Guerrilla War in Suriname 1990-1992

Bouterse remained head of the army and, in 1989, refused to accept the conditions of a peace signed by Brunswijk and Suriname's representative in Kourou in neighboring French Guiana. Many of Suriname's native Indians also opposed the settlement, fearing that the army's withdrawal from the ethnic Bush Negroe's regions in the east (agreed to by the government) would threaten their security. In 1990, the army retook control of Moengo and Langatabbetje, on the Suriname-French Guiana border; in 1991, Bouterse and Brunswijk agreed to a cease-fire. The two principle guerrilla factions -- the Surinamese Liberation Army or Jungle Commando (led by Brunswijk) and the Tucayana Amazonas (led by Thomas Sabajo) -- finally stopped fighting in May 1992. They and other rebels signed a peace treaty with the government, which granted a general amnesty and integration of rebels into the civilian police. At Moengo on August 24, 1992, Brunswijk was the first to lay down his arms before mediators from the Organization of American States (OAS).

On Dec. 24, 1990, military leaders once again seized control of the government.

In response to external political pressure from the United States, The Netherlands, France, and the Organization of American States, elections were held on May 25, 1991. The New Front for Democracy and Development, which included the old Front and the Suriname Labour Party (Surinaamse Partij van de Arbeid; SPA), won a majority of seats in the National Assembly and was soon able to pass an act that officially deprived the military of all political power. The New Front government also signed an agreement with the JC and the Tucayana in August 1992 regarding repatriation of Bush Negroes from French Guiana. The Netherlands and the United States resumed development aid. Increasingly, however, foreign governments, especially the United States, worried about the growing role of Suriname as a main transit port for cocaine and the alleged role of the military in drug trafficking.

References

Dictionary of Wars, 477; Suriname.

Category

TBD

Region

TBD

State(s)

TBD

Belligerents

TBD

Dispute

TBD

Initiation Date

TBD

Termination Date

TBD

Duration

TBD

Outcome

TBD

Fatalities

TBD

Magnitude

TBD