De Ware Tijd: “‘Not National Guard but People’s Militia’; Training of Volunteers Starts 30 May” -format

Bouterse on Founding, Role of People’s Militia

Latin America Report No. 2717 – August 1983 – ADA348313

Paramaribo DE WARE TIJD in Dutch 23 May 83 p 1

[Article: “Commander: ‘Not National Guard but People’s Militia’; Training of
Volunteers Starts 30 May”]

[Text] Paramaribo, 22/5 (SNA) – At a meeting of some hundreds of volunteers
Saturday noon in the Memre Boekoe barracks, Commander Bouterse announced the
official start of the people’s militia.

Members of the council of ministers were also present at the meeting, which
was preceded by a film-show of the mercenary invasion at the Bay of Pigs (Cuba)
in 1961 and by an appearance of the theatergroup Mofo and the poet Dobru.

500 a Week

The training of the many thousand volunteers who have already enlisted themselves , starts 30 May and will be carried out at the rate of 500 persons a
week. The final realisation of the people’s militia, asked for by various
strata of the population, were greeted with enthusiasm by those present.
Throughout our whole history since Kaikusi we have known different kinds of
people’s militia, according to the commander’s speech. But, while in the case
of Kaikusi and the maroons it concerned the organization and armament of the
people against the oppression, the Home Guard and National Guard established
by the colonial government were merely instruments to defend the interests
of colonialism and the privileged groups.

Vaillant’s Resolution
The leader of the revolution cited a resolution from 1816 of the Dutch governor
Vaillant, in which a home guard of whites, colored and free blacks was established. Not only the racist character of the Dutch colonialism was expressed
in this resolution, but it also appeared that the National Guard had to defend
the colonial interests.
The people’s militia is the armed people who defend their own revolution, their
own independence and sovereignty, according to the commander. And a big difference with the Home Guard and the National Guard is, he said, that the militia
is voluntary.

Political Character
The commander stressed the political character of the people’s militia.
Members of the people’s militia can only be those who actually dedicate themselves to the people’s interests, wherever they live, work or are organized.
The people’s militia is nothing mysterious, nothing which has to be hidden,
but something for which one openly comes out and of which one is proud, according to Commander Bouterse. He who does not consistently fight for the rights
of the poor, who is not an exemplary revoluntionary, cannot belong to the
militia. The leader of the revolution made clear that the militia knows no
political tendencies and organizations. The militia is one and indivisible
and is the concrete liaison between the people and its army. Finally, according to the commander, besides the military preparation the political schooling
is of essential importance to the whole purpose of the militia.

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Date:
May 23, 1983
Categories:
Desi Bouterse
Tags:
1983
Boxes:
Press
Years:
1983
Persons:
Desi Bouterse
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CSO: 3214/37

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