1980 Surinamese coup d'état

The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup (Dutch: De Sergeantencoup), was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants (Dutch: groep van zestien, lit. 'group of sixteen') of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse overthrew the government of Prime Minister Henck Arron with a violent coup d'état.^[1] 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.^[2]

1980 Surinamese coup d'état
Map of Suriname.
Date 25 February 1980 Location Paramaribo, Suriname 5°51′8″N 55°12′14″W / 5.85222°N 55.20389°W / 5.85222; -55.20389Coordinates: 5°51′8″N 55°12′14″W / 5.85222°N 55.20389°W / 5.85222; -55.20389 Result Coup attempt succeeds. Henck Arron is overthrown. Dési Bouterse assumed de facto control of the country.
Belligerents
Government of Suriname	Surinamese Armed Forces National Military Council
Commanders and leaders
Johan Ferrier Henck Arron	Dési Bouterse
class=notpageimage| Nexus of coup in Paramaribo

Bouterse as the Commander of the Armed Forces in 1985.

Background

The Netherlands granted Suriname independence on 25 November 1975.^[3] It was marked by social unrest, economic depression, and rumors of corruption.^[4] The hastily-created Suriname National Army had many non-commissioned officers who tried to unionize^[5] and complained about corruption^[3] and poor pay.^[5] Prime Minister Henck Arron refused to recognise them and arrested the ringleaders, who were to go to trial on 26 February 1980.^[6] Elections were also scheduled for March 1980.^[5]

Coup

Main article: 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.^[7] PM Arron was then imprisoned on charges of corruption.^[8]

President Johan Ferrier was eventually forced out of office in August 1980,^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

In 1986 Bouterse's soldiers killed at least 39 citizens, mostly children and women, of the Maroon village of Moiwana,^[12] as part of the Surinamese Interior War, which was fought between the soldiers of Bouterse and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk.^[13]

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."^[14]

In 1991, elections returned to Suriname, and the New Front party gained 30 of the 51 parliament seats.^[15] 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] Dési Bouterse himself returned to power as president in 2010.^[17]

National holiday

 

Monument commemorating the coup.

After becoming president of Suriname, Bouterse designated February 25, the anniversary of the day of the coup d’état, as a national holiday.^[17] 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.^[18]

Bouterse's party lost the 2020 election,^[19] and the new government did away with the February 25 public holiday.^[20]

References

1. "The World Factbook". cia.gov. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
2. "BBC News - Timeline: Suriname". bbc.co.uk. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
3. "Henck Arron (1936-2000)". Historiek (in Dutch). December 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
4. "Wat zijn de Decembermoorden". NPO Focus (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 June 2020.
5. "The Kingdom Of The Netherlands In The Caribbean. Suriname 1954 – 2004: Kroniek van een illusie". Rozenberg Quarterly (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 June 2020.
6. Caribbean Review (1980). "The Year of the Sergeants". University of Florida. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
7. Janssen, Roger (2011). In Search of a Path: An Analysis of the Foreign Policy of Suriname from 1975 to 1991. Leiden: Brill. p. 56. ISBN 978-90-04-25367-4. JSTOR 10.1163/j.ctt1w8h0wm.
8. Gunson, Phil (24 January 2001). "Obituary Henck Arron". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
9. De Vries, Paul (15 August 1980). "President Afgezet". Limburgs Dagblad (in Dutch). p. 1 – via Delpher.
10. Kruijt, Dirk (17 December 2020), "Suriname: The National Army in Politics", Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1855, ISBN 978-0-19-022863-7, retrieved 22 February 2023
11. "The Right to Life and the Right to Personal Integrity". Report on the Human Rights Situation in Suriname. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 5 October 1983. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
12. "Suriname apologizes for 1986 massacre - Americas - International Herald Tribune". The New York Times. 16 July 2006. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
13. "Dutch Police arrest man on suspicion of war crimes Surinamese Interior War - News item - Public Prosecution Service". www.prosecutionservice.nl. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
14. Singh, Chaitram (15 April 2008). "Re-democratization in Guyana and Suriname: Critical Comparisons". European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (84): 71–85. doi:10.18352/erlacs.9627. ISSN 1879-4750.
15. "Suriname General Election Results 1991". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
16. "Ronald Venetiaan: 'Ik treed terug om politieke redenen'". Dagblad Suriname (in Dutch). 16 October 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
17. Romero, Simon (3 May 2011). "Returned to Power, a Leader Celebrates a Checkered Past". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
18. "Bouterse eert plegers staatsgreep 1980". Het Parool (in Dutch). 24 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
19. "Suriname's president loses election, leaves economic chaos". Reuters. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
20. "Dag van de Revolutie geen feestdag meer in Suriname". Noordhollands Dagblad (in Flemish). Retrieved 19 February 2023.

External links

• The Year of the Sergeants by Caribbean Review (1980)
• Wentzel, Caroline (9 June 2006). The 8-December Murders in Surinam and United States Reactions During the Early 1980s (PDF) (MA thesis). University of Leiden. Retrieved 22 February 2023.