur...!"
On December 4, 1977, the potentate Jean-Bédel Bokassa…
... has himself crowned "Emperor of Central Africa" in a lavish ceremony in Bangui, the capital of his country...:
Exactly one year earlier to the day, the previous “President” and Napoleon fan Bokassa…
… the "Central African Republic" (a euphemism: actually a bloody dictatorship!) until then, declared a monarchy and declared itself emperor.
Many details of Bokassa's coronation are an exact replica of the coronation ceremony of French Emperor Napoleon I...
... and cost the desperately poor country more than 20 million US dollars. French President Valerie Giscard-d'Estaing...
...discreetly sponsors the celebration (and in return receives a valuable gift of diamonds, which will later contribute to his downfall) to keep the "Emperor" as a strategic ally of France.
And like Napoleon, Bokassa crowns himself, but not entirely voluntarily, since Pope Paul VI, whom he invited ...
… refuses his aid and Bangui stays away.
"Emperor" Bokassa I", rules autocratically and introduces caning for insubordination (or what he considers it to be) which he is happy to help administer.
The “Kaiser” also likes to be involved in torture, especially on children, as in April 1979 after a student uprising against his rule.
After rumors about cannibalism of the now self-proclaimed “13. Apostles of Jesus" made the rounds in Europe, the French are fed up:
Working closely with former also autocratic President David Dacko...
... the French start the "Opération Barracuda" in September 1979 ("Emperor" Bokassa is staying in Libya to visit Ghaddafi):
A commando unit of the French intelligence service SDECE (today: DGSE) is acting together with special forces from the 1st Parachute Regiment of the Marines (flown in from neighboring Chad) under the command of Colonel Brancion-Rouge.
Bokassa's "Empire" is abolished and the Republic restored. Bokassa fled to France via the Ivory Coast, where he lived for almost four years.
There he received a luxurious political asylum in the castle of Hardricourt on the Loire, because of his past merits....:
Before his "political" career, Bokassa had risen from the rank of simple soldier to captain in the French army and earned the "Légion d'Honneur" ...
... and the "Croix de Guerre" in Indochina and the Algerian war...:
The next picture shows Bokassa at the award ceremony of the "Legion of Honour"...:
On October 23, 1986, Bokassa returned - completely deluded, he really thought the people would love him! - returned to his homeland, was promptly arrested...
... and was sentenced to death on June 12, 1987.
The sentence was commuted to hard labor for life on February 29, 1988, after discreet French intervention, and was eventually reduced to twenty years imprisonment.
On September 1, 1993, Bokassa benefited from a general amnesty granted by President André Kolingba…
... announced on the occasion of the return to democracy.
Bokassa died of a heart attack at the age of 75 on November 3, 1996 in the Central African capital of Bangui.
His tomb (the open shed in the background!) is located next to a pompous monument that he had erected himself during his reign and that stands directly in front of his destroyed former imperial palace...:
Bokassa left 17 wives. It is unclear how many children the "Emperor of Central Africa" left behind. One assumes a number between 37 and 54 offspring.
On December 4, 1977, the potentate Jean-Bédel Bokassa…
... has himself crowned "Emperor of Central Africa" in a lavish ceremony in Bangui, the capital of his country...:
Exactly one year earlier to the day, the previous “President” and Napoleon fan Bokassa…
… the "Central African Republic" (a euphemism: actually a bloody dictatorship!) until then, declared a monarchy and declared itself emperor.
Many details of Bokassa's coronation are an exact replica of the coronation ceremony of French Emperor Napoleon I...
... and cost the desperately poor country more than 20 million US dollars. French President Valerie Giscard-d'Estaing...
...discreetly sponsors the celebration (and in return receives a valuable gift of diamonds, which will later contribute to his downfall) to keep the "Emperor" as a strategic ally of France.
And like Napoleon, Bokassa crowns himself, but not entirely voluntarily, since Pope Paul VI, whom he invited ...
… refuses his aid and Bangui stays away.
"Emperor" Bokassa I", rules autocratically and introduces caning for insubordination (or what he considers it to be) which he is happy to help administer.
The “Kaiser” also likes to be involved in torture, especially on children, as in April 1979 after a student uprising against his rule.
After rumors about cannibalism of the now self-proclaimed “13. Apostles of Jesus" made the rounds in Europe, the French are fed up:
Working closely with former also autocratic President David Dacko...
... the French start the "Opération Barracuda" in September 1979 ("Emperor" Bokassa is staying in Libya to visit Ghaddafi):
A commando unit of the French intelligence service SDECE (today: DGSE) is acting together with special forces from the 1st Parachute Regiment of the Marines (flown in from neighboring Chad) under the command of Colonel Brancion-Rouge.
Bokassa's "Empire" is abolished and the Republic restored. Bokassa fled to France via the Ivory Coast, where he lived for almost four years.
There he received a luxurious political asylum in the castle of Hardricourt on the Loire, because of his past merits....:
Before his "political" career, Bokassa had risen from the rank of simple soldier to captain in the French army and earned the "Légion d'Honneur" ...
... and the "Croix de Guerre" in Indochina and the Algerian war...:
The next picture shows Bokassa at the award ceremony of the "Legion of Honour"...:
On October 23, 1986, Bokassa returned - completely deluded, he really thought the people would love him! - returned to his homeland, was promptly arrested...
... and was sentenced to death on June 12, 1987.
The sentence was commuted to hard labor for life on February 29, 1988, after discreet French intervention, and was eventually reduced to twenty years imprisonment.
On September 1, 1993, Bokassa benefited from a general amnesty granted by President André Kolingba…
... announced on the occasion of the return to democracy.
Bokassa died of a heart attack at the age of 75 on November 3, 1996 in the Central African capital of Bangui.
His tomb (the open shed in the background!) is located next to a pompous monument that he had erected himself during his reign and that stands directly in front of his destroyed former imperial palace...:
Bokassa left 17 wives. It is unclear how many children the "Emperor of Central Africa" left behind. One assumes a number between 37 and 54 offspring.
