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The Surinamese Interior War ( nl, Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
waged in the
Sipaliwini District Sipaliwini is the largest district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. History Sipaliwini was created ...
of
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...
between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the
Tucayana Amazonas The Tucayana Amazonas was an Amerindian guerrilla commando group in Suriname. Prior to the Tucayana Amazonas, many of the fighters had been soldiers during the Surinamese Interior War who fought on the side of the National Army against the Jungle ...
led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by
Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...
, whose members originated from the
Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...
ethnic group, against the National Army led by then-army chief and de facto head of state
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 facto ...
.


Background

Suriname has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in South America, with people of ethnic Indian (South Asian), Javanese, Chinese, European, Amerindian, African (Creole and Maroon), and multiracial origin. The Maroons' ancestors were African slaves who escaped from coastal Suriname between the mid-seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries to form independent settlements in the interior. They settled in interior parts of Suriname, and gained independence by signing a peace treaty with the Dutch in the 1760s. The Dutch were unable to conquer them and agreed to allow them autonomy within their territory. In 1975 Suriname gained full independence from the Netherlands.
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 facto ...
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. The Surinamese Interior War started in
Stolkertsijver Stolkertsijver is a town in the Commewijne District of Suriname. It is situated on the East-West Link. At Stolkertsijver, a bridge spanning the Commewijne River was built in 1970s. The village was named after the Stolkertsijver plantation, a ...
on 22 July 1986 at around 03:00. 12 soldiers guarding the checkpoint were captured. Later that night, an armed group opened fire on the
army barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
in Albina. The fighting lasted three hours, and one soldier and two civilians were wounded. Later it was confirmed that the Jungle Commando headed by
Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...
was behind both attacks. The National Army responded by destroying the temple in
Moengotapoe Moengotapoe is a resort in Suriname, located in the Marowijne District. Its population at the 2012 census was 579. The village of Moengotapoe was not spared during the Surinamese Interior War, because it was the home of Brunswijk at the time. On ...
, and capturing all males present. In November 1986, military forces attacked
Moiwana Moiwana is a Maroon village in the Marowijne district in the east of Suriname. The village was the scene of the on November 29, 1986, during the Suriname Guerrilla War between the Surinamese military regime, headed by Dési Bouterse, and the Jung ...
, 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. More than 100 survivors fled across the border to French Guiana. On 1 June 1989 rebels captured
Afobaka Dam The Afobaka Dam is an embankment dam with a main gravity dam section on the Suriname River near Afobaka in Brokopondo District of Suriname. The primary purpose of the dam is to generate hydroelectric power and it supports a 180 MW power station ...
, Suriname's main hydroelectric plant, and threatened to flood the capital
Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's po ...
unless the government agreed to negotiations. Despite the threats, the rebels withdrew 36 hours later on Brunswijk's orders. 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. 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. A group of
indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
felt betrayed by the 1989 Treaty of Kourou, which gave the
Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...
more rights, but neglected indigenous rights. On 31 August 1989, they took possession of the ferry near
Jenny Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...
and called themselves the
Tucayana Amazonas The Tucayana Amazonas was an Amerindian guerrilla commando group in Suriname. Prior to the Tucayana Amazonas, many of the fighters had been soldiers during the Surinamese Interior War who fought on the side of the National Army against the Jungle ...
. The group went on to take possession of the villages of
Apoera Apoera, also Apura, is a town in western Suriname. The village has a population of 777 people as of 2020. It is the final destination of the Southern East-West Link. north-west on the other side of the Courantyne River lies the Guyanese village ...
,
Washabo Washabo is a town in Suriname, located in the Kabalebo resort of Sipaliwini district. The town lies on a bend in the Corantijn river (Courantyne), on the border with Guyana. Washabo is an indigenous village of the Lokono tribe near Apoera. It ...
, and finally Bigi Poika where they set up their headquarters. The Tucayana Amazonas were headed by Thomas Sabajo and his brother Hugo "Piko". In-fighting occurred and Thomas switched sides to the Surinamese Army which quickly moved in to regain control over the area. Piko fled to
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
, but was arrested by the police in February 1990, and returned to Suriname where Piko and his supporters were killed. Cease-fire violations continued after the truce without escalating into a full-scale conflict. But by September 1989, at least 300 people had been killed, numerous villages were destroyed, and bauxite mining operations were being disrupted. An estimated 7000 maroons fled to refugee camps in
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...
. On 19 March 1991, a meeting between representatives took place in the eastern mining town of
Moengo Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne Distr ...
. The government offered integration of Jungle Commando into the Suriname Army, and jobs for Maroons in gold prospecting and forestry in return for complete disarmament. On 27 March 1991, final talks were held in the town of Drietabbetje, effectively putting an end to the conflict. Despite the agreement, a number of Jungle Commando officials residing in the Netherlands denounced the conditions and vowed to continue their armed struggle. On 8 August 1992, a peace treaty was signed between the National Army, the Jungle Commando, and the Tucayana Amazonas.


