Suriname's Sergeants' Coup
Suriname became independent in 1975 on terms that included a large Dutch development package, and roughly a third of the population emigrated to the Netherlands around independence, taking much of the professional class. The civilian government was weak and the coup, mounted over a dispute about a military union, met little resistance. Bouterse's National Military Council suspended the constitution and ruled through a succession of nominal civilian frontmen. On 8 December 1982 fifteen critics were taken to Fort Zeelandia and killed. The Netherlands and the United States suspended aid immediately, and the economy contracted sharply. An interior war against Maroon insurgents followed from 1986. Elections returned in 1987, though Bouterse mounted a further coup in 1990 and remained a dominant figure, serving as elected president from 2010 to 2020 and later being convicted for the December murders.
- Year: 1980 CE
- Category: Political
