A Cooperação Militar entre Brasil e Suriname / Military Cooperation between Brazil and Suriname

Brasil; Suriname. Resumo: O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar a cooperação militar entre Brasil e Suriname. Nas últimas décadas a América do Sul tornou-se plataforma estratégica de inserção internacional para o Brasil. Nosso recorte temporal é entre o ano de 1975 até o ano de 2014. A metodologia consistiu em análise bibliográfica, levantamento e análise dos acordos de cooperação militar, análise documental e de declarações oficiais, discursos e posicionamentos dos atores sociais e políticos da região. Nossa análise demonstra que mesmo o Suriname apresentando uma baixa interação diplomática com o Brasil, o país ocupa posição de destaque na cooperação militar.


Introduction
The issue of integration of the South American continent in recent decades has gained relevance in the strategic agendas of the countries of the region, both through bilateral cooperation and the creation of regional organizations for different purposes such as economic, infrastructure and / or defense integration.Even though Suriname, which is the focus of this work, is considered a "back country" to South America, was present in this process.In the 1970s Brazil underwent a process of accelerated economic development and an increase in the sources of commercial financial flows.According to Lessa (1995, p.25 Mendonça and Miyamoto (2011) as "responsible ecumenical pragmatism".

According to the authors:
"Responsible and ecumenical pragmatism had as its fundamental principle the end of apriorism in Brazilian foreign policy.Responsibility meant a commitment and fidelity to the country's national interests, with long-term goals.Ecumenism referred to the Brazilian strategy of seeking multiple poles of approach, trying to move away from the rather narrow traditional ties Brazil maintained with the United States."(MENDONÇA; MIYAMOTO, 2011, p.14).

Venturini Mission
In the political life of Suriname since its independence in 1975, instability was a striking feature.Successive military coups and a civil war, from 1986 to 1994, created a scenario of political uncertainty and economic weakness in the country.Among the main actors in this scenario of transition from independence to democracy, the military was one of the most active and, between comings and goings to power, the current president of Suriname is Desiré Delano Bouterse, who was the main military leader in the country.The young country had as its foreign policy objectives greater integration with the continent and, still, sought greater autonomy mainly regarding its old metropolis.Corruption involving most of the ministries and public authorities, scandals in the 1977 elections, the problem presented by the phenomenon of "Apanjathsmo", which was resulting in the idea of "us against them", the commitment of the development of a national identity of the country and the general political instability were elements that constituted the stage for a military coup in 1980 (JANSSEN, 2011, p.55).Added to the scenario described above is the growing dissatisfaction, mainly by the military who are not part of the officialate, protagonists of the 1980 coup.
In 1980 the sergeant major Desiré Delano Bouterse accompanied by 16 officers began a coup against the governor-elect Henck Arron.In a matter of hours Bouterse obtained the surrender of the army base, police and the government (SINGH, 2007, p.77).
The dissatisfaction of the coup protagonists was composed by some elements.
According to Correa (2015, p. 115) some of these main motivations were: (1) the large difference in wages between official and nonofficial members, especially those trained in the Netherlands, who earned much more than their subordinates; (2) the military did not have an organization to represent them, yet this was a common practice in the Netherlands, and, to aggravate even more the situation, Henck Arron was resistant to the idea of a military union; (3) the issue regarding the small importance given to the military during this period, since they were limited to patrolling the border and participating in public acts such as "stop and search".Synthesizing, the Arron government, In the government of José Sarney (1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990), foreign policy was formulated under the transition from a dictatorial regime to a democratic model.The predominance of civil power was strengthened, and, in economic terms, it was moving towards a neoliberal model (PRADO; MYAMOTO, 2010).PGP Correa;PRC Guerra. Diálogos, v.22, n.3, (2018) 76-108 However, the regime change did not result in a rupture in the foreign policy approach during this period, especially regarding the international insertion.The model continued being the "developmentalist of an autonomous character".The bipolarity of the Cold War prevented independent international maneuvers seeking new paths.Another factor that hindered more incisive international actions were the external economic difficulties, the debt crisis, inflation, falling prices of international raw materials (BARRETO, 2012, p. 3).
President José Sarney visited Suriname on March 2, 1989 and in response to the approach, Surinamese President Ramsewak Shankar came to Brazil in August of that year.
