Moiwana is a

Maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

village in the

Marowijne district Marowijne () is a district of Suriname, located on the north-east coast. Marowijne's capital city is Albina, with other towns including Moengo and Wanhatti. The district borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, the S ...

in the east of

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

Massacre

The village was the scene of the

Moiwana massacre The Moiwana Massacre was a massacre perpetrated by the Suriname National Army on the Maroon village of Moiwana on 29 November 1986. The massacre occurred during the Surinamese Interior War between the national army led by Dési Bouterse and the ...

on November 29, 1986, during the

Suriname Guerrilla War The Surinamese Interior War () was a civil war fought in eastern Suriname between 1986 and 1992. The conflict primarily involved the Jungle Commando, a rebel group composed largely of Saramaka (Maroon) fighters and led by former soldier Ronnie ...

between the Surinamese military regime, headed by

Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano Bouterse (; 13 October 1945 – 23 December 2024De Ware Tijd‘Bouterse maandagavond overleden’ 27 december 2024 StarnieuwsAmbassades tekenen condoleanceregister in Ocer 27 december 2024 ) was a Surinamese military officer, poli ...

, and the

Jungle Commando The Jungle Commando (formally known as the Suriname National Liberation Army) was a guerrilla commando group in Suriname. It was founded by Ronnie Brunswijk in 1986 to ensure equal rights for Suriname's minority Maroon population. The group was for ...

led by

Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, former rebel leader, footballer and convicted drug trafficker, who is serving as the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served as the personal bodyguard ...

. The army attacked the village, killing at least 35 of the inhabitants, mostly women and children, and burned Brunswijk's house. The survivors fled with thousands of other inland inhabitants over the

Marowijne River The Maroni () or Marowijne (; ) is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Course The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. It originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains and forms ...

to neighboring

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

. The

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

organisation Moiwana '86 has committed itself to justice with regard to this event. Police chief inspector was murdered in August 1990 while investigating the massacre. Reportedly he was forced out of his car near Fort Zeelandia and shot in the head, with his body left outside Bouterse's office. Other police investigators fled the country, stalling the investigation. The government has stated that it is still continuing its investigation of the massacre, but that prospective witnesses either had moved or died, or were uncooperative. It has also said that an investigation of the murder of Herman Gooding was continuing. In August 2005, the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

ordered Suriname to pay US$3 million in compensation to 130 survivors of the massacre, and to establish a US$1.2 million fund for the development of Moiwana.

Notable people

(1961), Vice President of Suriname, ex-rebel leader and business man.

References

External links

UN Human Rights Committee press release
Eightieth Session 2173rd Meeting (PM)
Amnesty International report on Suriname

Suriname's govt to apologise for 1986 massacre
Radio Jamaica (14 July 2006, archived 2007) * (book including information on Moiwana Massacre) {{Authority control Inter-American Court of Human Rights cases Ndyuka settlements Populated places in Marowijne District