莱索托

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莱索托，南部非洲国家之一，完全被南非环绕。

[编辑] 历史

主条目：History of Lesotho

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The present Lesotho emerged as a single polity (state) under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822; it was recognized by Britain on 13 December 1843. On 12 March 1868 the High Commission Territories. On 30 April 1965 it was granted autonomy. Its name was changed when Lesotho gained full independence from the United Kingdom on October 4, 1966. In January 1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) lost the first post-independence general elections, with 23 seats to the Basutoland Congress Party's 36. Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan refused to cede power to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP), declared himself Tono Kholo (Sesotho translation of prime minister), and imprisoned the BCP leadership.

The BCP began a rebellion and then received training in Libya for its Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) under the pretense of being Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) soldiers of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Deprived of arms and supplies by the Sibeko faction of the PAC in 1978, the 178-strong LLA was rescued from their Tanzanian base by the financial assistance of a Maoist PAC officer but launched the guerrilla war with a handful of old weapons. The main force was defeated in northern Lesotho and thereafter guerrillas launched sporadic but usually ineffectual attacks. The campaign was severely compromised when Ntsu Mokhehle, the BCP leader, went over to Pretoria. In the early 1980s, several Basotho who sympathized with the exiled BCP were threatened with death and attacked by the government of Leabua Jonathan. In September 1981 Edgar Mahlomola Motuba was taken from his home and murdered. A few months later the family of Benjamin Masilo was attacked.

The BNP ruled by decree until January 1986 when a military coup forced them out of office. The Military Council that came into power granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a ceremonial monarch. In 1987, however, the King was forced into exile after a falling out with the army. His son was installed as King Letsie III.

The chairman of the military junta, Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted in 1991 and then replaced by Major General Elias Phisoana Ramaema, who handed over power to a democratically elected government of the BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state. In August 1994, Letsie III staged a coup which was backed by the military and deposed the BCP government. The new government did not receive full international recognition. Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations aimed at the reinstatement of the BCP government. One of the conditions put forward by the King for the return of the BCP government was that his father should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was reinstated and the King abdicated in favor of his father in 1995, but Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident in 1996 and was again succeeded by his son, Letsie III. The ruling BCP split over leadership disputes in 1997.

Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. The LCD won the general elections in 1998 under the leadership of Pakalitha Mosisili, who had succeeded Mokhehle as party leader. Despite the elections being pronounced free and fair by local and international observers and a subsequent special commission appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the results.

Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a peaceful demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. Exact details of what followed are greatly disputed and it remains a contentious topic even within South Africa, but in September of that year, an SADC task force operating on orders of unclear provenance entered the capital city. While the Botswana troops were welcomed, tensions with South African National Defence Force troops were high, resulting in fighting. Incidences of sporadic rioting intensified when South African troops hoisted a South African flag over the Royal Palace. By the time the SADC forces withdrew in May 1999, much of Maseru lay in ruins, and the southern provincial capital towns of Mafeteng and Mohale's Hoek had seen the loss of over a third of their commercial real estate. A number of South Africans and Basotho also tragically died in the fighting.

An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that the opposition would be represented in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again, gaining 54% of the vote. For the first time, however, opposition political parties won significant numbers of seats, and despite some irregularities and threats of violence from Major General Lekhanya, Lesotho experienced its first peaceful election. Nine opposition parties now hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with the BNP having the largest share (21). The LCD has 79 of the 80 constituency-based seats. Although its elected members participate in the National Assembly, the BNP has launched several legal challenges to the elections, including a recount; none has been successful.

Pakalitha Mosisili is the current Prime Minister. Prime Minister Mosisili's major issue is solving the problem of AIDS in Africa.

2007年2月17日，举行议会选举。^[1]莱索托民主大会党赢得议会120个席位中的61席，全体巴苏陀人大会赢得17个席位。^[2]

[编辑] 参考文献

非洲
北非 ： 阿尔及利亚 | 埃及 | 利比亚 | 摩洛哥 | 苏丹 | 突尼西亞 西非 ： 贝宁 | 布吉納法索 | 乍得 | 科特迪瓦 | 冈比亚 | 加纳 | 幾內亞 | 幾內亞比索 | 利比里亚 | 马里 | 尼日尔 | 毛里塔尼亚 | 尼日利亚 | 塞内加尔 | 塞拉利昂 | 多哥 | 佛得角 中非 ： 喀麦隆 | 中非 | 赤道幾內亞 | 加蓬 | 刚果共和国 | 刚果民主共和国 | 圣多美普林西比 南非 ： 安哥拉 | 波札那 | 葛摩 | 莱索托 | 马达加斯加 | 马拉维 | 毛里求斯 | 莫桑比克 | 纳米比亚 | 斯威士兰 | 南非 | 赞比亚 | 津巴布韦 东非 ： 蒲隆地 | 吉布提 | 厄立特里亚 | 埃塞俄比亞 | 肯尼亞 | 卢旺达 | 塞舌尔 | 索馬里 | 坦桑尼亚 | 乌干达 海外屬地，自治區與其他特殊政區 ： 英屬印度洋領地 (英國) | 加那利群岛(西班牙) | 休達及梅利利亚 (西班牙/爭議區) | 馬德拉 (葡萄牙) | 马约特 (法國) | 留尼汪 (法國) | 圣赫勒拿 (英國) | 索馬里蘭 (爭議區) | 西撒哈拉 (摩洛哥/爭議區)
世界地理索引 | 美洲 | 亞洲 | 南极洲 | 歐洲 | 大洋洲 | 各国首都

diq:Lesothonov:Lesutupms:Lesotho