December murders

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The December murders (Dutch: Decembermoorden) were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on December 7 between 2 am and 5 am while sleeping in their homes (according to reports by the families of the victims). The other two were Surendre Rambocus and Jiwansingh Sheombar who were already imprisoned for attempting a countercoup in March 1982. Soldiers of Dési Bouterse (dictator of Suriname at the time) took them to Fort Zeelandia (at that time Bouterse's headquarters), where they were heard as "suspects in a trial" by Bouterse and other sergeants in a self-appointed court. After these "hearings" they were tortured and shot dead. The circumstances remain unclear. On 10 December 1982, Bouterse claimed on national television that all of the detainees had been shot dead "in an attempt to flee".

Contents

The December murders led to international protest by numerous Western countries and human rights organizations. The former colonial power, the Netherlands, immediately froze development aid. [1] [2] Many Surinamese civilians fled Suriname for the Netherlands.

Bouterse has long denied guilt in the December murders. In March 2007 he accepted political responsibility for the murders, but he then also explicitly stated that he personally had not 'pulled the trigger' to kill the fifteen men. In March 2012, however, a former confidant of Bouterse testified under oath that Bouterse himself had shot two of the victims. [3]

Description

After their abduction, the fifteen victims were transported to Fort Zeelandia, the then headquarters of Bouterse and his soldiers in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. The soldiers performing the action were under command of Bouterse, the then dictator of Suriname and also leader of the Surinamese army. Among the victims were lawyers, journalists, businessmen, soldiers, university teachers and a union leader.

A sixteenth arrested person, trade union leader Fred Derby, was released unexpectedly on December 8. Derby reported his experiences on December 8, 2000, saying he was not murdered because, Bouterse told him, he was needed to cool the temper of the unions, which were frequently on strike at that time. [4] [5]

Victims

Plaque in Waterlooplein, Amsterdam, commemorating the victims of the December murders Decembermoorden 1982 (14665880101).jpg
Plaque in Waterlooplein, Amsterdam, commemorating the victims of the December murders

Jozef Slagveer

Jozef Slagveer (25 January 1940) was a journalist and writer. He was born in Totness and graduated from the Free University in journalism. On his return to Suriname in 1967, he started work at the Ministry of Education. In 1971, he started a press agency and magazine together with Rudi Kross  [ nl ]. [6] His magazine uncovered several corruption scandals. [7] He also published several books and poetry collections both in Dutch and Sranan Tongo. [6]

After the 1980 coup d'état, Slagveer joined the sergeants and became their spokesperson on television and censor. Gradually he became more critical, and eventually broke all contact with the military regime. [8] On 7 December 1982, Slagveer was arrested, and, with visible signs of torture, forced to read a confession on television that the group had tried to overthrow the government. [7] He was killed the next day. [8]

Suspects

In the December murders trial that commenced on November 30, 2007, there were 25 suspects with Bouterse being the only main suspect.

Only after many years the government of Suriname took the first official legal steps toward clarifying the case. After the murders, the victims' bodies were buried without post-mortem examinations having been performed; moreover, no legal investigation was conducted.

Politically, the murders continue to exert an influence on Surinamese politics. After the 2010 general election, won by Bouterse, then-president Ronald Venetiaan refused to even mention Bouterse's name or congratulate him; Venetiaan, the Minister of Education in the government of Henck Arron, prime minister of the government overthrown by Bouterse in 1980, was a personal friend of most of the fifteen victims. [9]

After the election of Bouterse as president in August 2010, Parliament moved in 2012 to amend a 1992 amnesty law to include the period of the December murders. [10] [11] The amendment was signed into law in April 2012 by the vice president, and resulted in halting the murder trial against (among others) then-president Desi Bouterse. [12] [13] The trial in front of the court-martial was halted to await a judgment of the Constitutional Court - which was defined by law, but never appointed. After some years of standstill and no appointment of a Constitutional Court, the trial continued in 2015 after an order of the court-martial. [14] Using his authority as defined in article 148 of the Constitution of Suriname, President Bouterse then declared that the trial was a threat to national security, and ordered the prosecutor to halt prosecution on 29 June 2016. [15] [16] The court-martial was expected to continue the trial and consider this new fact by 30 November 2016, but this time the trial was postponed until 30 January because of illness of one of the judges. Eventually the court-martial ordered the prosecutor on 30 January 2017 to read the charges and ignore the instructions by the President because the matter was no longer in hands of the executive but of the judicial branch. [15] Next, the continuation of the trial was postponed to await the outcomes and timelines in other trials. [15]

In June 2017, military prosecutor Roy Elgrin was able to read his conclusions, and demanded a 20-year prison sentence for the main suspect Desi Bouterse. He argued that Bouterse was behind the murders, was present but also that he was unable to prove that he pulled the trigger. [17] In a response, Bouterse implied that he was not willing to accept a conviction by the court, as he was "appointed by God". [18]

Verdict

On 29 November 2019, a military court came to a verdict. Of the main suspects, incumbent president Bouterse was found guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. [19] Main co-defendant Etienne Boerenveen  [ nl ] was acquitted. [20] [21] Bouterse was sentenced in absentia , and filed an appeal. On 30 April 2021, Bouterse appeared in court where he used his right to silence. [22] On 30 August 2021, the verdict of 20 years was upheld. [23] Bouterse filed an appeal on 3 September, [24] which was denied by the Surinamese Supreme Court in 2023. [25]

Related Research Articles

The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dési Bouterse</span> 8th President of Suriname

Desiré Delano Bouterse is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's de facto leader after conducting a military coup and establishing a period of military rule. In 1987, Bouterse founded the National Democratic Party (NDP). On 25 May 2010, Bouterse's political alliance, the Megacombinatie, which included the NDP, won the parliamentary elections, and on 19 July 2010, Bouterse was elected as President of Suriname with 36 of 50 parliament votes. He was inaugurated on 12 August 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bram Behr</span> Surinamese journalist

Abraham Maurits "Bram" Behr was a Surinamese journalist. He published the pamphlet De Rode Surinamer and edited the weekly newspaper Mokro. He also founded and led the Hoxhaist Communist Party of Suriname (KPS), and was in opposition to the military dictatorship of Dési Bouterse. Behr was assassinated along with 14 other prominent Bouterse opponents on 8 December 1982, an incident known as the December murders.

