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Suriname court convicts President Bouterse of murder for 1982 executions

President Desi Bouterse on his present trip to China.
President Desi Bouterse on his present trip to China.

Reuters) – A court in Suriname today convicted President Desi Bouterse of murder for the execution of 15 opponents in 1982 during an earlier term as military ruler of the South American country after he and other soldiers led a violent coup to seize power.

 

The court sentenced Bouterse, who is currently in China on an official visit, to 20 years in prison.

Bouterse has dominated much of the history of Suriname since its 1975 independence from the Netherlands. He led the country of 560,000 people through the 1980s, assumed office again in 2010 and secured re-election five years later.

The military court today ruled that Bouterse had overseen an operation in which soldiers under his command abducted 16 leading government critics – including lawyers, journalists and university teachers – from their homes and killed 15 of them at a colonial fortress in Paramaribo

 

One trade union leader survived and later gave testimony against Bouterse.

Bouterse, who has steadfastly denied the charges, will have two weeks to appeal the decision.

Critics have vilified the 74-year-old president as a dictator who has clung to power in the country, sandwiched between Guyana and French Guiana on the northeastern shoulder of South America.

In 1999, he was convicted in absentia of drug trafficking by a court in the Netherlands though he has denied any wrongdoing. A Suriname judge in 2005 convicted Bouterse’s son, Dino, of leading a gang that trafficked in cocaine, illegal arms and stolen luxury cars.

 

As a junior military officer, Bouterse took part in the 1980 coup against Suriname’s first prime minister, Henck Arron, and immediately promoted himself to army chief-of-staff, becoming effective ruler of the government.

Western missions in Suriname today issued the following statement:

Common Statement on the 8 December Trials
By the Heads of Mission accredited to Suriname of
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States

The Heads of Mission accredited to Suriname of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States have closely monitored the progress of the 8 December Trials over the years. We appreciate the challenging circumstances under which the Military Court operates and commend the Court on reaching a verdict in the cases before the Civilian Chamber.

 

The trials have been instrumental in reconstructing the events and political context of December 8, 1982. The integrity and independence of the Judiciary is a pillar in Suriname society. It is critical that the final verdicts in the killing of 15 innocent citizens — whatever those verdicts may be after the appeals process is complete — are implemented and upheld in accordance with the rule of law.

Lastly, our thoughts go out to all of the families and loved ones of those who have been a part of this tragedy. The verdict will undoubtedly prove instrumental in helping the nation move towards reconciliation.

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I did a paper in college on this guy...his time is up....he destroyed any semblance of democracy when he staged this coup and killed opp the entire labor union leadership in Dutch Guiana....

Jagdeo and Irfaan next!

V
VishMahabir posted:

I did a paper in college on this guy...his time is up....he destroyed any semblance of democracy when he staged this coup and killed opp the entire labor union leadership in Dutch Guiana....

Jagdeo and Irfaan next!

The Sophia College that yo attend.

Dr Alli and Dr Jagdeo will jail the APNU care taker ministers... ayo scared to go to the polls. 

Revelation of Desi Bouterse -Roger Khan ‘calls’ and son’s weapons delivery to Buxton puts spotlight on PNC /Bouterse’s party MoU of 2004

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Suriname President Desi Bouterse.
Suriname President Desi Bouterse.

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Recent revelation by a Dutch newspaper that Suriname’s President, Desi Bouterse (while an opposition Member of Parliament) was allegedly in close contact with convicted Guyanese drug baron, Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan is opening a can of political worms about the extent of the PNC opposition collaboration with Bouterse, as the same report says his son supplied high-powered weapons to criminal elements holed up in Buxton during the 2002-2006 crime wave spree.

According to the Dutch publication NRC Handelsblad, a diplomatic message to the US State Department released by Wikileaks accuse  Bouterse’s son  Dino of being  involved in weapons smuggling between Guyana and Suriname. The Diplomatic note states that Dino Bouterse had travelled with a sports team to Buxton and it was believed that weapons were taken to the Guyanese village of Buxton at that time.

