Maldives Armed Forces in National Life
Cadets of Madagascar Military Academy, Antsirabe
Motorcycle force of Madagascar gendarmerie
Courtesy Thomas P. Ofcansky
Prior to 1977, Seychelles had no armed forces. Instead,
there
was a small police force modeled along British lines. René
believed that the military would help preserve the
country's
revolution and advance socialism. Although the armed
forces have
been largely loyal to René, on at least one occasion, the
SPLA
staged a mutiny against the René regime. On August 17-18,
1982,
some eighty-eight noncommissioned officers and enlisted
personnel
seized the Victoria radio station and port, police
stations,
telegraph facilities, and the Union Vale army camp. The
mutineers
demanded redress of numerous grievances such as a change
in the
composition and ideological orientation of the René
regime, the
expulsion of all Tanzanian military advisers, and an
improvement
in the living conditions of the ordinary soldier. Within
thirtysix hours, loyalist forces, supported by approximately 400
Tanzania People's Defence Force personnel, crushed the
mutiny and
recaptured all key installations. In April 1983, the
government
concluded a secret court martial of the mutineers. Since
then,
the armed forces have acquiesced in the goals and policies
of the
René regime.
Data as of August 1994
|