1. 1
CONSOCIALITIONISM IN SURINAME 1940-1990
EDUARDO D. GARCIA
HISTORY 132: TOPICS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY: NETHERLANDS
PROFESSOR RUTGER VAN DER HOEVEN

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INTRODUCTION
Suriname is located is on the northeastern Atlantic coast that is bordered by the French
Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is geographically in South
America, but it is considered a Caribbean country. It is considered a culturally Caribbean
because of its history as a plantation colony to the Netherlands. Suriname is also part of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which promotes economic integration and cooperation
between the fifteen members. Also, they coordinate economic development, development
planning, devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its
jurisdiction; operating as a regional single market for many of its members (Caricom Single
Market); and handling regional trade disputes. Suriname achieved their independence from the
Netherlands on November 25, 1975. Five years later, Suriname went under a tumultuous coup
led by Sergeant Desi Bouterse. Suriname is also known as a very diverse area with different
ethnicities and cultures.
Suriname is derived of many ethnic groups. The Amerindians are the indigenous
population of Suriname which is divided into mini groups.1 The Carib, Arawak, Waiyana, Trio,
Wayarikule, Wama, and the Akuliyo make up the Amerindian population.2 Another group are
the Bush Negroes who are descendants of the slaves who worked in the Surinamese plantations.
What makes them different from the Creoles is that the Bush Negroes descendants were runaway
slaves that went off to create maroon communities.3 Another subsection of the African
population of Suriname is the Creoles. The Creoles stayed in the plantations until their
emancipation in 1863.4 The abolition of slavery occurred in July 1, 1863 but a caveat was set.5
The caveat being that the freed slaves had to stay under the State’s supervision. The Hindustanis
in Suriname came from contract laborers who arrived between 1873 and 1917.6 They usually
1
Edward M. Dew, The Difficult Flowering of Surinam: Ethnicity and Politics in a Plural Society (The Hague, NL:
Martinus Nijhoff,1978),pg. 4.
2
Ibid.
3
Dew, The Difficult Flowering of Suriname, pg 5-6
4
F.E.M Mitrasing,Suriname Land of Seven People: Social Mobility in a Plural Society an Ethno-historical Study
(Paramaibo,Suriname:F.E.M Mitrasing,1980),pg. 45
5
Mitrasing,Suriname: Land of Seven People, pg. 45
6
Dew, The Difficult Flowering of Surinam, pg. 7

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came from the North-Eastern Provinces of India.7 The Javanese came to Suriname as contract
laborers from 1890 and 1933.8 They were brought to replace the Hindustanis on the sugar
plantation.9 Indonesia was an important part of the Dutch Empire. There was an Indonesian
independence movement which saw over 100,000 Dutch soldiers fight in a faraway land. 2,500
men were lost in the Indonesian conflict. By 1949, the Indonesians achieved their independence .
Other groups include the Chinese, Japanese, and the Jews. Suriname is a diverse nation
ethnically and they used consociationalism to run their political system and by using this system
they managed to stay stable until the 1980 coup d’etat.
CONSOCIATIONALISM/POLITICAL PARTIES
Edward M. Dew defines consociationalism as, “government by a multiparty, multiethnic,
“elite cartel.”10 The Netherlands also had a similar government structure. Pillarization is an
important Dutch construct. Pillarization is defined as “an effort to keep peace by giving different
groups their own social space.”11 Different groups such as Catholics and Protestants have their
own schools, political parties, stores, and even radio broadcast stations. The Dutch political
system relies on coalitions. The coalition politics is similar to consociationalism. Coalition
politics are there for different parties to unite for a certain issue and try to resolve it through
consensus. Suriname, like their former metropole, has multiple parties that were formed during
the early to mid 20th century. They used consociationalism to be a united nation and not
succumbed to political turmoil by the time of their independence. Surinamese political parties
depend on their ethnicities and/or their religious affiliations.
Suriname had the right to ruled themselves due to the Kingdom of Statute of 1954.12
Political parties were already created by the Creoles. They organized themselves in the Nationale
Partij Suriname (NPS).13 The NPS were mostly Protestant.14 There was a smaller Creole
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
Edward M. Dew, The Trouble of Suriname, 1975-1993 (Westport, CT: Prager’s Publishers),pg.1
11
Russell Shorto,Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City (New York, NY: Doubleday, 2013), pg. 266
12
Dew, The Difficult Flowering of Surinam, pg. 100
13
Dew, The Trouble of Suriname, pg. 2
14
Ibid.