The dialogue between the presidents resulted in the signing of bilateral cooperation treaties, such as technical cooperation related to agriculture, beekeeping, health, professional qualification, energy, telecommunications, trade cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking (RPEB, 1989, p. 9).Some aspects to be highlighted In January of 1995 we began the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC), a period marked by the strengthening of neoliberalism, a deepening of globalization and a greater international performance of Brazil, mainly through trade liberalization and international trade flows.In foreign policy, among the priorities of the new government were, according to Vizentini: "... regional integration, deepening of Mercosur; stimulation of the strategy of diversifying partners in bilateral relations; action with the multilateral economic organizations, especially the WTO, and concentrate efforts to elevate Brazil's position as international power, becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, using arguments such as territorial size, population contingent and its status in the organization."(2005, p. 382) PGP Correa;PRC Guerra. Diálogos, v.22, n.3, (2018)  arguments that point to a decline in Brazilian international action.In 2010 Brazil was internationally considered an emerging power, but the authors show the internal problems that made it difficult to maintain this status.
According to Cervo and Lessa (2014, p. 134) no new concepts were brought into foreign policy and there was no strong dialogue with society.Causes of international decline lie in the low technological innovation and competitiveness of national production systems.

Brazil-Suriname military cooperation
The According to Cottey and Foster (2004, p. 8)  "...according to the famous definition of the Oxford English Dictionary, the conduct of international relations through negotiations.The method by which these relations are regulated and maintained by ambassadors and those in charge; the profession or the art of the diplomat.The object of Diplomacy is, therefore, the method by which negotiations are conducted and not the content of the negotiations...".
In this way, diplomacy must, first of all, be understood as a peaceful method and exercised through negotiations between the parties.These parts, in turn, are represented by ambassadors and those in charge, who are most often prepared to use this method.However, this view is commonly related to the figure of the diplomat or ambassador who represents his state.In the case of military diplomacy, it is part of the emergence of new actors playing this role, a fact that will be discussed later.
In Bull's view (2002, p. 187)  In summary, the authors state that: "The key change over the last few decades is that defense cooperation has been used not only as a long-standing realpolitik providing support to the Armed Forces and allied security, but also as a means of broadly achieving foreign policy and security objectives."(COTTEY AND FOSTER, 2004, p.8).The numerous Suriname military personnel who participate or participated in such courses not only make a significant contribution to the training improvement of the Surinamese Armed Forces, but also, with the knowledge and familiarity they have acquired concerning Brazil, which can contribute to an even better understanding between both countries.

Military cooperation in
However, it is worth mentioning that among the various aspects that surround bilateral military relations 9 , a country training 9 Other forms of cooperation make up the military sector such as: training, exercises and joint missions, bilateral technological projects, joint action protocols, shared war industry, etc.

Final Considerations
The purpose of this article was to discuss 10 Interview kindly granted by e-mail to the authors of this text.where Suriname is situated, has led to greater density regarding other cooperation agreements, PGP Correa;PRC Guerra. Diálogos, v.22, n.3, (2018) 76-108 but military cooperation proved to remain stable as presented through data during this study and through the speeches of local actors.
one of the means used to move closer to Suriname and to integrate it more and more into the subcontinent.In this article we analyze specifically the military cooperation between Brazil and Suriname, a topic that gained greater relevance from the creation of the South American Defense Council (CDS).The study entitled "La Diplomacia Militar en Suramérica: Alianzas y Rupturas em 2008"(Otálvora, 2008, p.  2) points out that since the intensification of regional defense coordination institutions such as the CDS, the issue has increased in the agenda of the South American region.In this process, there is a diplomatic activity focused on military subjects which the author calls "military diplomacy".The author also states that government activities are seen in the military field from ideological to doctrinal and operational aspects such as joint training programs for officials, that is, symbolic aspects in times of peace and logistic aspects in times of war.Our analysis will cover the period from 1975, the year of independence of Suriname, until 2014, which corresponds to the end of the first term of the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff.The study was carried out through the analysis of integration and international security, foreign policy of the mentioned countries, integration and cooperation in defense and security.We conducted this survey by analyzing scientific articles, news and books related to the subject, military cooperation agreements between Brazil and Suriname.That is, a documentary analysis of the main declarations, speeches and positions of the social and political actors of the region regarding their perceptions and actions before the military cooperation agreements.The main sources of data