Day of Liberation and Innovation – February 25, 2025

History of Day of Liberation and Innovation

Formerly Dutch Guiana, Suriname was a plantation colony belonging to the Netherlands and gained independence on November 25, 1975. On February 25, 1980, a military sergeant called Dési Bouterse overthrew the corrupt government of Suriname in a violent coup also known as the “Sergeants’ Coup.” Bouterse, alongside fifteen other military sergeants called the Group of Sixteen, imposed a military dictatorship in the country. Bouterse became the de facto leader and chairman of the ruling National Military Council of Suriname.

On the day of the insurrection, soldiers shot at the Central Police Station, then burned it down. It is now known as a “monument of the Revolution.” The regime imposed an evening curfew and curtailed freedom of the press, allowing only one newspaper to publish under heavy censorship. From 1980 to 1988, a succession of military regimes followed. Bouterse installed titular presidents though he himself remained the de facto leader and controller. The terrible rule, characterized by several human rights violations, lasted from 1980 to 1991.

On December 7 and 8, 1982, the worst of Bouterse’s crimes occurred. Called the ‘December murders,’ 15 prominent men accused of criticizing Bouterse’s military dictatorship or who had a connection to the coup d’état attempt in March of that year were tortured and executed. The group included two lawyers and a journalist. Just one of Bouterse’s many crimes, he ordered soldiers to carry out a massacre on the village of his opponents, killing innocent women and children. He was also convicted in absentia for trafficking cocaine in the Netherlands. In November 2019, Bouterse was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the December murders. He is appealing the conviction.