| History |
In 1667 the Dutch swapped New Amsterdam (present-day New York) for the English territory Suriname. To expand their plantations, the Dutch imported West African slaves. From the mid-18th century, escaped slaves formed Maroon settlements in the interior and retained many African customs. The abolition of slavery in 1863 led to labor shortages in the early 19th century and indentured laborers were brought in from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), India, China, Portugal and Lebanon. In 1954, Suriname gained self-government, with the Netherlands retaining control on defense and foreign affairs. In 1973 the local government started negotiations with the Dutch government about independence, which was granted on 25 November 1975. The first President of the country was Johan Ferrier, with Henck Arron as Prime Minister. Roughly a third of the population immigrated to the Netherlands, fearing that the new country would not be able to survive. A series of military coups in 1980 led to the breakdown in Dutch–Suriname relations. On December 8, 1982 15 members of the political opposition were murdered in Fort Zeelandia. This event is also known as the December killings (Decembermoorden in Dutch). In 1987 the first elections in years were held and a new constitution was written. A coup, the so-called 'telephone-coup' in 1990 interrupted this process, but elections were held again in 1991. With the democracy restored, the Dutch government resumed aid. Since 1990, the four-party New Front coalition, led by Ronald Venetiaan has held government. In the national election held on May 25, 2005, President Venetiaan was reelected. His running mate, Ramdien Sardjoe, was elected as vice president. While the Venetiaan administration has made progress in stabilizing the economy, tensions within the coalition have impeded progress and blocked governmental action. |
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