Jimmy Leonard Stolk is a Surinamese former soldier, entrepreneur, and suspect in the trial about the December murders. Stolk was active as a military in the Surinamese army during the government of Dési Bouterse, and is suspected of involvement in the December Murders of 1982. Stolk was head of the prison, and member of the military tribunal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Surinamese coup d'état</span> Military coup led by Dési Bouterse

The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup, was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse overthrew the government of Prime Minister Henck Arron with a violent coup d'état. This marked the beginning of the military dictatorship that dominated the country from 1980 until 1991. The dictatorship featured the presence of an evening curfew, the lack of freedom of press, a ban on political parties, a restriction on the freedom of assembly, a high level of government corruption and the summary executions of political opponents.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashied Doekhi</span>

Mohamed Rashied Doekhi is a Surinamese politician and a former district commissioner of Nickerie. Because of his popularity in the western rice district, he is nicknamed the president of Nickerie. He was a member of the National Assembly of Suriname, between 2000 and 2020 on behalf of the National Democratic Party of Dési Bouterse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands–Suriname relations</span> Bilateral relations

Netherlands–Suriname relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Netherlands and Suriname. Both nations share historic ties and a common language (Dutch) and are members of the Dutch Language Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico–Suriname relations</span> Bilateral relations

The nations of Mexico and Suriname established diplomatic relations in 1975. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surendre Rambocus</span> Surinamese serviceman

Surendre Sradhanand "Soerinder" Rambocus was a Surinamese serviceman. For a short period, he was the highest-ranking officer of the Suriname National Army. He was involved in the unsuccessful coup d'état of March 1982 against the then dictator of Suriname, Dési Bouterse, and was executed on 8 December 1982 as one of the December murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddy Hoost</span> Surinamese politician and lawyer

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Baal Indradj Oemrawsingh was a Surinamese professor of biochemistry at the University of Suriname, and member of the National Assembly of Suriname between 1977 and 1980. He was considered the political leader behind the Rambocus Coup of March 1982. He was one of the victims killed by the military regime of Dési Bouterse.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuba–Suriname relations</span> Bilateral relations

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References

  1. ↑ "Amnestie decembermoorden; ambassadeur Suriname naar Nederland". Reformatorisch Dagblad (in Dutch). 5 April 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Dossier Suriname". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 1 February 2001. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Bouterse heeft Daal en Rambocus doodgeschoten". Starnieuws (in Dutch). 23 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Poti yesi arki, sa meki yu sabi furu" (PDF). kennisbanksu (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Wijlen Fred Derby over de Decembermoorden". Waterkant.net. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Jozef Slagveer". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Josef Slagveer". Decembermoorden (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Jozef Slagveer: 25 januari 1940 – 8 december 1982". Jessica Dikmoet (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Ramdhari, Stieven (28 July 2010). "Na 18 jaar gesprek tussen Bouterse en president Venetiaan". de Volkskrant . Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  10. ↑ Zantingh, Peter (2012-07-07). "Amnestiewet Suriname aangenomen – Bouterse niet verder vervolgd :: nrc.nl". NRC (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2017-01-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ↑ "'Advocaat Bouterse brein achter amnestiewet'" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  12. ↑ Laanen, Judith (2012-04-21). "Omstreden Surinaamse amnestiewet ondertekend door vice-president :: nrc.nl". NRC (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2017-01-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ Remie, Mirjam (2012-07-12). "Surinaamse krijgsraad schort proces Decembermoorden tijdelijk op :: nrc.nl". NRC (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2017-01-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ↑ "BREAKING NEWS: 'OM moet Bouterse verder vervolgen' - DWTonline.com" (in Dutch). 2016-04-17. Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2017-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. 1 2 3 "Artikel 148 in 8 Decemberstrafproces verworpen". De Ware Tijd (in Dutch). 2017-01-30. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  16. ↑ "Is artikel 148 Grondwet dé uitweg uit het Decemberstrafproces?". DWTonline.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  17. ↑ Broere, Kees (28 June 2017). "Surinaamse aanklager eist 20 jaar tegen president Bouterse in proces decembermoorden - Buitenland - Voor nieuws, achtergronden en columns". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  18. ↑ NOS, "Bouterse: God heeft mij hier neergezet, geen rechter haalt mij weg" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  19. ↑ 20 jaar cel Bouterse(Dutch), Suriname Herald, 29 Nov. 2019
  20. ↑ Boerenveen acquitted (Dutch), Suriname Herald. 29 Nov. 2019
  21. ↑ Court in Suriname convicts Bouterse to 20 years [ permanent dead link ]. wpxi news 29 Nov. 2019
  22. ↑ "Bouterse beroept zich op zwijgrecht in proces Decembermoorden". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "Bouterse in hoger beroep". De Ware Tijd (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  24. ↑ "Bouterse gaat in beroep tegen veroordeling". Suriname Herald (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  25. ↑ Kuipers, Ank (2023-12-20). "Suriname court upholds ex-president's conviction over activist murders in 1982". Reuters.
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