ABSTRACT
Suriname is the central one of the three Guianas, which form an enclave on the north-east coast of Brazil, and is bounded on the east by French Guiana and on the west by Guyana, with which it has a boundary dispute. Area: 163,820sq km (63,251sq miles); capital: Paramaribo; language: Dutch (Sranan, English and Hindi are also spoken); population: 440,000, the majority of ‘East Indian’ descent, the rest mainly Afro-Caribbean; religion: Christian, Hindu, Muslim. Constitution: Legislative power is vested in a directly elected National Assembly, which elects a President as head of state and of government for a five-year term. History: Dutch settlement began in 1602, and an English settlement established in 1651 was ceded to the Dutch in 1667. In 1682 the Dutch West India Co introduced coffee and sugar cane and began to import African slaves to work on the plantations. When slavery was abolished in 1863, indentured labourers were brought from China, Java, and India to work on the plantations, adding to the population mix. During the Napoleonic Wars, when the Netherlands were occupied by France, Suriname briefly came under British rule: 1799-1802, 1804-15. It gained internal autonomy in 1954 and independence in 1975. The armed forces took over government in 1980, led by Sgt-Maj. Désiré (‘Desi’) Bouterse, who pursued a policy of non-alignment and established relations with Cuba. The Netherlands, however, refused to agree to US plans to overthrow him and in 1987 elections were held for a new civilian government. After a further brief military interlude in 1990-91 civilian government was again restored, but Bouterse’s influence continued to be disruptive and Suriname’s role as a transhipment point for illegal drugs caused tension abroad. Latest elections: In elections held on 25 May 2000 the Niewe Front (NF) alliance, led by Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan, won 33 seats in the 51-member National Assembly, which in August 2000 elected Venetiaan as President. International relations and defence: Suriname is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Commonwealth, and the Caribbean Community and Common Market. At independence Suriname inherited an unresolved boundary dispute on the headwaters of the Corantijn river. In June 2000 the navy deployed gunboats to force the Canadian oil company CGX to remove its rigs from waters at the mouth of the Corantijn that are claimed by Suriname. The army numbers only 1,400, the navy 240 and the air force 200.
