- December murders
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December Murders refers to the murder on December 8, 1982, of thirteen civilians and two military officials who opposed the military rule in Suriname. They were executed in Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo. The circumstances have not become completely clear yet; at the time, the Suriname military administration of Dési Bouterse claimed all were shot while trying to flee. Others have spoken of torture, murder and summary execution.
The December Murders led to international protests. The former colonial power, Netherlands, froze development aid afterwards. No one has stood trial for the murders. Then military leader and later president Bouterse however did later accept political responsibility, but he says he is not the one who 'pulled the trigger'.
Contents
Description
The fifteen victims were transported to the terrain of Fort Zeelandia in the capital, Paramaribo. The soldiers performing the action were under command of the leader of the army at that time, Dési Bouterse. Among the victims were lawyers, journalists and soldiers. Some of them were recently arrested, some were already in captivity for months. A sixteenth arrested person, Fred Derby, was released unexpectedly on December 8. Derby reported his experiences on December 8, 2000.
Victims of the December murders
- John Baboeram, lawyer
- Bram Behr, journalist
- Cyrill Daal, union leader
- Kenneth Gonçalves, lawyer
- Eddy Hoost, lawyer
- André Kamperveen, journalist
- Gerard Leckie, university faculty
- Sugrim Oemrawsingh, university faculty
- Lesley Rahman, journalist
- Surendre Rambocus, military
- Harold Riedewald, lawyer
- Jiwansingh Sheombar, military
- Jozef Slagveer, journalist
- Robby Sohansingh, businessman
- Frank Wijngaarde, journalist (with Dutch citizenship)
Aftermath and legal action
Only after many years has the Surinamese government taken the first official legal steps in order to clarify the case. After the murders, the victims' bodies were buried without postmortem examinations having been performed; moreover, no legal investigation was conducted.
Politically, the murders continue to exert an influence on Surinam politics. After the 2010 Parliamentary elections, won by Bouterse, then-president Ronald Venetiaan refused to even mention Bouterse's name or congratulate him; Venetiaan, the Minister of Education in the government of Henck Arron, prime minister of the government overthrown by Bouterse, was a personal friend of most of the fifteen victims.[1]
United Nations
In 1983, relatives of eight of the victims asked the United Nations' Human Rights Committee to state their opinion on the case. They wanted the Committee to state that the executions were contradicting with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They assumed that within Suriname there were no legal means for them. Although the Suriname government requested to have the case declared as insusceptible, the committee judged that the 15 victims were "arbitrarily deprived of their lives contrary to article 6 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights"[2], and appealed Suriname to investigate the murders and prosecute the ones responsible.
References
- ^ Ramdhari, Stieven (28 July 2010). "Na 18 jaar gesprek tussen Bouterse en president Venetiaan". de Volkskrant. http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/article1404265.ece/Na_18_jaar_gesprek_tussen_Bouterse_en_president_Venetiaan. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ Appendix with Communication No. 148/1983 : Suriname. 04/04/85 of the UN Human Rights Committee, April 4, 1985
External links
Categories:- History of Suriname
- December murders
- 1982 in Suriname
- Assassinated Surinamese politicians
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