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Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a sovereign state in northern South America. Situated slightly north of the equator within the tropics, over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforests, the highest proportion of forest cover in the world. Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest country in South America by both population and territory, with around 612,985 inhabitants in an area of approximately 163,820 square kilometers. The capital and largest city is Paramaribo, home to roughly half the population.
After the creation of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Army was entrusted with the defence of Suriname, while the defence of the Netherlands Antilles was the responsibility of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The army set up a separate Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname. Upon independence in 1975, this force was turned into the Surinamese Armed Forces. On February 25, 1980, a group of 15 non-commissioned officers and one junior officer, under the leadership of sergeant major Dési Bouterse, staged a coup d'état and overthrew the Government. Subsequently, the SKM was rebranded as the National Army.
The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.
Desiré Delano Bouterse is a Surinamese military officer, politician, and convicted drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's de facto leader after conducting a military coup and establishing a period of military rule. In 1987, Bouterse founded the National Democratic Party (NDP). On 25 May 2010, Bouterse's political alliance, the Megacombinatie, which included the NDP, won the parliamentary elections, and on 19 July 2010, Bouterse was elected as President of Suriname with 36 of 50 parliament votes. He was inaugurated on 12 August 2010.
The president of the Republic of Suriname is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the head of state and head of government of Suriname, and commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army (SNL). The president also appoints a cabinet.
Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron was a Surinamese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition government, to 25 February 1980. He was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, led by Dési Bouterse. Released in 1981 after charges of corruption were dropped, he returned to banking, his previous career. In 1987, Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname and served until another coup in 1990 overthrew the government.
The December murders were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on December 7 between 2 am and 5 am while sleeping in their homes. The other two were Surendre Rambocus and Jiwansingh Sheombar who were already imprisoned for attempting a countercoup in March 1982. Soldiers of Dési Bouterse took them to Fort Zeelandia, where they were heard as "suspects in a trial" by Bouterse and other sergeants in a self-appointed court. After these "hearings" they were tortured and shot dead. The circumstances remain unclear. On 10 December 1982, Bouterse claimed on national television that all of the detainees had been shot dead "in an attempt to flee".
The Surinamese Interior War was a civil war waged in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the Tucayana Amazonas led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk, whose members originated from the Maroon ethnic group, against the National Army led by then-army chief and de facto head of state Dési Bouterse.
The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup, was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse overthrew the government of Prime Minister Henck Arron with a violent coup d'état. 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, a restriction on the freedom of assembly, a high level of government corruption and the summary executions of political opponents.
Rudi André Kamperveen was a Surinamese football player, sports administrator, politician and businessman.
Netherlands–Suriname relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Netherlands and Suriname. Both nations share historic ties and a common language (Dutch) and are members of the Dutch Language Union.
Emile Linus Alfred Wijntuin was a Surinamese politician who served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Suriname from 1975 until the aftermath of the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état. Wijntuin was a member of the Progressive Surinamese People's Party (PSV).
Paul Bhagwandas was a Suriname battalion commander. He was one of the sergeants who participated in a military coup in Suriname on 25 February 1980. Bhagwandas was the third man in the military dictatorship after Dési Bouterse and Roy Horb and was known as "the executioner of Fort Zeelandia".
Roy Dennis Horb was a Surinamese military officer. He was one of the sergeants who committed a military coup in Suriname on 25 February 1980, and the right hand man of army leader Dési Bouterse.
Yngwe Elstak (1927–2010) was a Surinamese military officer. He was the first commander of the Surinamese Armed Forces, from November 25, 1975, until February 25, 1980.
Surendre Sradhanand "Soerinder" Rambocus was a Surinamese serviceman. For a short period, he was the highest-ranking officer of the Suriname National Army. He was involved in the unsuccessful coup d'état of March 1982 against the then dictator of Suriname, Dési Bouterse, and was executed on 8 December 1982 as one of the December murders.
Baal Indradj Oemrawsingh was a Surinamese professor of biochemistry at the University of Suriname, and member of the National Assembly of Suriname between 1977 and 1980. He was considered the political leader behind the Rambocus Coup of March 1982. He was one of the victims killed by the military regime of Dési Bouterse.
The 1990 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Telephone Coup, was a military coup in Suriname on 24 December 1990. The coup was carried out by the acting commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army (SNL), Police Chief Ivan Graanoogst. As a result of the coup, President Ramsewak Shankar was dismissed from power, and parliament and government were disbanded.
Hans Orlando Prade was a Surinamese diplomat and politician.
The Commander of the Armed Forces is the professional head of the National Army, the military of the Republic of Suriname. The position dates back to the country's independence from the Netherlands in 1975, with the military being named the Surinamese Armed Forces until after the Sergeants' Coup in 1980.
References
- ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Roy Bottse Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ↑ "Valk vroeg mij de macht over te nemen". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden via Delpher (in Dutch). 1 August 1983. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ↑ Caribbean Review (1980). "The Year of the Sergeants". University of Florida. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ↑ "CNN report". Youtube.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ↑ "Surinamers moesten verzet organiseren". Reformatorisch Dagblad via Digibron (in Dutch). 30 March 1984. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ↑ Roy Bottse op MAN-lijst
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