The 1954 Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands increased the self-governance of the former colonies Suriname and the Dutch Antilles. Matters such as defence, foreign policy and international trade, however, remained under the control of the Dutch government. This meant that the Netherlands continued to hold a major influence on the administration of Suriname. Calls for true independence grew louder throughout the 1960s, and the situation really gained momentum when Suriname’s prime minister Henck Arron announced that the country should be independent by 1975 at the latest. In the run-up to independence, large numbers of Surinamese people moved to the Netherlands due to uncertainty about the future of their country. Every year since independence, Suriname has celebrated it on Srefidensi Dey, a national holiday on 25 November.
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