Vanuatu, 1988 — auto-coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as an auto coup, or self coup, in Vanuatu on 16 December 1988 during a severe constitutional crisis that pitted the small Pacific nation's founding prime minister, Father Walter Lini, against President Ati George Sokomanu, who was Lini's own uncle. The crisis grew out of a bitter split within the ruling Vanua'aku Pati and the expulsion of the popular deputy prime minister Barak Sope, whose supporters were removed from parliament. In December 1988 President Sokomanu, siding with the opposition, moved to dissolve parliament and swore in an interim government headed by Sope, in an attempt to force out Lini, an action Lini's government denounced as an unconstitutional coup.
But Lini, backed by the courts and the security forces, prevailed: Sokomanu's dissolution was ruled illegal, and the president, Sope, and several others were arrested and convicted of seditious conspiracy and incitement to mutiny, though the convictions were later overturned on appeal. Lini remained prime minister, and Sokomanu was removed from the presidency, a rare constitutional showdown in an independent island microstate.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
93512161988
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Prime Minister Walter Lini defeated President Sokomanu's December 1988 attempt to dissolve parliament and force him out.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Toronto Star
Boston Globe
The Guardian
South China Morning Post
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →