The President. |
This
is the first time I will be seeing this nature of information as a military
court in Suriname has sentenced the President of the country, Desi Bouterse to
20 years in prison over the executions of political opponents when he was the
South American country’s dictator in the 1980s.
Bouterse,
74, is on a state visit to China and will appeal the judgement when he returns
next week, his lawyer Irvin Kanhai said.
A
two-time coup leader, two-term president and convicted drugs-trafficker,
Bouterse has dominated Suriname’s politics since taking power in a 1980
military coup.
Friday’s
judgement, delivered by a three-member court martial led by Judge Cynthia
Valstein-Montor, relates to the executions of 15 regime opponents in December
1982.
The
so-called “December killings,” in which the regime rounded up and executed 13
civilians and two military officers, have long clouded Bouterse’s rule, an
event which he has always denied involvement in, saying the victims had been
held for plotting a counter-coup with the help of the CIA, and had been shot
while trying to escape.
His
evidence, presented by his lawyers, contradicted several witnesses who said he
was present during the executions at Fort Zeelandia, the colonial fortress in
the capital Paramaribo.
In
her ruling, Valstein said Bouterse had played a “crucial” role in the killings,
carefully preparing the ground for executions he had the power to prevent.
Military
prosecutors opened the case against Bouterse and 24 other suspects in 2007, but
the president and political allies several times sought to derail it in
Congress.
The
trial has gone on so long — 12 years — that six of the suspects have died.
Bouterse
is due to begin the second leg of his foreign trip, a two-day visit to Cuba, on
Monday on his way back from China.
The
veteran leader is unlikely to go to jail anytime soon, however. Under
Surinamese law, he cannot be arrested until all appeals have been exhausted.
Bouterse
seized power as a 34-year-old sergeant major.
He
stepped down in 1987 under international pressure, but returned to power in
1990 in a second, bloodless coup. He left office a year later.
In
2010, Bouterse’s election as president protected him from an Interpol arrest
warrant issued after a Dutch court sentenced him to 11 years in prison for
cocaine trafficking.
Dutch-speaking
Suriname’s people have roots in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
It
gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975.
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