Surinamese Interior War
Surinamese Interior War | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
National Army |
Jungle Commando Tucayana Amazonas | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lachmipersad Frederik Ramdat Misier Ramsewak Shankar Johan Kraag Ronald Venetiaan Dési Bouterse |
Ronnie Brunswijk Thomas Sabajo | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
60 jungle commandos | |||||||
At least 300 civilians were killed[1] |
History of Suriname |
---|
Suriname portal |
The Surinamese Interior War (
Background
Suriname has one of the
In 1975 Suriname gained full independence from the Netherlands. Dési Bouterse participated in building a national army. Five years later, in 1980, he and fifteen other army sergeants led a bloody coup against the country's Government. Bouterse eventually consolidated all power. In 1987 he directed the National Assembly to adopt a new constitution that allowed him to continue as head of the army, as a civilian government was established under close watch.
Conflict
The war began as a personal feud between Bouterse and Brunswijk, a Maroon who had served as Bouterse's bodyguard. It later assumed political dimensions. Brunswijk demanded democratic reforms, civil rights, and economic development for the country's Maroon minority.[1]
The Surinamese Interior War started in
In November 1986, military forces attacked Moiwana, home village of Brunswijk. They massacred 35 people, mostly women and children. They destroyed most of the village, burning down Brunswijk's house and others.[7] More than 100 survivors fled across the border to French Guiana.[8]
On 1 June 1989 rebels captured Afobaka Dam, Suriname's main hydroelectric plant, and threatened to flood the capital Paramaribo unless the government agreed to negotiations. Despite the threats, the rebels withdrew 36 hours later on Brunswijk's orders.[1] On 7 June 1989 talks were held on the island of Portal. The delegations reached an agreement on a tentative peace proposal. The government signed the pact on 21 July 1989, which was approved by parliament on 7 August 1989. The accord declared the intention of both sides to end hostilities.[1]
A cease-fire was signed in June 1989. An emergency aid program to rebuild Maroon villages, an end to a state of emergency in the eastern part of the country, and the return of refugees to Suriname were among the actions launched by the peace agreement. The government had proposed that the Jungle Commando troops were to be transformed into a security unit, to patrol the interior of the country.[1]
A group of
Cease-fire violations continued after the truce without escalating into a full-scale conflict.[14] But by September 1989, at least 300 people had been killed, numerous villages were destroyed, and
On 19 March 1991, a meeting between representatives took place in the eastern mining town of
On 8 August 1992, a peace treaty was signed between the National Army, the Jungle Commando, and the Tucayana Amazonas.[15]
War crimes
On 7 and 8 December 1982, military policemen kidnapped 15 men from their beds, most of them civilians, placed them on a bus and then murdered them after conspiracy charges were lodged against them (see the December murders). The victims were all members of the Suriname Association for Democracy, a group critical of the Surinamese military government. The group, according to government officials, was part of a conspiracy that was planning a coup d'état on Christmas Day. The state later admitted of conducting inadequate investigations into the case. An investigation began in 2008. Despite accepting political responsibility, Bouterse denied direct involvement.[16]
On 29 November 1986, the military government executed more than 40 people, including women and children, and burned the village of Moiwana. Three years after the attack, a statement was issued, in which Bouterse assumed direct responsibility for the murders. As a result of an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) investigation, the Surinamese government made a public apology to the victims' families in 2006, additionally paying compensation to the survivors. The perpetrators of the crime remained unpunished.[16]
On 23 April 1987,
On 31 December 1987, during a counter-insurgency operation in the
References
- ^ LA Times. Associated Press. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-135-95494-9.
- ^ Jacques Arends; Margot van den Berg. "The Saramaka Peace Treaty in Sranan: An edition of the 1762 text (including a copy of the original manuscript)". Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ "Leger Suriname zoekt gijzelaars". Reformatorisch Dagblad via Digibron (in Dutch). 26 July 1986. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
The newspaper article of 26 July - four days later - stated that it was assumed that Brunswijk was behind the attack
- ^ "Leger Suriname zoekt gijzelaars". Reformatorisch Dagblad via Delpher. 26 July 1986. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "The Kingdom Of The Netherlands In The Caribbean. Suriname 1954 – 2004: Kroniek van een illusie". Rozenberg Quarterly (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Suriname 2003 report". Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ "Distrikt Marowijne". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Sranan. Cultuur in Suriname". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 1992. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Het vergeten verhaal van de Tucajana's". De Ware Tijd via Nickerie.net (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Boven 2006, p. 197.
- ^ a b "Desi Bouterse". Amnesty International (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "25 Jaar geleden - 12 – 17 februari 1990". Dagblad De West (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ NY Times. Reuters. March 27, 1991. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ Boven 2006, p. 207.
- ^ a b "Suriname: Justice Under Fire". Council on Hemispheric Affairs Report. June 14, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ a b "De ondergang van een Surinaams bosnegerdorp". Terdege via Delpher (in Dutch). 2 January 1991. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ "Leger Suriname zoekt gijzelaars". Reformatorisch Dagblad via Delpher. 26 July 1986. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Franse artsen melden nieuw bloedbad in dorp Suriname". Reformatorisch Dagblad via Delpher (in Dutch). 29 September 1987. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ "Tjongalangapassie victims v. Surin., Case 10.124, Inter-Am. C.H.R., Report No. 22/89, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.76, doc. 10 (1988-1989)" (PDF). World Courts. 27 September 1989.
- ^ Washington College of Law, American University. Archived from the originalon March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
Sources
- Vries, Ellen de: Suriname na de binnenlandse oorlog, Amsterdam 2005: KIT Publishers, ISBN 90-6832-499-3
- Hoogbergen, W. & D. Kruijt: De oorlog van de sergeanten: Surinaamse militairen in de politiek, Amsterdam 2005: Bakker, ISBN 90-351-2998-9
- Boven, Karin M. (2006). Overleven in een Grensgebied: Veranderingsprocessen bij de Wayana in Suriname en Frans-Guyana (PDF). Amsterdam: Rozenberg Publishers.