were: Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC); Ministry of Defense (Brazil and countries in the Guyana Shield); Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brazil and countries in the Guyana Shield); Documents of the South American Defense Council (CDS).In the first part of this paper we present the general aspects of Suriname.Next, we discuss the main points of the relationship established between the two countries, considering historical facts, and especially the foreign policy approaches of each country.Finally, the third and final part, based on official documents and cooperation treaties, we present the evolution of military cooperation between Brazil and Suriname and the analysis of the agreements and the opinion of some actors in Suriname.Suriname: the former Dutch Guyana Suriname became independent in the year of 1975 and is considered the newest South American state.The country has the smallest territorial dimension and population of the continent.In its 163,820 km² of extension there are around 600 thousand inhabitants.It is located to the north of South America, with borders to the west with the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, to the east with French Guyana, to the South with Brazil and in its North portion is the Atlantic Ocean.began in the year of the country's independence in 1975 (RPEB, 1975, p.132).In July 1976 relations between the two countries took shape when the Prime Minister for General and Foreign Affairs of Suriname, Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron, visited Brazil.This was the first official visit of the Suriname Head of Government abroad since the country gained its independence.The visit of the Surinamese Prime Minister made it possible not only for dialogue, but also to formalize documents on Cooperation between both countries.The Treaty of Friendship Cooperation and Commerce, the Basic Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation and the Agreement on Cultural Exchange were established.The visit also resulted in the creation of a Brazil-Suriname Joint Commission to deepen the processes regarding Bilateral Exchange and Technical and Scientific Cooperation (RPEB, 1976, p. 38).To situate the Brazilian Foreign Policy (PEB) in our analysis, we emphasize that in the 1960s Brazilian actions were constrained in the bipolar system that characterized the Cold War.Brazil was close to the political and economic model dictated by the United States (MENDONÇA, MYAMOTO, 2011, p.12).Faced with the logic of "ideological frontiers", foreign policy was based on the principle that in order to preserve the national independence it was necessary to accept a degree of economic, political and military interdependence with the United States.It was a foreign policy marked by the Americans that broke with the Independent Foreign Policy and characterized the PEB in the early 1960s (FERNANDES, 2010, page 158).Together with the new orientation of foreign policy and the collapse of the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971, as well as the oil crisis in 1973, Ernesto Geisel, president of Brazil in 1974, substantiated Brazilian foreign policy in two directives: ensuring the supply of oil and guarantee export markets for Brazilian products (URT, 2010, p.76).
Even after independence in 1975, Suriname maintained strong political relations with its former Metropolis.The fact that the process of independence of the former colony was peaceful contributed to maintain a harmonious relationship.An agreement guaranteed that the Netherlands would invest US$ 100 million in Suriname for 15 years.However, the military coups of 1980 and 1990 led to the suspension of the mentioned resources (AVILA, 2011, p.46).In the political field a parliamentary democracy was organized, combining peculiar characteristics such as Apanjaht, that is, "The practice of voting for you own race, your own kind".From 1975 to 1980 Suriname was commanded by Prime Minister Henck Arron.
not paying attention to the demands, especially of the non-commissioned soldiers, only aggravated the group's dissatisfaction which resulted in the coup.This episode begins a new phase in the relationship between Brazil and Suriname through the visit of a Brazilian commission to Suriname.At the time, this act aimed to intensify bilateral relations by offering political, military and economic assistance (AVILA, 2011, p.7).The mission, which became known as the Venturini Mission, had as its main objective to offer help to the regime of Desiré Delano Bouterse established in February 1980.At the international level, the 1980 Coup caused some concern, as there was no ideology clearly established.The nonideological character of the coup was mainly due to its lack of revolutionary and reactionary characteristics.The episode did not come from concerns of the Cold War and did not follow logics of alignment with the United States or the Soviet Union.However, the coup government, not to isolate itself, approached Cuba.The uncertainty of what happened at the site led the United States to conceive constitutional revolts in Suriname as a factor of instability in South America (URT, 2010, pp.71-72).In Brazil, the concern was that this would result in a leftist revolution and a possible hemispheric superpower action alongside the country.Fears that led Brazil to send a diplomatic mission headed by General Danilo Venturini.Avila (2009, p. 48) states that the Venturini Mission had the objective of co-opting the Bouterse regime.In exchange for Brazilian economic, financial and military cooperation, Suriname would have to abandon the Cuban orbit and move closer to Brazil and other Western Bloc countries.Brazil also offered military training programs and scholarships at Brazilian universities.The mission succeeded and Bouterse decided to reformulate the country's government program by removing possible left-wing shades in his government.
