Late former Surinamese strongman and two-time coup maker Desi Bouterse would have turned 80 this week, so some ruling party officials and his legal team now want a monument erected in his memory and his ex-military collaborators released from prison.
Former lead attorney Irvin Kanhai said this week that he had submitted a formal request to President Jennifer Simons for the release of four ex-soldiers who had been convicted along with Bouterse for the 1982 mass murders of 15 government opponents, including four journalists, clergy members, labor leaders, and academics. The four, most of them near or above 80, were given 15 years in prison, while Bouterse, who died late last year while in hiding, had fled from a 20-year sentence.
The 15 had been accused of collaborating with the Netherlands, France, and the US to reverse the February 1980 military coup that had toppled the then elected government. They were rounded up, lined up at a Dutch colonial era fort, and executed by soldiers in what was described as the worst mass murders in recent memory.
Reacting to reports that Kanhai had submitted the request, the head of state said she “has not seen it as yet “, though Kanhai produced a document showing that officials at her office had indeed received the letter from him.
The National Democratic Party (NDP), which he founded even while serving as army chief in the late 1980s, held a memorial service for him on Monday. Some speakers called for the pardon and for a monument to be erected for him and placed prominently.
But as expected, the December 8th Movement, keeping the memory of those who died alive, is stridently opposing any calls for pardon or any plans to release Ernst Gefferie, Benny Brondenstein, and Stephanus Dendoe. The fourth convict, Iwan Dijksteel, remains on the run. He had fled to the southeast of the country to a hideout with Bouterse and has not been seen since Bouterse died in late December last year.
“The president must not allow herself to be influenced by party members who want to rewrite the past. Whoever is found responsible for this heinous act must serve their sentence. That is justice. The president has a duty to rise above party politics and protect the rule of law, “Sunil Oemrawsingh told local television station ABC.
The NDP is currently leading the government coalition that took office in July. Bouterse served two terms as an elected president until 2020 before losing to the current main opposition.
