AMERICAN TROOPS IN DUTCH GUIANA

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 279, 25 November 1941, Page 7

AMERICAN TROOPS IN DUTCH GUIANA

PROTECTIVE FORCE

Bauxite Mines Vital To U.S.

Defence Industries

failed Tress Association.—Copyright

Rec. noon. WASHINGTON 7 . Nov

Bv agreement with the Nether lands Government an American mili tary force has been sent to Netherlands Guiana.

In a statement issued from the White House the information was given that the bauxite mines of Surinam furnish upwards of 60 per c ?nt of the requirements of the United States aluminium industry, which is vital to the defence of the western hemisphere and to nations resisting aggression. It is. therefore, necessary that the safety of these mines be as completely assured as present conditions demand.

Normally, the White House declared, the Netherlands Government would draw upon its forces in the Netherlands East Indies to strengthen the defences of Guiana, but in view of the present situation in the south-western Pacific it is thought inadvisable to follow that course. As the result of consultations with the Netherlands Government it was agreed that an American Army contingent should go to Surinam to co-operate with the Netherlands forces.

Netherlands Guiana, or Surinam, is an area slighth' less than the South Island. Lying on the nortn coast of South America, it is bounded on the east by French Guiana and on the west by British Guiana. To the south is Brazil. Surinam became Dutch in 1667, but twice since, in 1779-1802, and in 1804-16, it was in British possession. The population is about 170.000. In 1938, the Netherlands military forces stationed there numbered 200. The capital, Paramaribo, is a shipping and air port.