Rio Branco Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the training of officers of the Surinamese army in the institutes of education of the Brazilian Armed Forces.Information from the Brazilian Embassy in Paramaribo stated that about 60% of the Surinamese army officers had undergone training in Brazilian military institutes.Thus, the primary purpose of the Brazilian-Suriname military cooperation was to promote the professionalization of Suriname officers, so Brazilian military doctrines in the country would propagate (ÁVILA, 2009, p. 51).Between 30 and 31 st of January 1991 was carried out the Reis mission 7 , which purpose was to initiate a dialogue with the Interregno Kraag, who came to power after another coup.Finally, the Reis mission also played an important role in the reconstruction 76-108FHC's foreign policy sought a new logic, breaking with the autonomy by distance which had been in force since the Cold War period, seeking an agenda focused on the idea of autonomy for integration or participation.FHC, following on from his predecessorsFernando Collor de Mello and Itamar Franco, sought to dialogue with the world, with international organizations (UN, WTO), and with the regional (Mercosur) and hemispheric (FTAA) initiatives in a strategy called "autonomy for participation"(VIGEVANI &   OLIVEIRA, 2004, p. 34).In a meeting with the President of Suriname Runaldo Ronald Venetiann in January 1996, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries.The highlights were the subregional cooperation and sustainable development of the Amazon region, regional integration, as well as economic and military exchange between the two countries.The Foreign Policy of the government of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) had as its strategy the "autonomy for diversification".This meant contributing to a greater international balance in order to mitigate the unilateralism of the post-9/11 world; strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations in order to increase the country's importance in political and economic international negotiations; strengthen diplomatic relations in order to take advantage of the possibilities of greater economic, financial, technological and cultural exchange; and avoid agreements that could jeopardize long-term development.During the Lula period, Mercosur continued to be an important expansion project with the South American Community of Nations (Casa), later transformed into Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).The projects that make up the IIRSA gained strength in the Lula period through banks, companies and Brazilian diplomatic action, placing the integration of South America as a priority issue in Brazil's agenda.This Brazilian agenda that aimed to strengthen the regionalization of South America had some elements that favored the approximation of the countries.For example, after a decade of neoliberal governments, countries have been seized by a wave of leftist governments in the regionwhich seems to be skeptical concerning liberal globalization, and which has replicated the inequalities between North and South.During the government of Lula da Silva, the first contact between Brazil and Suriname occurred on December 21 st , 2004, the date on which Foreign Minister Celso Amorim made an official visit to the country.The mission was to prepare the visit of President Lula da Silva to be held in 2005 at the XVI Caribbean Community (CARICOM).It was also during the visit of Celso Amorim that the Treaty on Extradition and the Migratory Regulation Agreement were signed.(RPEB, 2004, p. 495) In April 2008, a treaty on defense cooperation was signed.The main objectives of the treaty were: to promote Cooperation in Defense with emphasis on research and development; logistical support and acquisition of defense products and services; promote joint training and military instruction and information exchange exercises.The treaty guaranteed mainly the exchange of instructors and students of military institutions of both countries.After two terms of President Lula da Silva (2003 to 2010), in 2011 Dilma Rousseff was elected president of Brazil.Since it was another government of the Workers Party, there was an expectation of continuity of the PEB led by Lula da Silva.However, among the variables that make up the construction of a foreign policy, the profile of leaders is important.In that case, Rousseff showed no interest in following the trail of dynamics imposed by the ideological disputes of the Cold War were decisive for the configuration of the new world order.Regarding international security, several debates and discussions emerged and were reformulated.The period governed by bipolarity was marked by the establishment of alliances promoted by the United States and the former Soviet Union as a way of propagating their ideological currents.At this juncture, much help and military cooperation processes were offered and established between the great powers and other less powerful States.With the end of the Cold War the military cooperation processes took another turn.