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 December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...
). 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. On 29 November 1986, the military government executed more than 40 people, including women and children, and burned the village of
Moiwana Moiwana is a Maroon village in the Marowijne district in the east of Suriname. The village was the scene of the on November 29, 1986, during the Suriname Guerrilla War between the Surinamese military regime, headed by Dési Bouterse, and the Jung ...
. 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 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'' ...
(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. On 23 April 1987, the war had come to Sipaliwini. The Jungle Commando headed by Ronnie Brunswijk ordered the villagers of Pokigron into the jungle, robbed them of their possessions, and burned their houses. On 11 September 1987, the National Army led by Dési Bouterse, retaliated by attacking the Jungle Commando, and according to a report by Aide Médicale Internationale, killed civilians including women and children. Both parties have denied that any civilians had been killed. On 27 September 1989, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights looked into the matter, declared that this constituted a very serious violation of the Right to Life, recommended that the
Government of Suriname Politics of Suriname take place in a framework of a representative democratic assembly-independent republic, whereby the president of Suriname is the head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is ...
investigate the matter, and that the relatives of the victims are entitled to fair compensation. The IACHR identified 15 cases of deaths, four disappearances and one was unclear. Six of the cases were children, and three were women of which one was raped before she was killed. On 31 December 1987, during a counter-insurgency operation in the Atjoni region seven Maroon civilians were driven off in a military vehicle on suspicion of belonging to the Jungle Commando. A few kilometers further, they were ordered to dig their own graves. Six of the Maroons were summarily executed while the seventh died from sustained injuries while trying to escape. An IACHR investigation into the case was launched in January 1988. On 10 September 1993 the court awarded the victims' families U.S.$450,000 in damages and required Suriname to compensate the families for the expenses incurred in locating the victims' bodies. A second decision further determined the financial reparations insufficient, ordering the state to re-open the
Saramaca The Saramaka, Saamaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon (people), Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-Ameri ...
medical dispensary and the school in the victims' village.


References


Sources

* Vries, E. de: ''Suriname na de binnenlandse oorlog'', Amsterdam 2005: KIT Publishers, * Hoogbergen, W. & D. Kruijt: ''De oorlog van de sergeanten: Surinaamse militairen in de politiek'', Amsterdam 2005: Bakker, *


External links


VPRO Wereldnet, dinsdag 6 september 2005
* Oneworld
Binnenlandse oorlog


{{Suriname topics Civil wars involving the states and peoples of South America Conflicts in 1986 Conflicts in 1987 Conflicts in 1988 Conflicts in 1989 Conflicts in 1990 Conflicts in 1991 Conflicts in 1992 History of Suriname Guerrilla wars Surinamese Maroons Wars involving Suriname 1980s in Suriname 1990s in Suriname 1986 in Suriname 1987 in Suriname 1988 in Suriname 1989 in Suriname 1990 in Suriname 1991 in Suriname 1992 in Suriname