Suriname Shaken By Labout Unrest
An estimated 4,000 workers have walked off their jobs at Suriname’s two largest industrial enterprises to back demands for talks with Government officials about lowering taxes.
The action, which is being viewed here as a direct challenge to the left- wing military Government of Lieut. Col. Desi Bouterse, has shut down Suriname’s bauxite-processing operations in Paranam, about 20 miles from here. Bauxite, used to make aluminum, is the backbone of the economy of this former Dutch colony on the northern coast of South America, bringing in 80 percent of its foreign earnings.
It is the first labor unrest since 15 opposition political leaders were killed here a year ago after a series of strikes and demands for a return to democratic rule. This time, the workers are protesting higher taxes on Christmas bonuses and tax increases scheduled to take effect in January.
The bauxite workers are the most highly paid, highly skilled and tightly organized in the country, and their action has stopped production at the Suriname Aluminum Company bauxite processing plant and the Billiton Corporation bauxite mine, both in Paranam. Taxes ‘Are Too Much’ The Suriname Aluminum Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America. Billiton is owned by the Royal Dutch Shell Company.
Although mediation efforts have begun, the mood of workers at the Suriname Aluminum Company was defiant.
One striker, standing at the factory gates surrounded by fellow workers, said the taxes ”are too much.” He said the walkout would continue ”until the Government comes and discusses the situation with us.”
The strikes have come when foreign reserves needed to pay for crucial imports such as oil are dwindling. Both the Netherlands and the United States cut off economic aid to the country after the killings last year.
The Dutch granted Suriname independence in 1975, and Colonel Bouterse, a former army sergeant and physical education instructor, has ruled this country of 350,000 inhabitants since seizing power in 1980. Dutch aid of almost $100 million a year represented almost a third of Suriname’s national budget and has proved difficult to replace.
The country’s labor force is highly unionized, represented by four separate federations. Most of the striking workers belong to the C-47 Labor Federation, whose leader, Fred Derby, was the only major leader in last year’s political turmoil to survive the killings. 15 Accused of Plotting
Mr. Derby was arrested by Government soldiers, but was released. The 15 other men arrested, including lawyers, journalists and the leader of the country’s other major union, were accused of plotting to overthrow the Government and were shot.
At first the Government said the men were killed while trying to escape, but officials now say the men were killed for planning a coup, even though no firm evidence of their involvement in such a plot has ever been given.
Since surviving the night of violence, Mr. Derby has reportedly been viewed with suspicion by other unions and even by his own federation. He is thought to have little control over the bauxite workers now striking in Paranam, even though they belong to his union.
”I have to talk to the workers and see what they really want,” Mr. Derby said in an interview. ”I am not sure right now,” . Several People Arrested
In the last year, the authorities have arrested several people, and Colonel Bouterse has said he has put down a number of attempted coups. Some, he said, were backed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.
Supported by a 3,000-man army and people’s militia, the 38-year-old Colonel Bouterse rules by decree through a small group of fellow soldiers and 10 Government ministers. But last month he promised to form a new ”democratic revolutionary” government within the next year, allowing greater participation in decision making and promising a more equitable distribution of the country’s resources.
The colonel had relied on close ties to Cuba for some military aid and training, but in a major policy shift he expelled an estimated 100 Cuban officials on the day the United States invaded Grenada. Western and Latin American diplomats here say the timing was a deeply embarrassing coincidence. They say Colonel Bouterse had decided weeks before the United States invasion to ask the Cubans to leave.
He and his advisers had come to resent increasing Cuban influence in internal policy debates and also were said to have feared possible disunity of the sort that led to the murder of the Grenadian Prime Minister, Maurice Bishop, a close friend of the colonel.
Brazil has partly filled the gap left by Cuba with what a Western diplomat here described as the tacit support of the United States. Brazil has offered some technical assistance and $15 million in military aid and training.
Colonel Bouterse is now believed to be reassessing his position. Despite promises to take control of the country’s economy and natural resources, he has not made any effort to nationalize the American- and Dutch-owned bauxite facilities now closed by striking workers.
A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 22, 1983, Section A, Page 7 of the National edition with the headline: SURINAME SHAKEN BY LABOR UNREST.
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