The Republic of Suriname, more commonly known as Suriname or Surinam, (formerly known as Netherlands Guiana and Dutch Guiana) is a country in northern South America, in between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is shared with Brazil and the northern border is the Atlantic coast. The most southern parts of the borders with Guyana and French Guiana are disputed
Suriname is the smallest independent country in South America. It is situated on the Guiana Shield and part of Caribbean South America. The country can be divided into two main geographic regions. The northern, lowland coastal area (roughly above the line Albina-Paranam-Wageningen) has been cultivated, and most of the population lives here. The southern part consists of tropical rainforest and sparsely inhabited savanna along the border with Brazil, covering about 80% of Suriname's land surface.Surinam is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by the Marowijne River (which forms the border with French Guiana), to the west by the Corantijn River (which forms the border with Guyana), and to the south by forests, savannahs and mountains, which separate it from Brazil. In the northern part of the country are coastal lowlands covered with mangrove swamps. Further inland runs a narrow strip of savannah land. To the south, the land becomes hilly and then mountainous, covered with dense tropical forest, and cut by numerous rivers and streams.
By the time the Spanish arrived in the late-15th century, the Surinen had been driven out by other Amerindian groups. Fierce resistance to colonisation deterred most would-be occupiers from Europe, although the territory formally changed hands many times between the Dutch, English and French, before finally being confirmed as a Dutch possession by the terms of the 1815 Treaty of Vienna. At this time, the majority of the population were slaves, working on the plantations. Despite the abolition of slavery in 1863, conditions changed very little until the early 20th century and the discovery of large bauxite deposits, which brought about a major change in the economic - and consequently, political - complexion of the country.
In 1954, Surinam, with the Netherlands Antilles, became an autonomous region within the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Full independence was achieved in 1975. The new countrys political parties were largely organised along ethnic lines – descendants of the black slave workforce, Indonesians, Indians, mixed-race Creoles and a small European contingent. The necessity of forging coalition governments tended to destabilise the political process in the early years after independence. In February 1980, the coalition government that had taken power in 1975 was overthrown in a widely popular military coup. The new regime, under Lieutenant-Colonel Desi Bouterse, followed a left-wing political line, cultivating close links with Cuba at the expense of those with The Netherlands, and banning all political parties.
The economic burden of the civil war that broke out between the regime and jungle-based dissident elements prompted the military regime to announce a return to civilian rule. A transitional constitution was agreed in March 1987; elections in November gave 40 out of the 51 seats in the National Assembly to the Front for Democracy and Development – a pro-Bouterse party, created to engineer the return to civilian government without major policy changes. A ceasefire agreed with the jungle guerrillas was finally reached in 1992.
However, by this time, after a 1990 dispute with elected President Ransewak Shankar, Desi Bouterse had once again put the military back in charge via another coup. The new government was dominated by the Vice-President and Premier Jules Wijdenbosch. Wijdenbosch and his counterpart in the New Front (NF, the successor party to the Front for Democracy and Development), Runaldo Venetiaan, along with Bouterse, have since become the dominant figures in Surinam’s domestic politics. Venetiaan held the presidency from 1991 until 1996 – when he was replaced by Wijdenbosch – and then again, following the most recent national elections in May 2000. A New Front government took office under Prataapnairan Radhakishun.
Surinam’s most important foreign relations are with its near neighbours and with the former Dutch colonial power, which is its principal source of aid. In the case of the Dutch, relations have see-sawed since the early 1980s, depending largely on the extent of Dutch aid and the extent of military influence over the Surinamese government. Bouterse, always a controversial figure in Dutch eyes, has been arraigned by Dutch courts for drug trafficking and the torture of political opponents. Relations with Surinam’s neighbours are generally good. A niggling border dispute with Guyana over territorial waters – the site of possible oil deposits – was settled in the summer of 2000, only for it to simmer enough for a UN tribunal to have to be set up in June 2004 in order to resolve the long-running dispute. However, the other main territorial dispute, with Brazil, has also yet to be resolved. In January 2004, the government introduced a new currency, the Surinamese dollar, to replace the guilder.
Lying near the equator, Suriname has a tropical climate, and temperatures do not vary a lot throughout the year. The year has two wet seasons, from December to early February and from late April to mid-August.Suriname's Weather is humid, cooled by the northeast trade winds. The best time to visit is February to April (short dry season) and August to October (long dry season). The rainy seasons last from November to January and from May to July. Surinam lies outside the hurricane zone and the most extreme weather condition is the sibibusi (forest broom), a heavy rain shower.
Surinam offers a good variety of dishes including American, Chinese, Creole, European, Indian and Indonesian. Indonesian dishes are recommended, usually rijsttafel with rice (boiled or fried) and a number of spicy meat and vegetable side dishes, nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) and bami goreng (Indonesian fried noodles). Creole dishes include pom (ground tayer roots and poultry), pastei (chicken pie with various vegetables) and peanut soup. Indian dishes, such as roti (dough pancake) served with curried chicken and potatoes, and Chinese dishes, such as chow-mein and chop suey, are excellent. Moksi meti (various meats served on rice) is a local favorite.Local drinks include the Indonesian Dawet (a coconut drink), Gemberbier (Creole ginger drink) and Pilsener Parbo Bier. There are some restaurants in Niew-Nickerie and Paramaribo, but they tend to be scarce outside the capital.
Country Name: Republic of Suriname
Area: 163,270 sq km (63,675 sq mi)
Population: 431,303
Capital: Paramaribo
People: 35% East Indian,32% Afro-Surinamese,15% Indonesian,10% Maroons(descendants of ex-slaves who inhabit the upland forests)
Language: official language;Dutch, other language; English, Sranan (an English-based Creole), Hindi, Javanese and Chinese
Religion: 27% Hindu, 25% Protestant, 23% Roman Catholic, 20% Muslim
Currency:Surinam guilder (Sf)
