TALKING POINTS ON SURINAME FOR ADDI

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91B00874R000100250017-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: September 9, 1986
• Content Type: MISC

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/08: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100250017-7
9 September 1986
Talking Points on Suriname for ADDI
Plagued by incompetent military leadership, fall
and possibe defections, the six-year-old esire Bouterse
appears to'be losing ground in its efforts to cone is n an increasingly
active rebel group.
rebel lead
to head a 120-man force.
-- Since mid-July, there have been at least Aix confirmed rebel
attacks in eastern Suriname, bringing military casualties
o a least ana ssi a defections to more than a dozen
in the 2,000-man Army.
-- A civilian helico reportedly supplied by the Brazilians to
upgrade the military's search and transport capabilities was
shot down by the rebels.
Civilian support for the regime probably Is tentative and thin and
may erode quickly if Bouterse heeds the counsel of some advisers to
take harsher measures against the populace.
-- The military has alienated the Bush Negroes who control
eastern Sur'
supporting Brunswijk, himself a Bush Negro.
-- Leaders of Suriname's traditional parties and some labor
unions have publicly supported Bouterse during the crisis,
partly out of fear, and the populace has not rallied behind
him.
-- The French reportedly have not impeded the rehelcI
French Guiana for sanctuaryesupply,
-- Bouterse's suspicions of Western involvement probably are
fueled by his largely unsuccessful attempts to gain military
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/08: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100250017-7
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/08: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100250017-7
assistance from Western countries.
-- Bouterse's frustration over the lack of Western aid and French
and Dutch reluctance to act against exile groups link
the rebels may eventually prompt him to accept rece
offers of assistance.
The rebels have a good chance of expanding isolated guerrilla
activities beyond the east.
-- Brunswijk's successes appear to be galvanizing exile groups,
which have a history of divisiveness and ineffectivenss.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/08: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100250017-7