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political party called Progressieve Surinaamse Volkspartij (PSV) which is the Catholic party.15
The Creoles were not the only ones that created political parties. The Hindustanis and the
Javanese also developed parties. They could not agree because of their religious affiliations and
it was difficult to unite the Muslims from both groups.16 Both groups decided to create their own
political parties. The Hindustanis, who are from the Indian subcontinent, created the Verenigde
Hindostaanse Partij (VHP).17 The Javanese who are from the Dutch East Indies organized their
own political party known as the Kaum Tani Persatuan Indonesia (KTPI).18 The creation of
splinter groups is inevitable in politics. Splinter groups are groups that break away from a larger
group. For example, the NPS, VHP, and the KTPI had groups that splintered from their political
party. The NPS had two splinter groups from both sides of the political spectrum. There is the
conservative Surinaamse Democratische Partij (SDP) which separated from the NPS in 1955.19
In 1966, NPS had another splinter which was a progressive faction called the Progressieve
Nationale Partij (PNP).20 The VHP’s splinter group is called the Actie Groep (AG) which was
found in 1961.21 The KTPI also had a splinter group called the Sarekat Rakjat Indonesia (SRI) in
1966.22 The oddball of the Surinamese political party is the Partij van de Nationalistiche
Republiek who in the words of Dew, “championed radical reform, national independence, and
the recovery of Creole language and culture…”23 Suriname was unique that they had multiple
parties based on ethnicities. How could these multitudes of political parties get along and agree
on important political issues that questioned Suriname’s future? That is where consociationalism
and coalition politics comes in to solve Suriname’s troubles during the 1960s through their
independence in 1975.
THE 1960S
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Dew, The Trouble of Suriname, pg. 2

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The 1960s was a tumultuous time around the world. The United States were facing a
counter-cultural movement where the youth were rebelling against authority. Across the Atlantic,
the Netherlands were also facing a counter-cultural movement. One of the highlights of Dutch
counter-cultural is the creation of Provo. Provo was not a political protest group, but their name
says what the group’s modus operandi was. Their motivation “was to provoke the authorities and
make them nervous through anarchist slogans and stunts.”24 Depilirization was also introduced
into Dutch society. The Dutch wanted to secularize their institutions. As mentioned before,
pilirization divided institution based on what pillar it was a part of. These pillars were not as
stringent anymore. James Kennedy states that the elites were distancing themselves from the set
borders of a pillar.25 W.M. Bekkers, who was a bishop of Den Bosch, stated on television in
1963 that couples have the right to use birth control if they wished.26 Suriname was also
changing during the 1960s.
An important aspect of Surinamese politics was patron-client relationships. In politics, a
patron-client relationship or patronage is defined as:
“... relationship exists where an individual of higher socioeconomic status (patron)provides material benefits or
protection to an individual of lower socioeconomic status (client) in return for political support and general services
(Scott, 1977). Multiple clients are attached to each patron,who may in turn be a client of a more powerful patron,
thereby forming a network.”27
The patron-client relationship model became an important tradition in Suriname due to alumina
and aluminum production. Another important aspect of Surinamese politics was coalition
politics or consociationalism which I defined before. The Creole parties such as the NPS and
PSV received the majority of the votes. However, that did not mean that the Creoles dominated
the Surinamese government. With numerous political parties, Suriname could have easily been
politically unstable with the different political parties fighting for control. But the ethnic political
parties agreed on a consociational way of running policies in Suriname. For example, a Creole-
24
Friso Wielenga, A History of the Netherlands: From the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day trans.Lynne
Richards (New York: Bloomsbury),pg. 245
25
Wielenga,A History of the Netherlands, pg. 244
26
Ibid.
27
Dougal Martin, Governance in Suriname (Inter-American Bank: Region 3, 2001),pg. viii