During that time, the East Coast of Demerara village of Buxton was under the control of criminal elements linked to the PNC party now the main player in the main opposition APNU. APNU Head David Granger is also the Leader of the PNC.

A source close to local and international law enforcement says they are studying whether the linkages between the PNC-sponsored Buxton criminal elements and the Bouterse clan might have had some form of blessing of the PNC leadership at that time.

Dino
Dino Bouterse

Investigators are looking at events leading up to and surrounding a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the PNC and Bouterse’s National Democratic Party on June 13, 2004 which was in the middle of the Buxton siege and a crime spree across the country. There were many deaths including anti-drug agents, police ranks, entrepreneurs and ordinary residents.

According to the PNC/Bouterse MoU of 2004: “Recognizing their responsibilities, as major opposition political parties, to contribute towards solutions of the myriad problems that beset our peoples; Convinced that closer collaboration between our two Political Parties can contribute to solutions in keeping with the policies and programmes of our respective parties; Held discussions during the past weeks, in Georgetown and New Nickerie, aimed at fostering better understanding and closer collaboration in the interest of our peoples and countries.”

Law enforcement sources in and out of Guyana say that information on the contacts between leaders of the PNC, Bouterse family and opposition-backed criminal gangs might now surface, shedding new light on the devastating 2002-2006 crime spree.

During the criminal siege of Buxton, a PPP/C government minister, Satyadeow Sawh and members of his family were gunned down as they returned home one evening from the Pegasus Hotel.

The Dutch newspaper says it has gained access to digital sources of information ‘print-out’ of the satellite phone of Khan, who was convicted in the US in 2009.  Khan, who was arrested in Suriname in June 2006 and taken to Trinidad where he was taken by US agents and flown to New York, is serving a lengthy prison sentence.

Dino Bouterse, the son of the Surinamese President, has been in US custody for the past three weeks on charges of cocaine smuggling.

See below full text of MoU.

Roger Khan
Roger Khan

FULL TEXT OF: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (NDP) OF SURINAME AND THE PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONGRESS REFORM (PNCR) OF GUYANA

The PNCR and the NDP,

Recognizing their responsibilities, as major opposition political parties, to contribute towards solutions of the myriad problems that beset our peoples;

Convinced that closer collaboration between our two Political Parties can contribute to solutions in keeping with the policies and programmes of our respective parties;

Held discussions during the past weeks, in Georgetown and New Nickerie, aimed at fostering better understanding and closer collaboration in the interest of our peoples and countries.

Both parties, recognizing that the present problems, inter alia, the border controversy, spring from our common colonial historical experience and that despite the attainment of political independence the present state of economic development is far from satisfactory.

Both Parties, therefore, acknowledge the need to accelerate economic development of our countries to improve the lives of our people.

Both Parties acknowledge that the border controversy between our two countries has been a source of tensions and a distraction from the pursuit of economic and social programmes to improve the quality of lives of our peoples.

Consequently, the Parties agree that the urgent and peaceful resolution of the controversy will redound to the benefit of both our countries and peoples.

The Parties noted that recent developments in the maritime boundary controversy have renewed tensions and resolved to play a constructive role in this process by supporting our Governments to settle this issue in a mutually satisfactory manner without utilizing our scarce resources which could be better used for improving the lives of our peoples.

Recognizing that the Arbitration process has created windows of opportunities whereby other agreements can be made, we urge both Governments and Opposition Parties to create an atmosphere conducive to rapprochement so that the resources of our countries can be urgently exploited for the benefit of both our peoples.

The two political Parties resolved to work for a peaceful settlement of the border controversy and call on our Governments to avoid the temptation to manipulate this issue for narrow political interests.

Finally our two political parties, taking into consideration that our peoples are closely tied by historical experiences, family bonds and common interests, agree to continue the dialogue to promote and foster good neighbourly relations, closer cooperation and friendship.

SIGNED BY

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY         PEOPLES NATIONAL CONGRESS REFORM.

