1980 Surinamese coup d'état

Military coup led by Desi Bouterse January 2019 May 2026 1980 Surinamese coup d'état the Cold War Suriname Map Including Disputed Areas.png Map of Suriname. 25 February 1980 Paramaribo, Suriname 5 51 8 N 55 12 14 W region:SR inline,title Suriname yes 125px Green pog.svg 10 Nexus of coup in Paramaribo Coup attempt succeeds. Henck Arron is overthrown. Dési Bouterse assumed de facto control of the country. Suriname Government of Suriname Supported by:GuyanaRepublic of VenezuelaUnited States Suriname Surinamese Armed Forces National Military Council Supported by:Brazil 1968 BrazilChinaCubaSoviet Union Flag of the President of Suriname.svg Johan FerrierStandard of Prime Minister of Suriname.svg Henck Arron Suriname Dési Bouterse thumb|right|Bouterse as the Commander of the Armed Forces in 1985. The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup (nl De Sergeantencoup), was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants (nl groep van zestien group of sixteen no) of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse overthrew the government of Prime Minister Henck Arron with a violent coup d'état.https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210107182748/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/ dead 7 January 2021 The World Factbook cia.gov 13 August 2015 This marked the beginning of the military dictatorship that dominated the country from 1980 until 1991. The dictatorship featured the presence of an evening curfew, the lack of freedom of press, a ban on political parties (from 1985), a restriction on the freedom of assembly, a high level of government corruption, and the summary executions of political opponents.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1218515.stm BBC News – Timeline: Suriname bbc.co.uk 14 September 2012 13 August 2015 Background The Netherlands granted Suriname independence on 25 November 1975.https://historiek.net/henck-arron-1936-2000/2975/ Henck Arron (1936–2000) Historiek December 2008 22 June 2020 nl It was marked by social unrest, economic depression, and rumours of corruption.https://npofocus.nl/artikel/7548/wat-zijn-de-decembermoorden Wat zijn de Decembermoorden NPO Focus nl 22 June 2020 The hastily created Suriname National Army had many non-commissioned officers who tried to unionizehttp://rozenbergquarterly.com/the-kingdom-of-the-netherlands-in-the-caribbean-suriname-1954-2004-kroniek-van-een-illusie/ The Kingdom Of The Netherlands In The Caribbean. Suriname 1954 – 2004: Kroniek van een illusie Rozenberg Quarterly 22 June 2020 nl and complained about corruption and poor pay. Prime Minister Henck Arron refused to recognise them and arrested the ringleaders, who were to go to trial on 26 February 1980.https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00095576/00033/7x The Year of the Sergeants 22 June 2020 1980 Caribbean Review University of Florida Elections were also scheduled for March 1980. Coup National Military Council (Suriname) On 25 February 1980, the coup soldiers took control of the military camps in Paramaribo and arrested superiors who opposed them. The main resistance occurred at the Central Police Station, which was burned to the ground. After the police surrendered, the coup leaders took control.Janssen, Roger In Search of a Path: An Analysis of the Foreign Policy of Suriname from 1975 to 1991 2011 Brill Leiden en 978-90-04-25367-4 10.1163/j.ctt1w8h0wm free 56 Arron was then imprisoned on charges of corruption. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/24/guardianobituaries Obituary Henck Arron Gunson, Phil 24 January 2001 24 February 2020 The Guardian President Johan Ferrier was eventually forced out of office in August 1980,De Vries Paul 15 August 1980 President Afgezet nl 1 Limburgs Dagblad https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010570689:mpeg21:p001 Delpher and several months after the coup d'état by Bouterse, most of the political authority transferred to the military leadership. Until 1988, the titular presidents were essentially army-installed by Bouterse, who ruled as a de facto leader with few practical checks on his power.Kruijt Dirk Suriname: The National Army in Politics 2020-12-17 https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-1855 Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics Oxford University Press en 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1855 978-0-19-022863-7 2023-02-22 subscription December murders and Moiwana massacre On 8 December 1982, a group of fifteen academics, journalists, lawyers, union leaders and military officials who opposed the military rule in Suriname were snatched from their beds and brought to Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo, where