Moiwana is a Maroon village in the Marowijne district in the east of Suriname .
6-647: The village was the scene of the Moiwana massacre on November 29, 1986, during the Suriname Guerrilla War between the Surinamese military regime, headed by Dési Bouterse , and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk . 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
12-492: A military unit of 70 men was sent by the government to Moiwana as it was thought to be one of Brunswijk's stronghold. The soldiers systemically massacred the residents of the village. The soldiers blocked off both ends of the village and shot every villager they encountered for over 4 hours. Many houses in the village were burned down. Maroons fleeing genocide left Suriname for neighboring French Guiana where they lived in several refugee camps set up by French authorities to handle
18-554: The Marowijne River to neighboring French Guiana . The human rights organisation Moiwana '86 has committed itself to justice with regard to this event. Police chief inspector Herman Gooding [ nl ] 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
24-494: 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 ordered Suriname to pay US$ 3 million in compensation to 130 survivors of
30-617: The massacre, and to establish a US$ 1.2 million fund for the development of Moiwana. 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 Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk . On 29 November 1986,
36-412: The massive influx of refugees. The Maroons were not granted the status of refugee so that they would not be eligible to work or receive welfare benefits. They lived in these camps until the early 1990s when France and Suriname signed peace accords to repatriate the stranded Maroons back to Suriname. On 15 July 2015, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held the government of Suriname responsible for
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