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Hindustani coalition was created in 1958 which stabilized Suriname’s for the next eight years.28
This was possible with the competent leadership of Johan Adolf Pengal (NPS) and Jaggernaath
Lachmon (VHP).29 The consociationalism system of Suriname would be under test when the
Netherlands would grant them independence in 1975. The different political parties felt
differently about this an important milestone in Surinamese history.
1970s: ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
Like any other independence movement, violent or nonviolent, it is a tumultuous road
with different factions (or in this case political parties) wanting different things from
independence. The 1970s in Suriname was a decade of change. The Netherlands decided to grant
independence to Suriname. Queen Wilhelmina in 1942 wanted to change the relationship with
Dutch Caribbean possessions. She famously said, “Relying on one’s own strength to, with the
will to support one another.”30 Her saying those words were important because she was going to
give more autonomy to the colonies. The Netherlands in 1971-1972 showed an indication that
they wanted to grant Suriname their independence. The political parties were divided about these
issues. NPS and the PNR were really excited about this prospect. The VHP and the other Asian
parties were caution about Surinamese independence. There was a division in the Surinamese
independence movement, but one man declared that Suriname should be independent.
That man was Henck Arron. Arron was the leader of a African and Javanese-Surinamese
coalition party who declared that Suriname will be independent before the end of the year of
1975.31 Three years prior in the Netherlands, a coalition government of strongly pro-
independence parties of the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats came into power.
They were led by Social Democrat Joop den Uyl. With these two combining forces, Suriname
gained independence in 1975. The Netherlands, being a generous country when it comes to
financial aid to other countries, was going to give money to Suriname after they became
independent. The amount was 3 billion Dutch guilders or approximately 1.6 billion dollars.32
28
Dew, The Trouble of Suriname, pg. 2
29
Ibid.
30
Rosemarijn Hoefte, “Thrust Together: The Netherlands Relationship with Its Caribbean Partners,” Journal of
Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 38,no.4 (1996):35
31
Ibid,pg. 37
32
Ibid,pg. 38

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Suriname was now an independent country and with its parties being split on the issue of their
new found autonomy, civil war surprisingly did not break out.
Suriname was now an independent nation and civil war did not ravage the Surinamese
land. Why? Consociationalism again played a huge role. Arron had a rival in the Surinamese
government whose name was Jaggernaath Lachmon. Their main disagreement was the
Surinamese autonomy debacle. When Arron declared on February 15, 1974 that Suriname would
be independent by “ultimo 1975” the VHP, which was led by Lachmon, were not happy.33
Lachmon’s grievance toward this idea was that the Hindustanis were going to be under a Creole
tyranny. This fear was warranted because of what was happening in neighboring Guyana and
that time.34
Guyana was a British colony who gained independence in 1966.35 Like Suriname,
Guyana also had a multiethnic community. Also like Suriname, their political parties were
ethnically based. For example, the People’s National Party (PNC) which Forbes Burnham led
had a Black and mixed Black support.36 The other political party were the People’s Progressive
Party (PPP) which was led by Cheddi Jagan whose primary support was East Indians.37 All was
well when Forbes Burnham decided to rigged elections to get authoritarian control over Guyana.
In 1968, the Burnham led PNC created “an illusion of democracy by holding elections and
rigging the outcome to secure victory as well as in the 1973 general election, the 1978
constitutional referendum, and again in the 1980 and 1985 general elections.”38 Burnham also
had a smart strategy to avoid his government of being overthrown. That strategy was to keep the
military in check and make them as weak as possible. Military coups played a huge role in Latin
America during the 20th century and Burnham learned from those occurrences. Burnham’s
strategy was to purge military officers that were against his regime and to appeal to Black
officers for their “support in advancing their common ethnic interest.”39 So, Lachmon had
33
Dew, The Trouble in Suriname, pg. 7
34
Ibid.
35
ChaitramSignh, “Re-democratization in Guyana and Suriname: Critical Comparisons,”European Review of Latin
American and Caribbean Studies, no. 84 (2008):71
36
Ibid,pg. 72
37
Ibid.
38
Ibid,pg. 73
39
Ibid.

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legitimate fears that the Creole domination in Suriname could have dire consequences and bring
Suriname into a Creole-dominated authoritarian government.
With the tension between Arron and Lachmon at a head, either side had to compromise or
bring in political turmoil into the Surinamese government. It did come to a head with Arron
denounced Lachmon by accusing him of instigating ethnic polarization which was against
Suriname’s consocialist ideals.40 Another event that caused polarization was during the May
1975 visit of Dutch Premier, Jon de Uyl.41 As mentioned before, he was for Surinamese
independence. The opposition was not happy with the Dutch’s premier visit. Violence in the
Suriname's capital, Paramaribo, ensued. Federal buildings were destroyed along with arsons
being committed all over the capital.42 With these events occuring, political turmoil was evident.
Creoles in the conservative NPS wanted Henck Arron to make amends with Lachmon.43 Arron
eventually made up with Lachmon. Dew mentions, “Arron made an emotional appeal to
Lachmon for solidarity, and the two embraced on the Staten, later meeting privately to work out
their disagreements.”44 With compromises being met, Suriname peacefully gained their
independence on November 25, 1975.
JANUARY 20, 1980: COUP D’ETAT IN SURINAME
Struggle reemerged in 1977 and reached its head in 1980, a mere five years after their
independence. January 20, 1980 was a major day in Surinamese history. A sergeant by the name
of Desi Bouterse led a military coup against Arron’s government. The reasons for the coup were
many. The main issue was the discrepancy of pay between officers that were trained in the
Netherlands and the new recruits from Suriname.45 The reaction of the coup d’état were many.
Surinamese newspaper, Vrije Stem, greeted the news with “EINDELIJK” which is Dutch for
“Finally.”46 They continued on by saying, “The great majority of the population supports this
40
Dew, The Trouble of Suriname, pg. 7
41
Ibid,pg. 9
42
Ibid.
43
Ibid.
44
Ibid,pg. 10
45
Dew, The Trouble in Suriname, pg. 41
46
Ibid,pg. 45

