Wilfred Hawker (1955 – 13 March 1982) was a sergeant-major in the Surinamese

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

who was involved in two unsuccessful coups d'état in the early 1980s. Hawker was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

by the ruling military government for his role in the plots. He was the last person to be legally executed by Suriname.

Events

In February 1980,

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 ...

gained control of Suriname after staging a successful military coup, which he led with fifteen other sergeants. Hawker was a member of the group of sixteen who overthrew the elected government. In August, Bouterse dissolved

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and declared a state of emergency. Hawker disagreed with these actions and he led a right-wing-inspired uprising against Bouterse's régime, which began on 15 March 1981. However, one of Hawker's trusted men leaked the plan and reported the plan to Suriname's Military Intelligence. After the plans were leaked, Hawker and his conspirators were pursued by the military, until Hawker ended up falling into a trap set by the military. Hawker due to being seriously injured, was taken to the hospital. As a result of the uprising, 1 soldier was killed and 3 people linked to the coup were arrested, Hawker himself was arrested some time later after recovering from his injuries. On 11 March 1982, Hawker escaped from prison in the midst of another failed coup, this one led by Surendre Rambocus. Hawker was injured the next day and was taken to a military hospital. Bouterse's soldiers arrested Hawker in the hospital and took him by

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

to Fort Zeelandia. There he was summarily tried and condemned to death for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Hawker was executed by firing squad, which was shown on a Surinamese television broadcast. In November 2007, Surinamese military judge Dhanoesdharie Nankoesing was pressured to resign after the Netherlands, Dutch periodical ''Obsession'' published a photograph of Nankoesing holding a rifle and speaking with Hawker on the stretcher in March 1982 at Fort Zeelandia.Ivan Cairo
"Suriname military judge implicated in 1982 execution"
''Caribbean News Net'', 2007-11-21. Nankoesing denied any involvement in Hawker's trial or executions. He said that he was a Surinamese soldier who carried a weapon as others did.

Notes

References

*Jacqueline West (2002, 10th ed.). ''South America, Central America and the Caribbean'' (New York: Routledge, ) p. 716 *Associated Press
"Rebel Leader's Execution Announced by Suriname"
''New York Times'', 1982-03-14 *David Gillies (1996). ''Between Principle and Practice: Human Rights in North–South Relations'' (Montreal: McGill–Queen's Press, ) p. 63 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawker, Wilfred 1955 births 1982 deaths People executed by Suriname by firing squad Executed Surinamese people People executed for treason against Suriname Surinamese military personnel Coup d'état attempts in South America 20th-century executions for treason