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 , image = , alt = , caption = , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto = , founded = 1975 , current_form = , disbanded ...

(SNL), Police Chief

Ivan Graanoogst Ivan Graanoogst is a Surinamese soldier and politician. He was the acting military ruler of Suriname from 24 December 1990 to 29 December 1990, after a military coup overthrew the democratic government of President Ramsewak Shankar. Biography G ...

. As a result of the coup, President

Ramsewak Shankar Ramsewak Shankar (born 6 November 1937) is a Surinamese politician who was the 4th President of Suriname, serving from 1988 to 1990. His government was overthrown by Dési Bouterse leading a bloodless military coup. Shankar had previously served ...

was dismissed from power, and parliament and government were disbanded.

Background

On 25 February 1980, a military coup d'état occurred in Suriname that was organized by Senior Sergeant

Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse (; born 13 October 1945) is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's ''de fact ...

. Bouterse started to rule Suriname like a dictator, heading the

National Military Council The Military Affairs Commission (MAC) of the National Government, chaired by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, directed the command of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China ...

(promoting himself to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest rank in the SNL). He dissolved the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, suspended the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, imposed a state of emergency in the country, and created a special

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

that considered the cases of members of the previous government. In 1987, Bouterse agreed to reinstate the constitution and hold an election if he remained the head of the SNL. However, in the November 1987 general election, his National Democratic Party received only 3 of 51 seats in the National Assembly, and the opposition received 40. The presidential election, held on 25 January 1988, was won by

, who was disliked by the SNL, and

Henck Arron Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron (25 April 1936 – 4 December 2000) was 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 gover ...

, who was overthrown during the 1980 coup, was appointed prime minister. Tension between the government and the SNL was growing. On 22 December 1990, Bouterse resigned as commander-in-chief and stated that he could not fulfill the role of a clown who "does not have pride and dignity." He was temporarily succeeded by Graanoogst.

Coup

On 24 December 1990, around midnight Suriname Time ( UTC−03:00), Graanoogst told President Shankar by telephone that he was being deposed and that he and his government "had better stay home." On 27 December, the government was dismissed, the National Assembly was dissolved, and

Johan Kraag Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

was appointed as president on 29 December. On 31 December, Bouterse was reappointed as commander-in-chief of the SNL.

World reactions

The

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

reacted negatively to the coup and stopped allocating funds for the development of Suriname. Only after the inauguration of President Ronald Venetiaan in 1991 did relations between Suriname and the Netherlands improve significantly. Because the international community perceived the coup negatively, the SNL was forced under international pressure to hold the May 1991 general election with the participation of international observers.

Consequences

Less than a year later, Lieutenant Colonel Bouterse again transferred power to the civilian government, which was again led by the opposition. Since then, Suriname has been governed by coalition government. From 1991 to 1996, the president was Ronald Venetiaan, an opponent of Bouterse. During the 2010 presidential election, Bouterse was elected president.

References

Bibliography

* Aniel P. Bangoer: De telefooncoup: grondwet, recht en macht in Suriname, Uitg. Bangoer, Zoetermeer, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:1990 Surinamese coup d'etat Military coups in Suriname History of Suriname Political history of Suriname Military history of Suriname 1990 in Suriname December 1990 events in South America Conflicts in 1990 1990s coups d'état and coup attempts