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coup because they feel that we had totally run aground in the old politics.”47 According to Vrije
Stem, Surinamese were sick and tired of the consociational model and wanted to try something
new. However, another newspaper, De Ware Tijd stated that many Surinamese reacted to the
coup passively.48 They also mentioned that almost 300 Surinamese fled their homeland and went
to neighboring Guyana and the French Guiana in fear of a dictatorship.49 Those 300 Surinamese
made a right choice of leaving. Bouterse would commit human right violations against the
Surinamese people.
In December of 1982, armored cars pulled into in Moederbond headquarters, ABC and
Radika radio stations, and the Vrije Stem and destroyed their buildings with grenades and
bazookas.50 Bouterse’s men also made arrests by using an ‘enemies list’ and transported them to
Fort Zeelandia which is located in Paramaribo.51 They took reporters there and tortured them.
They were later executed by a firing squad.52 Bouterse was also involved in another atrocity. The
Bush Negro rose up against Bouterse’s government in 1985. The opposition of Bouterse’s
government was known as the Jungle Commandos who were led by Ronnie Brunswijk.53
Brunswijk was Bouterse’s bodyguard but he grew disillusioned with Bouterse’s government, so
he formed the Jungle Commandos. Their first military operation was the Brunswijk-led raid at
the military base in Albina.54 The national military reacted harshly by attacking Maroon civilians
and massacring 50 innocent people in Miowana Village.55 The casualties included women and
children. The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights accused the Surinamese
government of ethnocide against Maroon communities.56 The United States Committee for
Refugees stated in their 1987 report that, ‘several sources alleged that the Surinamese
Government is not merely seeking to crush the rebels, but that it is committing genocide against
47
Ibid,pg. 46
48
Ibid.
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid,pg. 82
51
Ibid.
52
Ibid,pg. 83
53
Ellen-Rose Kambal and Fergus McKay, The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Maroons in Suriname (IWGIA, 1999),
pg. 120
54
Kambal and McKay, pg. 120
55
Ibid.
56
Ibid.

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the Maroons.’57 The Suriname that existed in the 1940s through the 1970s was no more.
Consociational thought was gone and a tyrant rose up and committed atrocities against his own
people.
CONCLUSION
Consociationalism played a huge role in Surinamese politics. Starting with the creation of
the ethnically based parties in the late 1940s to the 1950s, consociationalism was the right way to
avoid any political strife between ethnicities and political instability. The 1960s was filled with
patron-client relationships in which people that were elected hire people that helped them in their
election period. Coalition politics also were important because of political parties could come
together and find ways to have a stable political system. With multiple parties and ethnically
based, it would have been easy for Suriname to be a war ravaged nation. The Surinamese
independent movement was a rocky one with different parties having different opinions about
post-independence Suriname. On one side was Henck Arron who declared in 1974 that Suriname
would be independent ‘ultimo 1975.’ On the other side was Jaggernaath Lachmon who had
precautions about Suriname being independent. His major concern was that the Creole parties
would take over and create a Creole dictatorship. That fear was warranted because that is what
was happening in neighboring Guyana under Forbes Burnham. After deliberations and
compromises, Suriname gained their independence on November 25, 1975, all thanks to
consociational thought. Both sides of the debate put their differences aside and did what they
thought was right. Five years later, on January 20, 1980, Desi Bouterse along with other
sergeants staged a coup d’état. Under Bouterse’s military dictatorship, human rights violations
were committed such as the Fort Zeelandia executions of news media workers (AKA as the
‘December’ Murders’). There was also a civil war between the Bush Negro maroon and
Bouterse’s government. Bouterse ordered attacks on innocent Maroon villages to try and bring
down Ronnie Brunswijk who was the leader of the Jungle Commandos. Suriname in the 1980s
was not the same as the 1940s through the 1970s. Consociationalism kept Suriname stable during
the high and lows of its history.
57
Ibid.

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