Surinam

Surinam A Dutch colony, north of Brazil, under the name of Dutch Guyana from 1667, during the nineteenth century it consisted largely of sugar plantations. After the abolition of slavery, the plantations' demand for labour was filled by the organized immigration of mainly Hindu but also Muslim Indians (until 1918), and subsequently by Muslims from the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia). The colony received some limited self-government in 1867, but the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II interrupted ties with the Netherlands and increased demands for independence. In response, universal suffrage was granted in 1949, whereupon three major parties formed, each representing the three major ethnic communities: Creole, Indian, and Indonese. In 1954 Surinam received full autonomy as an equal part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. Politics came to be dominated by the Creole National Party of Suriname (Nationale Partij Suriname), which ruled in conjunction with the United Hindu Party (Verenigde Hindoostaanse Partij). Independence in 1975 was accompanied by a Dutch assistance programme worth $1.5 billion, though in the long run its economy was significantly weakened by the emigration of a total of 140,000 Surinamese to the Netherlands.

The army commander, Desi Bouterse, staged a military coup in 1980, and formally assumed power in 1982. This led to the suspension of Dutch aid, which, together with the social unrest triggered off by political repression and economic decline, forced the military to agree to elections in 1988. Bouterse remained in charge of the army and staged another coup in 1990. His party lost the 1991 elections, which gave a majority to the Front for Democracy and Development (FDD), a new party which sought to appeal across ethnic lines. In 1993 its leader, President Ronald R. Venetiaan, managed to subordinate the military to civilian leadership. Although it continued to be the largest party, the FDD lost the 1996 elections to the National Democratic Party, which formed a coalition government under Jules Wijdenbosch as President. Under Wijedenbosch, however, the economy deteriorated further, and in 2000 he was forced to succumb to domestic pressure and call early elections. These were won by the FDD, with Venetiaan returning to the presidency.