Prime Minister Dick Schoof and his cabinet have refrained from sending an official condolence to the relatives of Desi Bouterse, the former president of Suriname, who died on Wednesday. This is reported by the ANP news agency.
Such condolences are customary when a former dignitary of another country dies, but the relationship between Bouterse and the Dutch government had been very bad for years. The former president of Suriname, which was a colony of the Netherlands until 1975, liked to oppose the government in The Hague.
Schoof did post one message on X in which he reflects on the victims and relatives of the December murders. During that event, fifteen opponents of Bouterse’s regime were tortured and murdered in Fort Zeelandia in 1982.
Sentence not served
At the end of last year, the Surinamese Court of Justice finally sentenced Bouterse to a prison term of twenty years for his involvement in the massacre.
With his death, Bouterse never served his sentence, Schoof writes on X. He wishes “all Surinamese peace and dignity”.
The Dutch Prime Minister thereby refers to the words of the current Surinamese President Chan Santokhi. He did convey his condolences to Bouterse’s relatives, but called in one official statement also to “remain dignified and maintain composure, peace and order.”
Current Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk has also conveyed his condolences to Bouterse’s relatives. “His life has had a lasting impact on our country and his efforts will not be forgotten,” Brunswijk writes. “May his legacy continue to be an inspiration to many and may his soul rest in peace.”
The current vice president fought a bloody civil war with Bouterse and his government troops from 1986 to 1992 as leader of the so-called Jungle Commando. Brunswijk later reconciled with his old rival, and from 2010 to 2015 the two formed a government together.
Cocaine trafficking
In addition to the December murders, Bouterse has also been convicted in the Netherlands. The court in The Hague explained In 2001, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison in absentia for international cocaine trafficking.
According to former lawyer Inez Weski, who defended the Surinamese former president from 2005 in his attempts to have the ruling thrown out, the person Bouterse “cannot be seen separately from Suriname as a centuries-long prey of colonial divide-and-rule policy, with associated injustice”.
The so-called Copa case looked like “a colonial revenge,” says Weski, “because Bouterse could not be removed politically and militarily.” The lawyer refers to emeritus professor of legal psychology Peter van Koppen, who called Bouterse’s conviction in 2022 a miscarriage of justice. Weski wishes Suriname a “free future”.
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Bouterse, who died on the run, could have been a hero of the nation, but always carried his tainted past with him