DCI Talking Points – Update on Situation in Suriname – 8 March 1983

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Recent events indicate that the radical trend of the Bouterse regime will be accelerated. The new civilian government appointed on 28 February is dominated by two small leftist parties.

The technical positions are dominated by the nationalist/socialist Progressive Workers’ and Farmers’ Union suggesting that the economy will be geared strongly toward socialist ends. The Ministries of Education and “Popular Mobilization” were given to Revolutionary Peoples’ Party (RVP) members. This development is somewhat alarming. The RVP has close links with Cuba and likely will receive Havana’s guidance in politicizing Suriname’s educational system and mobilizing support for Bouterse.

Former Foreign Minister Naarendorp’s standing with Army Commander Bouterse is unclear at present. He accompanied Bouterse to the Nonaligned meeting in New Delhi as the Army Commander’s special advisor, but currently holds no official position.

A government-sponsored march was held on 4 March 1983 as part of Bouterse’s “Anti-Mercenary” Campaign. Partially a protest against alleged Dutch support for anti-Bouterse mercenaries, the event demonstrated several incipient domestic trends:

  • Students and some civil servants were required to participate in the march. There is some evidence that attendance was taken in the case of the students. These methods of inducing popular participation in government-sponsored events appear to be signs of government coercion.
  • An inordinate number of the march participants were young (13-15 years of age), black males. Reports indicated that a similar crowd attended the anniversary celebration of the revolution at the Presidential palace last week and suggested that Bouterse might be the best prospect this group has for upward mobility. If the regime can successfully cultivate this group, the support base of the “revolution” will be broadened and strengthened.
  • Members of the RVP were dominant in organizing and running the demonstration. Rhetoric and propaganda flowed freely in their speeches to rally support. The RVP appears to be acting swiftly to draw new adherents into their ranks and is concentrating on Suriname’s youth.

Bouterse’s attendance at the Nonaligned meeting probably…

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