Destabilization in Suriname 1982

CIA-RDP90-00845R000100180004-4

Attempted Coups and Political Instability in Suriname

There was another attempt, in late October, to overthrow the legitimate and “emerging” socialist government of Suriname. A recent visit by Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and developing relations with the revolutionary governments of Cuba and Nicaragua are provoking domestic and international hostilities from right-wing forces. Since its revolution in early 1980, Suriname has thwarted at least four other major coup attempts that increasingly appear to be tied to the CIA. [CENSORED]

Squeezed between two pro-U.S. countries, Guyana and French Guiana, the tiny nation of Suriname was a Dutch colony until 1975 when political independence was achieved. Economic exploitation continued, however, by the Dutch and North American multinational corporations assisted by the corrupt and inefficient Henck A.E. Arron government. High unemployment, dilapidated housing, low literacy, and poverty characterized the post-independence government, leading to economic and political crises by late 1979. Finally, democratic forces in the military, led by Lt. Colonel Desi Bouterse, took over state power on February 25, 1980, ousting the Arron government.

Major Coup Plots Since 1980

Since that time, four major coup plots have been uncovered:

  • April 1980: A plan to seize power by Army Lieutenant Rambocus was discovered early and those involved arrested.
  • May 1980: Former members of the Arron government and Holland-trained mercenaries also tried to overthrow the government. Again, the plan was found out and the collaborators caught.
  • March 1981: Army Sergeant Major Hawker led an unsuccessful plot to liquidate government leaders.
  • March 10, 1982: Hawker and Rambocus (who had been released from jail) and some other army officers battled for two days with government forces before finally giving up.

According to documents in the possession of the government, the U.S. and Dutch embassies had prior knowledge of all of these counter-revolutionary attacks. [CENSORED]

Right-Wing Destabilization Efforts

In the most recent destabilization attempt, right-wing trade unions led a campaign of strikes, slander, and sabotage. According to the Guyana Mirror of November 7, 1982, they were aided and abetted by the CIA. Formal protests to the U.S. Embassy have been ignored. The campaign had as its final objective a general strike, which the government was able to nip in the bud. (See the Grenada Free West Indian, November 3, 1982.)

Connected to this destabilization campaign were plans for a mercenary-led coup organized by a right-wing group known as the “Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy.” Stanley Joemman, a Surinamese government envoy to Grenada, told a press conference that “15 million Dutch guilders have been set aside” for this operation (Free West Indian, October 16, 1982). This group is being led by Rob Warmer, who is based in Holland and is trying to build support among the 150,000 Surinamese who live there. Mercenaries who are being recruited for this action have previously worked in the Congo, Uganda, and the French Foreign Legion. [CENSORED]

It is no wonder that the Suriname government is comparing the tactics being used against it to those used to destabilize and finally overthrow the progressive governments of Jagan in Guyana, Allende in Chile, and Manley in Jamaica.

December 1982 Coup Attempt

FLASH: As CAIB went to press, reports were just coming in that yet another coup attempt, this time a major one, has been thwarted. On December 8, 1982, approximately 30 to 40 opposition figures were arrested in what appears to have been a last-ditch attempt to overthrow the government. The next day, according to the yet unclear reports in the U.S. press, more than a dozen of the plotters were killed in an abortive escape plot, which may have involved others not rounded up the previous day. Vitriolic reactions from the U.S. State Department stressed that “our entire relationship with Suriname is under review, including our aid program.”

Source:

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Date:
December 1, 1982
Categories:
Desi Bouterse
Tags:
CIA
Boxes:
CIA-RDP90-00845R
Years:
1982
Persons:
Desi Bouterse
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