Saleswoman Celena Rozenblad puts some orange awarras (palm fruits) in containers and places them in front of her stall. But she has few customers. Not only because of the odor nuisance around her stall – the street drain is clogged – but it has been remarkably quiet in the center of Paramaribo all weekend. After what should be ‘the denouement’ in the trial surrounding the December murders, the imprisonment of ex-president Desi Bouterse, who was sentenced to twenty years in prison, many people stay at home. For the umpteenth time, this drawn-out case ended in an anticlimax: Bouterse did not report to the Santo Boma prison and has disappeared. “I don’t want to get involved in politics,” says Rozenblad. “Bouterse doesn’t interest me. That man is old, leave him alone,” she sighs. Her other problems – such as the odor nuisance – concern her more. “Do you see that puddle of water next to my stall? The government has been promising for months that they will fix the clogged gutter. Customers stay away,” she says sharply.
Further in the center, also empty streets. On Friday, when Bouterse should have reported, many shops were already closed as a precaution. The fear of February 17 last year, when angry demonstrators mutinied in the center and looted shops and caused destruction, is still there. Moreover, news surrounding Bouterse and the December murders in Suriname causes a completely different dynamic than on the other side of the ocean in the Netherlands where the commotion is usually bigger. In Suriname the hope is that everything remains calm and peaceful.
‘No escalation’
This has been the emphatic message from the government of President Chan Santokhi, the relatives and Bouterse’s party the NDP in recent weeks: no escalation. Yet these days there is a lot of speculation about Bouterse’s flight and where he might now be. “I honestly don’t find it surprising that he would not report to prison,” says Fabian Lemen, who comes out of the city’s largest department store and walks to his car. “I heard that he has already left, but only Bouterse himself knows whether that is the case.”
Leaders within the NDP who gathered at his house with supporters on Friday hinted that Bouterse is still in the country. But on Saturday the newspaper reported Times of Suriname based on anonymous sources that Bouterse fled to Venezuela via Brazil. According to the newspaper, he had been there for several weeks. Whether these rumors are true remains to be seen NRC are not confirmed.
Warm tires
It is known that Bouterse has good contacts in both Cuba and Venezuela. He is friends with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who has been to Suriname several times. Bouterse also has traditionally maintained warm ties with the Castros (only former president Raúl Castro is still alive). During his presidency, Bouterse received regular medical treatment in Cuba. According to the news site Star News However, Bouterse reportedly had a meeting at home with his team of lawyers last week. This cannot be confirmed by NRC either.
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Although the Surinamese Public Prosecution Service has launched an investigation into Desi Bouterse and his former bodyguard Iwan Dijksteel – who also did not show up – the lawyer for the surviving relatives Hugo Essed noted that, according to him, an official investigation document has not yet been issued. “Because then people who helped can also be punished,” he said on Surinamese radio.
Conspiracy theories
If Bouterse was indeed able to flee, the question also arises why the Surinamese authorities could not prevent this? One of the many conspiracy theories on social media, where there is plenty of speculation, is that there was a deliberate lack of action. A ‘disappeared Bouterse’ would possibly be better for President Santokhi, who is currently in a weak position, than a Bouterse behind bars, which could cause unrest and give Bouterse a martyr role.
The hasty construction of an improvised ‘cell’ on the grounds of the military hospital in the center of the city fuels these kinds of conspiracy theories. “The authorities must quickly provide clarity on how Bouterse could have fled. We want to know what the current state of affairs is,” says Hugo Essed, lawyer for the surviving relatives.