The Maroons' ancestors were African slaves who escaped from coastal Suriname between the mid-seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries to form independent settlements in the interior.

In 1987 he directed the National Assembly to adopt a new constitution that allowed him to continue as head of the army, as a civilian government was established under close watch.

Brunswijk demanded democratic reforms, civil rights, and economic development for the country's Maroon minority.

[8] On 1 June 1989 rebels captured Afobaka Dam, Suriname's main hydroelectric plant, and threatened to flood the capital Paramaribo unless the government agreed to negotiations.

The government had proposed that the Jungle Commando troops were to be transformed into a security unit, to patrol the interior of the country.

[10] In-fighting occurred and Thomas switched sides to the Surinamese Army which quickly moved in to regain control over the area.

The government offered integration of Jungle Commando into the Suriname Army, and jobs for Maroons in gold prospecting and forestry in return for complete disarmament.

Despite the agreement, a number of Jungle Commando officials residing in the Netherlands denounced the conditions and vowed to continue their armed struggle.

[15] On 29 November 1986, the military government executed more than 40 people, including women and children, and burned the village of Moiwana.

As a result of an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) investigation, the Surinamese government made a public apology to the victims' families in 2006, additionally paying compensation to the survivors.

[17] On 11 September 1987, the National Army led by Dési Bouterse, retaliated by attacking the Jungle Commando, and according to a report by Aide Médicale Internationale, killed civilians including women and children.

[20] On 31 December 1987, during a counter-insurgency operation in the Atjoni region seven Maroon civilians were driven off in a military vehicle on suspicion of belonging to the Jungle Commando.

A second decision further determined the financial reparations insufficient, ordering the state to re-open the Saramaca medical dispensary and the school in the victims' village.