SURINAME
On 19 July 2010, Bouterse returned to power when he was elected as the president of Suriname.[45] Before his election in 2010, he, along with 24 others, had been charged with the murders of 15 prominent dissidents in the December murders. However, in 2012, two months before the verdict in the trial, the National Assembly extended its amnesty law and provided Bouterse and the others with amnesty of these charges. He was reelected on 14 July 2015.[46] However, Bouterse was convicted by a Surinamese court on 29 November 2019 and given a 20-year sentence for his role in the 1982 killings.[47]
After winning the 2020 elections,[48] Chan Santokhi was the sole nomination for president of Suriname.[49] On 13 July, Santokhi was elected president by acclamation in an uncontested election.[50] He was inaugurated on 16 July in a ceremony without public attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[51]
In February 2023, there were heavy protests against rising living costs in the capital Paramaribo. Protesters accused the government of President Chan Santokhi of corruption. They stormed the National Assembly, demanding the government to resign. However, the government condemned the protests.[52]
Politics[edit]
Main article: Politics of Suriname
The Republic of Suriname is a representative democratic republic, based on the Constitution of 1987. The legislative branch of government consists of a 51-member unicameral National Assembly, simultaneously and popularly elected for a five-year term.
In the elections held on Tuesday 25 May 2010, the Megacombinatie won 23 of the National Assembly seats, followed by Nationale Front with 20 seats. A much smaller number, important for coalition-building, went to the “A-combinatie” and to the Volksalliantie. The parties held negotiations to form coalitions. Elections were held on 25 May 2015, and the National Assembly again elected Dési Bouterse as president.[53]
The president of Suriname is elected for a five-year term by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. If at least two-thirds of the National Assembly cannot agree to vote for one presidential candidate, a People’s Assembly is formed from all National Assembly delegates and regional and municipal representatives who were elected by popular vote in the most recent national election. The president may be elected by a majority of the People’s Assembly called for the special election.
As head of government, the president appoints a sixteen-minister cabinet. A vice president is normally elected for a five-year term at the same time as the president, by a simple majority in the National Assembly or People’s Assembly. There is no constitutional provision for removal or replacement of the president, except in the case of resignation.
The judiciary is headed by the High Court of Justice of Suriname (Supreme Court). This court supervises the magistrate courts. Members are appointed for life by the president in consultation with the National Assembly, the State Advisory Council, and the National Order of Private Attorneys.
Foreign relations[edit]
Main article: Foreign relations of Suriname
Due to Suriname’s Dutch colonial history, Suriname had a long-standing special relationship with the Netherlands.
In 1999, Dési Bouterse was convicted and sentenced in absentia in the Netherlands to 11 years of imprisonment for drug trafficking. He was the main suspect in the court case concerning the December murders, the 1982 assassination of opponents of military rule in Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo. He served as president between 2010 and 2020. These two cases still strain relations between the Netherlands and Suriname.[54]
The Dutch government stated during that time that it would maintain limited contact with the president.[54]
Bouterse was elected as president of Suriname in 2010. The Netherlands in July 2014 dropped Suriname as a member of its development program.[55]
Since 1991, the United States has maintained positive relations with Suriname. The two countries work together through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Suriname also receives military funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.[56]
Suriname has been a member of The Forum of Small States (FOSS) since the group’s founding in 1992.[57]
European Union relations and cooperation with Suriname are carried out both on a bilateral and a regional basis. There are ongoing EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and EU-CARIFORUM dialogues. Suriname is party to the Cotonou Agreement, the partnership agreement among the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union.[58][59]
On 17 February 2005, the leaders of Barbados and Suriname signed the “Agreement for the deepening of bilateral cooperation between the Government of Barbados and the Government of the Republic of Suriname.”[60] On 23–24 April 2009, both nations formed a Joint Commission in Paramaribo, Suriname, to improve relations and to expand into various areas of cooperation.[61] They held a second meeting toward this goal on 3–4 March 2011, in Dover, Barbados. Their representatives reviewed issues of agriculture, trade, investment, as well as international transport.[62]
In the late 2000s, Suriname intensified development cooperation with other developing countries. China’s South-South cooperation with Suriname has included a number of large-scale infrastructure projects, including port rehabilitation and road construction. Brazil signed agreements to cooperate with Suriname in education, health, agriculture, and energy production.[63]
Military[edit]
Main article: Military of Suriname
The Armed Forces of Suriname have three branches: the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The president of the Republic is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (Opperbevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten). The president is assisted by the minister of defence. Beneath the president and minister of defence is the commander of the armed forces (Bevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten). The military branches and regional military commands report to the commander.
After the creation of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Army was entrusted with the defense of Suriname, while the defense of the Netherlands Antilles was the responsibility of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The army set up a separate Troepenmacht in Suriname (Forces in Suriname, TRIS). Upon independence in 1975, this force was turned into the Surinaamse Krijgsmacht (SKM):, Surinamese Armed Forces. After the 1980 overthrow of the government, the SKM was rebranded as the Nationaal Leger (NL), National Army.
In 1965, the Dutch and Americans used Suriname’s Coronie site for multiple Nike Apache sounding rocket launches.[64]
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