The Bouterse verdict is a tribute to the courage and independence of Surinamese judges and the perseverance of the victims’ families.
After years of litigation, Suriname held its breath on Wednesday at the most important judicial decision in the country’s 48-year history: former army leader and ex-president Desi Bouterse is sentenced to twenty years in prison for his leading role in the planning and execution of the December murders in 1982.
At the time, fifteen men were executed in Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo. They were opponents of the then military regime led by Bouterse. The army leader claimed that they wanted to stage a counter-coup and were shot while fleeing. Relatives called that ‘the biggest lie of the last century’. They rightly noted, ‘that if we don’t fix this, something will be broken forever’.
The trial against Bouterse lasted more than sixteen years. As president he believed himself to be invulnerable. He did everything he could to train the process. He also claimed amnesty because he would have been ‘only politically responsible’. The judges were not intimidated. Not even if Bouterse used threatening language and belittled the court. The Court Martial sentences Bouterse for the third time to a prison term of 20 years. After 41 years, the surviving relatives want to see the sentence carried out after a long legal battle.
The question is whether Bouterse will immediately be put under lock and key. The Public Prosecution Service demanded immediate arrest. The Court does not agree with this. Bouterse can ask the president for pardon. In that case, there is always the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This court can dismiss a granted pardon. That’s happened before. In other countries, the Court challenges pardons for convicted government leaders.
The current government of Suriname is on edge about the ruling. The government expects unrest to break out. There are fears that the court ruling will be used to blame the government for rampant poverty, rising inflation and high petrol prices. The poor state of the economy may undermine the feeling that final justice has been served in this important case. Nevertheless, on this day in December, Suriname has done the rule of law and therefore itself an enormous service.