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The Tucayana Amazonas was an Amerindian guerrilla commando group in Suriname.
| Tucayana Amazonas | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Thomas Sabajo Hugo "Piko" Sabajo |
| Dates of operation | 1989-1992 |
| Headquarters | Bigi Poika |
| Active regions | West Suriname |
| Ideology | Amerindian self-determination |
| Opponents | Surinamese army |
Prior to the Tucayana Amazonas, many of the fighters had been soldiers during the Surinamese Interior War who fought on the side of the National Army against the Jungle Commando.[1] The group felt betrayed by the 1989 Treaty of Kourou,[2] a ceasefire agreement between the Jungle Commando and the Surinamese army, which gave the Maroons more rights, but neglected indigenous rights.[1] The Tucayana claimed to be supported by all tribes.[2]
On 31 August 1989, a group of Amerindians took possession of the ferry near Jenny and called themselves the Tucayana Amazonas.[3] They initially caused confusion with non-natives because they thought that Tucayana was a tribe.[4] The Tucayana went on to take the villages of Apoera, Washabo,[5] and Bigi Poika, where they set up their headquarters.[1] The Tucayana Amazonas were headed by Thomas Sabajo with his brother Hugo "Piko" Sabajo as second in command in Bernharddorp, which was also liberated.[1]
They were fighting against the Army, however the seizure of the strategic villages triggered no reaction. On 13 October the town of Moengo, a stronghold of the Jungle Commando, got attacked;[6] 20 soldiers were killed in the fighting.[7] Infighting occurred between the brothers, and on 31 January 1990, Thomas was deposed as leader.[8] However, Thomas switched sides to the Army which quickly moved in to regain control over the villages.[5] The Human Rights Watch and the Organisation of American States claim that the Tucayana had always been a proxy army of the National Army,[9][7] because the Army did not want to break the terms of the Treaty of Kourou.[10][11]
After the fall of the villages, Piko fled to Guyana. Eight of his supporters were killed near Matta.[1] In early February 1990, the commanders and indigenous chiefs released a statement in support of Thomas.[12] A week later, Piko was arrested by the police in Guyana and returned to Suriname.[13] Piko and three of his supporters were subsequently jailed in Fort Zeelandia.[14] On 19 February 1990,[15] they were later taken to Apoera where they were killed.[1]
The Tucayana Amazonas continued as a political group, and they supported the elections of 1991.[16] On 8 August 1992, a peace treaty was signed between the National Army, the Jungle Commando and the Tucayana Amazonas.[17] In 1992, the Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname (Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs in Suriname) was founded to regain traditional control in the villages and to act as a political pressure group.[18]
As of 2020, the bodies of the victims have not been discovered and the incidents have not been investigated.[15][5] The activist group Dwaze Moeders van Suriname claims 12 victims,[15] however Amnesty International considers the number of victims unknown.[5]
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