December murders
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The expression December Murders is generally used for 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 dictatorship of Desi 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, The Netherlands, froze development aid afterwards. Anno 2005, long after the military dictatorship ended, nobody has ever stood trial for his part in the murders. Former military leader Bouterse has accepted political responsibility, but he says he is not the one who 'pulled the trigger'. Although legal proceedings are being prepared, the proceedings are extremely slow, partly because of sabotage and intimidation by Bouterse.
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[edit] 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, Desi 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.
The circumstances under which the victims were shot were never totally clarified. At the time, the military command declared that the fifteen were shot during an attempt to flee. Others spoke of torture, murder, execution and the presence of Bouterse himself, although Bouterse denies having been present during the shooting. However, Bouterse did claim political responsibility for the actions.
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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"[1], and appealed Suriname to investigate the murders and prosecute the ones responsible.
[edit] Discord within Suriname
The lack of an investigation into the December Murders within Suriname lead to discord within Suriname. Many thought that an independent investigation and prosecution were necessary to improve the situation of the country. Others saw it as a closed chapter, and felt that Suriname should look forward.
[edit] References
- ^ Appendix with Communication No. 148/1983 : Suriname. 04/04/85 of the UN Human Rights Committee, April 4, 1985