diplomacy is understood as the management of relations between states and other entities of world politics by peaceful means and with the use of official agents.The definition brought by Bull shows us the dynamism that diplomacy gained in the face of changes in the international scene, linked to the emergence of new actors such as the political entities and official agents cited by the author.We may notice that the term used gives scope for the employment of agents besides diplomats and ambassadors.Presidential diplomacy or top diplomacy reflects these changes.Another example of diplomacy that differs from the classic one, which would be developed primarily by states, is the United Nations (UN) and its peacekeeping missions.In this case, we see an International Organization Military cooperation is traditionally associated as a means of counterbalancing enemies.However, it is currently seen as a means of helping to build cooperative relations between friendly States or potential enemies, as a kind of strategic engagement.A second application of this model of cooperation is widely used by Western democracies in attempting to establish the principles of the democratic ideal through contact with the armed forces as a long-term way of establishing this type of government in the country that is receiving military assistance.Third, military assistance or cooperation has been used to from initiatives such as the South American Defense Council of UNASUR created in 2008, the number of agreements related to military cooperation increased.Greater interaction between countries became more visible, making military issues more of a place on the foreign policy agenda of countries.This process is discussed in the work of Edgar C. Otálvora (2008, p. 2), which points to an intensification of institutions of regional coordination in defense matters.This theme has become more frequent in the agenda of the South American region and, in this sense, there is a diplomatic activity focused on military themes which the author calls "military diplomacy".In a bilateral context, the military cooperation relations between Brazil and Suriname started from the Venturini Mission already mentioned in this text, where military aid was provided mainly to train the Surinamese military personnel in Brazilian training centers.However, the most notable agreement of this relationship was signed in 2008 in Paramaribo.This is the Defense Cooperation Agreement, with the objective of Brazil and Suriname cooperating in research and development areas, logistical support and acquisition of defense products and services.Other objectives of the treaty include sharing experiences in the military, conducting joint operations with the goal of peacekeeping, promoting joint training and military training activities.For Marcelo Baumbach, the Brazilian ambassador in Suriname between 2012 and 2017, the bilateral relationship with Suriname stands out in the military sector.The former Ambassador states that: "Brazil-Suriname cooperation in defense matters is one of the most successful (2015, p. 12) Cooperation in the military sector is always a very sensitive topic, since it deals with the instruments of national defense.Having 70% of the cooperation established in defense areas demonstrates strong trust among the actors involved, specifically the Brazilian and Surinamese diplomats.As the former Ambassador Baumbach points out: the armed forces of another country, which is a specificity of the Brazil-Suriname relationship, is a less profound part of military cooperation.In this direction, the projects in the defense area that make up the cooperation portfolio between the two countries stand out in quantity, but with relatively low military density.This does not diminish the importance of cooperation in established defense.It only indicates spaces to be occupied in the still low bilateral relationship between Brazil and Suriname.Ruben Martoredjo 10 , member of the Council of the Institute of International Relations of Anton de Kom University (IIR / AdeKUS) and a United Nations official in Suriname, confirms the direction of the above argument.Martoredjo points out that:"the military relations between Brazil and Suriname can be generally regarded as good and stable.Brazil is an important provider of technical assistance and material support for the Surinamese army.My opinion is also shared by two distinguished officials, whom I have consulted in formulating my opinion, namely a long serving (now retired) high ranking military official, currently functioning as advisor to the Minister of Defence, and a former senior official of the police department who has also served as acting director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Charge D'Affairs at the Surinamese Embassy in the Netherlands, and has done a study in the Brazil-Suriname relations.Both officials shared my opinion".
2014, mainly using the history of relations between the two countries, taking into consideration which approaches in foreign policy were used during each period.In this bilateral relationship in the military sphere two main points stand out: the military coup in 1980 in Suriname and consequently the Venturini Mission; and the Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2008.These events helped to intensify military cooperation between both countries and, not least, from data collected from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency it was observed that 70% of the technical and, in other levels, the ability to exert influence and deterrence.In this case, the Brazil-Suriname cooperation takes place within the framework of the South American integration process, that is, Brazilian military diplomacy was part of a larger strategy.The former Foreign Defense Minister Celso Amorim during his visit to Suriname in 2012, demonstrated Brazil's deep interest in intensifying military cooperation processes not only with Suriname, but also with the other countries of the North of the subcontinent, classifying them as important partners in construction of a security community in the region (DEFESANET, 2012).Suriname, oriented to the Caribbean and not much "South Americanized", presented a low degree of relationship with Brazil, the largest country in the region.However, the few existing diplomatic actions were focused on military cooperation.As the largest country in the region, Brazil having a strategy through military diplomacy is, in fact, pertinent to the approximation with its geographical environment, especially in sensitive areas from the point of view of security and defense such as the Amazon region.The cooperation established with Suriname demonstrates part of this strategy present in Brazil's defense documents.It is worth noting that even though we have found Suriname to be the second country with the most military cooperation agreements with Brazil in the subcontinent, we realize that the volume of agreements stands out more than its extensions and densities.This indicates that the use of military matters as a substrate of cooperation or diplomacy brings forward the great potential to be explored with Brazil and Suriname and among the countries of on a military mission, known as the Venturini Mission, in the 1980s.The lack of an integration policy with the Guyana region,