The past haunts
by
Marcel Van Silfhout |
Suriname’s president is accused of murder by a former close friend
Ever heard of this intriguing one-liner? ‘You might think you are done with the past, but is the past done with you?’ And what if this past contains the murder of 15 innocent people? In September 2010, I wrote, ‘Holland has to face it: Dési Bouterse, an old post-colonial ghost, is back. This time he did it without a putsch; this time he didn’t start as dictator again; this time he is the chosen president of Suriname.’ Now in March 2012, the people of Suriname have to face it: their president is accused of murder by Ruben Rozendaal, one of his former close friends.
Clear enough, the past is not yet ready with Bouterse. No one expected it after so many years, but at last someone close to the Suriname president couldn’t live with this hidden truth. Rozendaal felt himself responsible to tell the whole story. As a close friend of Bouterse and one of the army officers involved in the so- called ‘December Murders’, his late revelation shocked Suriname and beyond. Rozendaal gave a reason for his late words of excuse and revelation by declaring that he is very ill. He wants to have a clean conscience before dying. Therefore he broke the silence. Rozendaal doesn’t want that his 13 children and grand-children to be accused of being son or and daughter of a murderer for the rest of their lives without knowing the truth.
For the Dutch public it’s something that hardly can be understood. Since the 17th century Suriname was a colony. In 1975 The Netherlands granted the South American country full independence. Within only half a decade, Dési Bouterse organised a military coup. Since then Suriname became a ‘socialist republic’ led by Bouterse and his National Military Council. But the real horror began a few years later, when the dictatorship became total. In December 1982, 15 prominent political opponents, like union leaders, journalists and MP’s, were arrested and brought to Fort Zeelandia in the Suriname capital Paramaribo. All 15 were executed.
The bizarre thing is that no one expected Bouterse not to be involved in the killings. Some years ago he stated he was responsible for the massacre and asked his country for mercy. Yet, it is shocking to hear he personally shot two: Cyrill Daal and Surindre Rambocus. Most shocking is hearing this 30 years later. The ones who dare to speak out against Bouterse (or might have considered to do so), have been mysteriously killed, Rozendaal claims. If he wasn’t seriously ill, he wouldn’t dare to speak.
For The Netherlands Suriname has always been a sort of headache. Except the fact that Bouterse was behind the military coup and the December Murders, he was sentenced for nine years in The Netherlands for drug trafficking. Since parliament in Suriname chose Bouterse as president after his party Mega Combination won the majority of the seats, the relation between Holland and its former colony-state is in fact non-existent. The role for diplomacy is about zero, especially now Bouterse and his party members tried to block the court case of the December Murders, the same case in which Rozendaal spoke out. At first it seemed to be the perfect moment for Bouterse to propose an amnesty law that would end the cases against him. If Rozendaal wouldn’t have spoken in the same week, the court case might have been stopped. But now the majority of the parliament reacted angrily against the proposed amnesty law.
For Holland there are no reasons to intervene. There’s nothing Holland can or must do. Suriname is an independent country. There are many Suriname people living in Holland, as there are many people in Suriname with Dutch family ties. The situation is quite hopeless, yet, it’s up to the lawmakers and people themselves in Suriname. Nevertheless, it’s hard to deal with the fact that a former colony became a dictatorship under a murderer. It’s even more difficult to realise that the majority of the people in Suriname voted in 2010 in favour of their former dictator. As a result of that, he is now their president, a president who might have personally killed people. ‘You might think you are done with the past, but is the past done with you?’ For Suriname and Bouterse the answer is clear: surely not, history is still unfolding.
Oman Tribune |
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