Protesters storm parliament in Suriname, dozens arrested and injured

Thousands of Surinamese gathered on Independence Square in Paramaribo on Friday to protest against the government. The demonstration, which was initially calm and organized, became increasingly aggressive and degenerated into the storming of the parliament building. As a result, the police used tear gas and fired warning shots.

Totale chaos in Paramaribo, Suriname. Protestacties tegen het beleid van Santokhi en Brunswijk lopen compleet uit de hand. Politie lost schoten en vuurt met traangas. Ook ik ben geraakt. #Suriname #Paramaribo pic.twitter.com/6j2k4xXrkt

— Rinus Baes (@RinusBiglia) February 17, 2023

Possibly dozens of people were involved and invaded the National Assembly. Elsewhere in the city, gas stations and stores were looted. The Surinamese news site Waterkant published video footage showing a man attempting to set fire to a truck loaded with soldiers.

The protesters were angry about Santokhi's policies and the economic crisis in Suriname. Inflation there, for example, is above 54 percent and the country has a high national debt. "Chan, leave," the protesters chanted. Earlier this week, Suriname's smallest ruling party left the ruling coalition out of discontent.

Afterwards, the downtown area of the Surinamese capital Paramaribo was closed on Friday evening (local time) on the orders of the police. Surinamese President Chan Santokhi warned of "incidents in various neighborhoods and districts'' in a televised speech Friday night and said the army and police had been called in to combat them.

The curfew is in effect in in Paramaribo’s city center until 6 a.m. Saturday morning (10 a.m. Dutch time). Residents “are urged not to go out on the streets." In addition, Surinamese authorities have asked shops to remain closed on Saturday as well.

President Chan Santokhi strongly condemned these incidents and said he is doing everything in his power to protect the rule of law and democratic institutions. He has formed a special task force to help find the rioters.

At least fifty people have been arrested and twenty others have been injured after the riots in the Surinamese capital Paramaribo. As far as is known, these are not life-threatening injuries, the authorities reported to news site Starnieuws without giving more details.

The US embassy in Paramaribo condemned the violence and said the attack on the parliament building is also "an unacceptable attack on democracy". The British Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned against the protests in the travel advice for Suriname. A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that it had not received a message that any Dutch people were injured in the riots.

Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) found it "extremely" disturbing that anti-government demonstrators entered the Surinamese parliament building on Friday, he announced on Twitter.

Buitengewoon verontrustende berichten over binnendringers in het Surinaamse parlement. Nederland staat schouder aan schouder met Suriname als het gaat om het hooghouden van democratische waarden en de rechtsstaat.

— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) February 17, 2023

"The Netherlands stands shoulder to shoulder with Suriname when it comes to upholding democratic values and the rule of law," the minister continued.

Furthermore, MP Ruben Brekelmans (VVD) drew the parallel with the stormings of the parliaments of the United States (2021), Iraq (2022) and Brazil (2023). "Increasingly, protesters are storming and vandalizing parliament," he tweeted. "A worrisome development for democracy."

Suriname is a former Dutch colony in South America with over 600,000 inhabitants.