Tens of thousands say goodbye to Bouterse at the largest funeral: ‘He was a real man of the people’

When Cynthia Landveld sees the hearse with the coffin of former president Desi Bouterse approaching in the distance, she bursts into tears. Decked out in a purple and white koto – a traditional Surinamese dress in the colors of Bouterse’s political party NDP, she stands among hundreds of people at the central market of Paramaribo. “You could just meet Bouterse here on a weekday, even when he was president,” she says, laughing through her tears at that memory.

The procession comes closer, the hearse drives at a walking pace with former soldiers on either side. Bouterse can be seen lying in state through the window, wearing military fatigues and sunglasses. The Surinamese flag is draped over part of the coffin. Landveld tries to push through the crowd to catch a glimpse of him. “It looks like Bouterse is lying peacefully. He was a real man of the people. The best leader we have ever had,” she says a little later.

The Surinamese government determined that Bouterse – although he would be entitled to one as a former president – would not receive a state funeral because of his conviction for the December murders. And so it became a grand public funeral, organized by the NDP, which was attended by tens of thousands of supporters, curious people and Surinamese people who wanted to pay their last respects to him.

The man who controlled Surinamese politics for more than forty years in various positions – as army leader, as president and finally as a convict for the December murders and fugitive – was brought to his final resting place this weekend by tens of thousands of Surinamese. According to the autopsy report, Bouterse died at his hiding place on December 23 or 24 from a liver problem as a result of chronic drinking.

‘Historic moment’

“I’m not an NDP member, but this is a historic moment,” says Clyde Binda, who watches the procession from a distance. “Whatever you think of Bouterse, there is no one who has played such an important role in our contemporary history,” he says.

Whatever you think of Bouterse, there is no one who has played such an important role in our contemporary history

Earlier, Ramon Abrahams, vice-chairman of the NDP, promised that Bouterse’s funeral would be grand; that the well-organized party had pulled out all the stops became apparent during the singi neti, the traditional evening vigil on Friday evening in the Ocer party center. A few thousand people already attended, songs were sung, speeches were given and leaders of various religious movements prayed. Everything could be followed directly via a live stream or on a large screen outside.

Initially there was a commotion because the accredited press, national and international, was told by the NDP that the words ‘murderer’ and ‘convict’ were not allowed to be spoken in the party center. “What you say outside our house after handing in your press accreditation is up to you, but we don’t want to hear those words inside here,” said an NDP press officer. The decision was later reversed by the NDP – it was said to be a misunderstanding – when, among others, the Surinamese news site Star News decided not to report on the evening vigil if the media were censored.

Early on Saturday, three prisoners were taken to the crematorium in a police van to say goodbye to Bouterse. They were the three elderly co-convicts for the December murders: Ernst Gefferie, Benny Brondenstein and Stephanus Dendoe. Unlike Bouterse, they reported to prison in January last year to serve their sentences. Bouterse’s former bodyguard Iwan Dijksteel fled with him and is still on the run.

Flag at half mast

A few hours later, the coffin begins its journey through the city from Bouterse’s house in the Leonsberg district. The flag will fly at half-mast at ministries and government offices, the government has decided. The dozens of cars in the procession are accompanied by motorcycles. A helicopter circles above the procession and there is visible police security in many places. People line the route to pay their last respects.

The procession passes locations that were important to Bouterse, such as the presidential palace and the National Assembly. Behind it on the river is Fort Zeelandia, the place where fifteen opponents of Bouterse were murdered on December 8, 1982, for which Bouterse was sentenced to twenty years in prison in 2023.

A funeral procession with the coffin of Surinamese former president Desi Bouterse drives through the center of Paramaribo to the party center of the National Democratic Party (NDP).

The procession also moves along the waterfront and passes right by the shop of Sunil Oemrawsingh, surviving relative and chairman of the December 8, 1982 Foundation. He has decided to close his shop on this day. He does not want to be confronted with the popular funeral for Bouterse. For relatives like Oemrawsingh, this is a day of unfinished justice, he says. “It is also ironic that the tour passes my shop and also comes close to Fort Zeelandia. Would the people who now honor Bouterse so much also think about the relatives and the fifteen murdered people?” he wonders.

Would the people who now venerate Bouterse so much also think about the relatives and the fifteen murdered people?

The tens of thousands of Surinamese who are on their feet are hardly concerned with this. “Of course everyone makes mistakes. But in the end God will forgive him,” said a woman selling drinks in front of the party center. The street is full of purple-clad supporters, many young people, and Surinamese from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. A group of natives decked out in headdresses and bows and arrows join the queue for farewell. In front of them stands a group of Maroon women in traditional pangis, shawls.

Silence and pain

Some people are emotional and shout ‘Papa Bouta’ when they see him lying there, others say a prayer. There is also an almost festive atmosphere on the grounds: “this is a funeral in the style of the deceased,” says someone from the organization. “Bouterse himself also liked a party.”

24-year-old Soeraja Freser realizes that some Surinamese people today experience Bouterse’s actions in silence and pain. She works as a hairdresser and came to the farewell with three friends. “Of course you look at this differently if you are a surviving relative. But today at his funeral we should mainly focus on the positive things about Bouterse. Today there is no room for enmity,” she said.

Freser looks around. “Do you see how we are united as different Surinamese people? This was achieved thanks to Bouterse. Because he himself was of mixed descent, with indigenous and Creole roots, and founded his party in a multicultural way, many young people like me feel at home here. You see that today,” she says. Traditionally, many political parties in Suriname are divided by ethnicity; Bouterse’s party was the first multicultural party.

Political tone

Between the speakers, from family members to party members and well-known Surinamese musicians, the funeral also has a strong political tint. There will be elections in Suriname in May. The NDP, which is doing well in the polls, also wants to send out the message that it will keep Bouterse’s legacy alive. “It’s about faith and love for Suriname, Bouterse was a pure nationalist. We will continue to build on this,” said vice-chairman Ramon Abrahams in the run-up to the funeral.

Wife Ingrid Bouterse-Waldring, who has now joined the party board, enters the stage just before the coffin goes by horse-drawn carriage to the crematorium. “Today I saw how Suriname loved Bouta. And you will receive the honor from the population that you deserve better than anyone else,” she says, as she turns to her deceased husband. “Let’s go and win the elections, that is what Bouterse would have wanted,” she repeats the words of the party’s chairman, Jenny Simons. There are cheers and applause.

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