The Foreign Service Journal, November 2019

78 NOVEMBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL the role of the military in national affairs. We at the embassy worked to identify ways that the United States could assist the Surinamese both politically and materially. The fall of the Berlin Wall gave a powerful boost of hope to all those in Suriname who supported democracy and hoped to develop stronger democratic institutions in the country. I remem- ber a senior Surinamese government official telling me how he hoped that the fall of the wall would lead to “an irresistible tide” of democratic freedom in Suriname and throughout the world. The dissolution of the Soviet Union further encouraged Surinamers to believe that the forces of authoritarianism were in full retreat, and that the political influence of Bouterse and his supporters would continue to wane. Cooperation between the government and our embassy broadened. Sadly, these hopes were dashed by a second coup ordered by Bouterse on Christmas Eve 1990. While the military-appointed replacement government was short-lived—forced out in mid-1991 by a second international diplomatic effort led by the United States, the Netherlands and Venezuela—Bouterse, despite being indicted by the Dutch government for involve- ment in narcotics trafficking, has been democratically elected twice and is currently serving as president of Suriname. The hope of a civilian government in Suriname free of the influence of its military remains as elusive now as it was 30 years ago when the wall fell. Stanley Myles joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1971. In 1989 he was serving as the deputy chief of mission in Paramaribo, Suriname. Mr. Myles resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Turn Off the Lights and Lock the Door Shirley Elizabeth Barnes West Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany t he Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. German unifica- tion occurred on Oct. 3, 1990—two months after my arrival in August as the administrative officer for the U.S. mission in West Berlin. The mission had an overall staff of approximately 500 people, including U.S. Foreign Service officers, German Foreign Service Nationals, locally hired Americans and third country nationals. The administrative section was charged with dismantling and downsizing all ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/MIODRAG MILUTINOVIC Remains of the Berlin Wall, a historical monument of the Cold War, is today a tourist attraction.