The former army leader and ex-president of Suriname, Desi Bouterse, will not receive a state funeral. The Surinamese government announced this on Saturday during a national meeting press conference. So there will be no military ceremony and no period of national mourning. On the day of the funeral, the flag will fly at half-mast on all government buildings, according to the Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albert Ramdin. No date was mentioned at the press conference on which the funeral will take place.
The current president, Chan Santokhi, will express his condolences to Bouterse’s widow by telephone on the day of the funeral. The Minister of the Interior signs the condolence register on behalf of the Surinamese Government. If the family wishes, the Minister of the Interior will be present at the funeral, “but there will be no speeches on behalf of the government,” Ramdin said.
Strong sentiments in Suriname
At the beginning of his statement, Ramdin took extensive time to reflect on the strong sentiments in Suriname surrounding the death of the ex-president. Since his death, December 25, a fierce debate has been raging in the country about the question of what kind of funeral Bouterse should receive, as an ex-president, army leader and fugitive convict. Ramdin therefore appealed to the Surinamese “to remain decent and demonstrate dignity, regardless of what emotions are involved when it comes to the deceased, because every deceased deserves a dignified burial.”
Bouterse was the democratically elected president of Suriname for about ten years, but was also the country’s military leader in the 1980s and 1990s. Last year he was sentenced to twenty years in prison for his complicity in the December murders of 1982. After the verdict he was on the run.
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‘Good signal’
Sunil Oemrawsingh, surviving relative and chairman of the 8 December 1982 Foundation, is relieved. “It is a good signal from the government, you should not tolerate crimes by leaders or romanticize them, no matter how influential they have been,” he says. NRC.
“Bouterse’s death closes a chapter, but not the book. We continue to fight for justice. And there is another fugitive murderer from the December murders, namely Mr. Dijksteel. He must also be kept under lock and key,” said Oemrawsingh.
There is no legal regulation that dictates what the funeral of a former president of Suriname should look like, Ramdin explained. It is up to the current head of state to implement this, within the framework of the law. Only sitting and former presidents and vice presidents can claim a state funeral, but that decision is always “made on the basis of legal and social considerations,” according to Ramin. According to him, this assessment also took into account international customs and that in the case of a fugitive ex-president there is normally no state funeral.
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This message has been supplemented with quotes from relatives.