The
Surinamese coup d'état of 1980, usually referred to as the
Sergeants' Coup (Dutch:
De Sergeantencoup), occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants (Dutch:
groep van zestien) led by
Desi 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 Suriname from 1980 until 1991. The dictatorship featured the presence of an evening
curfew, the lack of
freedom of press, a ban on political parties (since 1985), a restriction on the
freedom of assembly, a high level of government corruption and the
summary executions of political opponents.