Fred Ormskerk


Frederik Ferdinand "Fred" Ormskerk was a Surinamese military leader. He was awarded many honors for his military services in Indonesia and Korea. After a KNIL training at Camp Casino, Australia, he arrived in Batavia. Here he became a soldier in the newly formed Korps Speciale Troepen, led by Captain Westerling. He was nicknamed Bikkel, which means "stud".
In February 1980, the coup d'état led by Dési Bouterse took place in Suriname. Ormskerk originally wanted to launch a counter-coup on April 30, but failed and he was put in prison, and then tortured and eventually slain. Decades after this tragedy occurred, the alleged failed coup is still shrouded in fog.

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