Dated this 13th day of June 2004

New Nickerie

Suriname

FM
The Harmon Surinamese link
The Harmon Surinamese link

The Harmon Surinamese link

FOR every action there is a motive. I have been following the ongoing debate in the media, particularly the newspapers regarding the issuance of the Muri PGGS and analysed the questions posed by APNU’s Joseph Harmon, which now seems to be vindictive and personal, despite being provided with necessary explanations and clarifications.

Editor, I am not sure whether you would recall, but when Dino Bouterse (son of Suriname’s President) was arrested last August in Panama on illegal arms trafficking, there were several telling revelations, including the young Bouterse’s connections to Guyana.

In a Wikileaked cable from then US Ambassador to Guyana, Roland Bullen, he had noted that “Desi Bouterse’s son, Dino, organised a Surinamese soccer team trip to Buxton a few years ago. It is believed that the team bus carried weapons to Buxton.”

It was also alleged that APNU’s Joseph Harmon, a former colonel in the Guyana Defence Force was critically involved in organising this soccer match and other engagements with Dino Bouterse and has numerous links with the Surinamese underworld. As such, for many years Buxton had the reputation of being a safe haven for heavily armed gangs. Shortly after the Bouterse administration came into office in August 2010, the government established the Counter Terrorism Unit in which Dino Bouterse allegedly had a prominent position. This friendship between Harmon/Bouterse was maintained and further strengthened.

Notwithstanding these revelations, Harmon, it is suspected, continues to have strong links with the Surinamese underworld which is suspected to have interest in the New River Triangle area and other bordering areas south east of Guyana. Hence, the strong objections by him, Joseph Harmon, to any activity within the area

It is my sincerest hope that the facts of the connections with Harmon and the Suriname underworld be realised and expose his true intentions of forbidding any activity south east of Guyana.

Mrs C. CADOGAN

https://guyana.crowdstack.io/topic/another-pnc-thug-exposed

FM
Dave posted:
The Harmon Surinamese link
The Harmon Surinamese link

The Harmon Surinamese link

FOR every action there is a motive. I have been following the ongoing debate in the media, particularly the newspapers regarding the issuance of the Muri PGGS and analysed the questions posed by APNU’s Joseph Harmon, which now seems to be vindictive and personal, despite being provided with necessary explanations and clarifications.

Editor, I am not sure whether you would recall, but when Dino Bouterse (son of Suriname’s President) was arrested last August in Panama on illegal arms trafficking, there were several telling revelations, including the young Bouterse’s connections to Guyana.

In a Wikileaked cable from then US Ambassador to Guyana, Roland Bullen, he had noted that “Desi Bouterse’s son, Dino, organised a Surinamese soccer team trip to Buxton a few years ago. It is believed that the team bus carried weapons to Buxton.”

It was also alleged that APNU’s Joseph Harmon, a former colonel in the Guyana Defence Force was critically involved in organising this soccer match and other engagements with Dino Bouterse and has numerous links with the Surinamese underworld. As such, for many years Buxton had the reputation of being a safe haven for heavily armed gangs. Shortly after the Bouterse administration came into office in August 2010, the government established the Counter Terrorism Unit in which Dino Bouterse allegedly had a prominent position. This friendship between Harmon/Bouterse was maintained and further strengthened.

Notwithstanding these revelations, Harmon, it is suspected, continues to have strong links with the Surinamese underworld which is suspected to have interest in the New River Triangle area and other bordering areas south east of Guyana. Hence, the strong objections by him, Joseph Harmon, to any activity within the area

It is my sincerest hope that the facts of the connections with Harmon and the Suriname underworld be realised and expose his true intentions of forbidding any activity south east of Guyana.

Mrs C. CADOGAN

https://guyana.crowdstack.io/topic/another-pnc-thug-exposed

This is all BS and speculation

V
VishMahabir posted:

I did a paper in college on this guy...his time is up....he destroyed any semblance of democracy when he staged this coup and killed opp the entire labor union leadership in Dutch Guiana....

Jagdeo and Irfaan next!

What happened? Could not pass the open book T or F questions?

FM

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