Thousands of Surinamese gathered on Independence Square in Paramaribo on Friday to protest against the government.
The demonstration, which was calm and organized at first, degenerated into a chaotic situation, especially in the vicinity of the parliament building. Some even managed to storm into parliament. Police fired tear gas and fired warning shots.
A small part of the demonstrators became aggressive and tried to enter the parliament. An arson attempt was also made. Damage has been done to the parliament building and objects in the area. Bottles and stones were also thrown.
Police deployed helicopters to survey the situation. However, it was not possible to completely restore peace. With the shooting in the air by the police, things calmed down on the square, but looting still took place.
The Surinamese government is very angry about the destruction that has been caused. Violent entry into the parliament building in particular is strongly condemned, the government of President Chan Santokhi said in a statement.
Special task force
Santokhi and his government say they are doing everything they can to prevent the rule of law and democratic institutions, such as parliament, from being undermined. The government has set up a special task force to track down those who broke into parliament and caused destruction.
Santokhi says he respects the fundamental freedoms of demonstration and protest, but it must be done in an orderly and peaceful manner. The leaders of these protests will be summoned for questioning, the statement said.
A large part of the Surinamese population is dissatisfied with the austerity measures taken by the government in the past period. Last week, for example, the prices of fuel, gas bottles and internet increased sharply.
A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had not received any information that any Dutch people were injured in the riots.