The sentencing of Desi Bouterse to twenty years in prison for his role in the December murders in 1982 is very positive, says Ypie Boersma. But according to her, it does not solve the everyday problems of the Surinamese people.
Desi Bouterse was dictator of the military regime in Suriname from 1980 to 1988. On December 8, 1982, opponents of Bouterse’s military regime were tortured and murdered in Fort Zeelandia, founded by Dutch colonists in the early seventeenth century.
Among the fifteen victims of these December murders were a lawyer, a teacher, a trade union leader and also several journalists.
Years later, in 1997/1998, I did an internship as a journalist in training at a Surinamese newspaper in Paramaribo. I learned a lot there, including what freedom of the press meant. During that period, Desi Bouterse was state advisor to the Surinamese government and advised on the health of the Surinamese people.
Journalism is not objective and impartial
I learned how journalism often had its colors and could not or did not want to be completely objective and impartial according to the then applicable Dutch journalistic guidelines.
If one day we had copied a report from a Dutch newspaper about the possible involvement of Ronnie Brunswijk in drug smuggling, the editors were called by this former jungle leader the next day, saying that he would know where to find us if we would report such reports. keep posting.
I will also never forget that when a colleague drove me in an old Beetle to a press conference by State Advisor Desi Bouterse, this colleague urged me almost aggressively: ” Ypke “We don’t shake hands with people who have blood on theirs.”
Just before I got out at the building where the press conference on public health would take place, he snapped at me: “And, you certainly don’t have to take a picture of Bouterse, because he comes with a small message on the back page of our newspaper.” . And not with a photo anyway.”
Surinamese people have other concerns
Back to Bouterse’s final conviction. Although I was personally very happy with this, especially for the relatives of the victims, it appears that people in Suriname have other daily concerns. And that reality of a large part of the more than 600,000 Surinamese people is not really clearly presented in the Dutch media.
Before the verdict came, one of my old Surinamese friends texted me: ‘Yes, many are looking forward to Wednesday, but it doesn’t matter what it will be.’
Instead of worrying about whether Bouterse will be locked up or not, Surinamese are concerned about completely different things, as this friend stated: ‘I am more concerned about poverty, unemployment, ethnic tensions among Creoles, Maroons and Hindustani. , the hopelessness and poor future prospects for my children’.
Dissatisfaction with current policy
The growing dissatisfaction in recent years about the current policy of the travel-loving President Santokhi, who gives family and friends all kinds of important jobs, is grist to the mill for the popularity of former President Bouterse. After all, he was president himself for a ‘brief’ period between 2010 and 2020.
It is also good not to forget that Ronnie Brunswijk, who made that phone call, is now even vice president. He was recently also consecrated king of Maroons and City Creoles by four African kings.
Although Brunswijk first turned against Bouterse during the Internal War in the second half of the 1980s, they reconciled in 2010. That is why Bouterse announced last summer that he would ask for a pardon from ‘the king’ in the event of a possible final conviction.
Far, far too complex
The question is whether, despite this courageous judicial decision, there will really be an end to impunity for the December murders and achieving some justice for the relatives of the victims.
In any case: the Surinamese reality of all the peoples brought together in Suriname is actually far too complex for simple Dutch reporting on the December murders. Even I, who am quite involved in this beautiful country, often don’t understand it at all.
I do know that justice surrounding the December murders is unfortunately inedible for all Surinamese, whether they originally come from Africa, India or Indonesia, and will therefore not directly influence less hopelessness.
Ypie Boersma (1975) spent a six-month internship in Paramaribo during her studies in Leeuwarden. Under the guise of ‘you can’t eat justice’, she will collect financial resources in 2024 to ship boxes of food to residents of Suriname. More information via [email protected]