Suriname’s Cabinet Is Ousted
Suriname’s leader, Lieut. Col. Desi Bouterse, has dismissed the civilian Cabinet and canceled tax and price increases that led to widespread industrial unrest.
The colonel announced the resignation of the Government of Prime Minister Errol Alibux in a television broadcast Sunday night.
He said that the resignation of the Cabinet, the fourth since the 1980 coup that brought him to power, had been sought to correct national policy and that a decree canceling recent price increases and tax measures would be published shortly.
Mr. Alibux, 34 years old, was appointed last March. Colonel Bouterse said the Prime Minister had made policy mistakes by failing to consult with the people. Mr. Alibux’s resignation followed intensive talks with trade unions and was aimed at ”finding a fundamental solution to the problems we are facing as a people,” the colonel said.
Higher income taxes to take effect on Jan. 1 prompted strikes three weeks ago by 4,000 bauxite workers and resulted in the closing of the country’s bauxite mining industry.
In his speech, Colonel Bouterse said Suriname was in a crisis and appealed to the bauxite miners to return to work. He described the Cabinet’s resignation as a ”correction of national policy” but said this would not affect Suriname’s nonaligned foreign policy. Bouterse Still in Control
AMSTERDAM, Jan. 8 (Reuters) – Diplomats here speculated that by changing his Government Colonel Bouterse hoped to overcome some of the widespread opposition to his policies.
The diplomats said that the composition of the next Cabinet was not clear, but that Colonel Bouterse was still in full control of Suriname.
A version of this article appears in print on Jan. 10, 1984, Section A, Page 2 of the National edition with the headline: SURINAME’S CABINET IS OUSTED.
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