they were tortured and executed by Bouterse's soldiers. Fourteen of those executed were Surinamese, and the journalist Frank Wijngaarde was a Dutch national. The events are known as the December murders.Report on the Human Rights Situation in Suriname 5 October 1983 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights https://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Suriname83eng/TOC.htm 22 February 2023 The Right to Life and the Right to Personal Integrity In 1986 Bouterse's soldiers killed at least 39 citizens, mostly children and women, of the Maroon village of Moiwana,2006-07-16 Suriname apologizes for 1986 massacre – Americas – International Herald Tribune en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/world/americas/16iht-suriname.2211086.html 2023-02-22 0362-4331 as part of the Surinamese Interior War, which was fought between the soldiers of Bouterse and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk.2021-10-29 Dutch Police arrest man on suspicion of war crimes Surinamese Interior War – News item – Public Prosecution Service https://www.prosecutionservice.nl/latest/news/2021/10/29/dutch-police-arrest-man-on-suspicion-of-war-crimes-surinamese-interior-war 2023-02-22 www.prosecutionservice.nl en-GB Transition to democratic rule A new constitution was adopted via referendum in 1987. Bouterse remained in charge of the army, but elections were held later that year. Dissatisfied with the government, Bouterse overthrew them on 24 December 1990 during another coup. The event became popularly known as "the telephone coup."Singh Chaitram 2008-04-15 Re-democratization in Guyana and Suriname: Critical Comparisons European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies en 84 71–85 10.18352/erlacs.9627 1879-4750 free In 1991, elections returned to Suriname, and the New Front party gained 30 of the 51 parliament seats.Suriname General Election Results 1991 http://www.caribbeanelections.com/sr/elections/sr_results_1991.asp 2023-02-22 www.caribbeanelections.com 6 May 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190506045254/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/sr/elections/sr_results_1991.asp dead Ronald Venetiaan, a fierce opponent of Bouterse, became president. In 1996, Jules Wijdenbosch was elected as president of Suriname on behalf of Bouterse's party, the National Democratic Party (NDP). In 2000 and 2005, Ronald Venetiaan was elected as president of Suriname.16 October 2013 Ronald Venetiaan: 'Ik treed terug om politieke redenen' nl Dagblad Suriname https://www.dbsuriname.com/2013/10/26/ronald-venetiaan-ik-treed-terug-om-politieke-redenen/ 20 June 2020 22 April 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230422171847/https://www.dbsuriname.com/2013/10/26/ronald-venetiaan-ik-treed-terug-om-politieke-redenen/ dead Dési Bouterse himself returned to power as president in 2010. National holiday thumbnail|left|Monument commemorating the coup. After becoming president of Suriname, Bouterse designated 25 February, the anniversary of the day of the coup d'état, as a national holiday.Romero Simon 2011-05-03 Returned to Power, a Leader Celebrates a Checkered Past en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/americas/03suriname.html 2023-02-19 0362-4331 On the day of the coup, Bouterse's soldiers burned down the Central Police Station of Suriname. The remains of the building now form the Monument of the Revolution, where the wreath-laying ceremony would be held.2011-02-24 Bouterse eert plegers staatsgreep 1980 https://www.parool.nl/nieuws/bouterse-eert-plegers-staatsgreep-1980~b63fe035/ 2023-02-22 Het Parool nl-NL Bouterse's party lost the 2020 election,2020-06-16 Suriname's president loses election, leaves economic chaos en Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-suriname-politics-idUSKBN23N2XF 2023-02-22 and the new government did away with the February 25 public holiday.Dag van de Revolutie geen feestdag meer in Suriname https://www.noordhollandsdagblad.nl/cnt/dmf20210209_5038951 2023-02-19 Noordhollands Dagblad 9 February 2021 nl-BE References External links The Year of the Sergeants by Caribbean Review (1980) Wentzel Caroline The 8-December Murders in Surinam and United States Reactions During the Early 1980s 9 June 2006 MA thesis University of Leiden https://kitlv-docs.library.leiden.edu/open/328279382.pdf 22 February 2023 8 May 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230508011739/https://kitlv-docs.library.leiden.edu/open/328279382.pdf dead Martial law in Category:Coups d'état in Suriname Category:Military regime in Suriname Category:Military history of Suriname Category:1980 in Suriname Category:February 1980 in South America Category:1980 conflicts Category:1980s coups d'état