BOUTERSE'S NDP PARTY TURNS UP THE PRESSURE

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SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR LLUFTIG
PORT OF SPAIN FOR LEGATT

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SNAR ASEC NS
SUBJECT: BOUTERSE'S NDP PARTY TURNS UP THE PRESSURE


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REFTELS: (A) PARAMARIBO 39 (B) PARAMARIBO 43 (C) 05
PARAMARIBO 751


1. (SBU) Summary. Surinamese politics has become
increasingly rancorous. The opposition National Democratic
Party (NDP) is systematically working to exploit unpopular
decisions taken by the government, with the goal of
undermining a fragile coalition to provoke new elections. A
recent chaotic National Assembly (DNA) session where police
had to remove four NDP members for misconduct and the
aggressive and unsuccessful NDP push to place Bouterse on
the Defense Committee stand as examples of provocation.
With the ruling coalition struggling to connect with the
public, this political drama looks likely to continue.
Some observers believe that it is designed to provoke
unrest and therefore forestall the upcoming trial of
Bouterse for the murder of 15 opposition members in
December 1982. End Summary.

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CHAOS IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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2. (U) Tensions between governing New Front Plus and the
NDP-led opposition in the DNA reached a boiling point on
February 9 when the session disintegrated into a shouting
match over how the government is dealing with hundreds of
recently closed down street vendors and its handling of
electricity in the district of Nickerie, where rolling
black-outs were briefly in effect. DNA speaker Paul
Somohardjo ordered police to remove five opposition
parliamentarians from the session marred by threats,
accusations, and the loud banging of name placards. In a
noteworthy moment, A-Combination leader, convicted
narcotics trafficker, and former rebel leader Ronnie
Brunswijk threatened to throw out a disruptive opposition
parliamentarian himself if the member did not leave.


3. (U) During the same session, NDP parliamentarian Rashied
Doekhie sought to play the corruption card, effectively
accusing prominent New Front DNA member and former Deputy
Speaker Ruth Wijdenbosch of stealing 28,000 SRD (10,000
USD) from the government when she was overpaid as policy
adviser at the Ministry of Finance. Wijdenbosch, prepared
by advance warning of Doekhie's attack, admitted the
erroneous salary overpayment, but said she is paying it
back in installments.


4. (U) In mid-January, police began forcibly removing the
stands of unlicensed street vendors as part of a reordering
of downtown Paramaribo. The media highlighted vendors'
protests for 10 straight days. Despite a variety of
proposed solutions, discussions between the enraged vendors
and the government are at an impasse. Seeing a political
opening, the NDP took up the mantle of the vendors and
framed the issue as an inconsiderate, out-of-touch
government acting against the average, low-income
Surinamer's interests. The opportunity repeated itself
when students in Nickerie protested rolling electricity
outages caused by cash shortfalls at the national
electricity company.

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BOUTERSE DENIED SEAT ON DEFENSE COMMITTEE, UPROAR ENSUES
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5. (U) The NDP's aggressive attempts to place Bouterse on
the parliamentary Defense Committee was a provocative ploy
considering Bouterse's past as a coup leader and military
strongman. The New Front blocked Bouterse from joining the
Defense Committee in 2000 and on January 19 the New Front
Plus used its majority in the DNA to once again vote down
Bouterse's committee membership. Opposition members
boycotted the vote, calling it an outrage; Bouterse
threatened that nobody from the Defense Committee would be
able to set foot on a military base if he were denied a
seat on the Committee. On January 31 the same DNA majority
also stopped Bouterse from serving on an ad hoc Defense
Budget Committee.


6. (U) In protest of the vote, the NDP announced its
withdrawal from all permanent DNA committees and is
pressing other opposition parties to do the same. The
procedural consequences of the NDP decision are still
unclear. While the committees should vet legislation
before its presentation to the full assembly, they have not

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traditionally played a strong role. According to
parliamentary protocol, committees should consist of four
majority and three opposition members. DNA speaker Paul
Somohardjo said he expects business to move forward as
usual, while NDP leaders predict serious disruptions.


7. (SBU) Bouterse has publicly reasserted his desire to sit
on the Defense Committee, claiming there is nobody better
qualified. He said that anybody with an understanding of
democracy understands that the vote was a joke and promised
a "political response." In an apparent explanation of his
consistent absenteeism, Bouterse undercut his own campaign
to serve by saying that only chitchat and games occur in
the DNA, in which he has no interest.

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POLITICAL DRAMA LINKED TO THE DECEMBER MURDER TRIALS
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8. (SBU) The latest political dramas provoked by Bouterse
and his NDP party occur against the backdrop of Bouterse's
possible prosecution for the murder of 15 prominent
Surinamers opposed to his military rule in December 1982.
The military court is still deliberating on pre-trial
defense objections heard last fall.


9. (U) While the Government of Suriname appears committed
to proceeding with the trial despite the risks, a recent
opinion poll revealed a public largely at odds with this
decision. IDOS, a respected independent polling group
affiliated with the university, carried out a poll in
Paramaribo, home to roughly half of Suriname's population,
in the first week of January. Only one-third of all
respondents favored a criminal trial. One-third favored a
truth commission, which was publicly called for by former
Minister of Defense Ronald Assen in January, while a third
felt the issue should be simply laid to rest given the
lengthy time that had elapsed.


10. (SBU) The NDP's strategic attempts to exploit unpopular
decisions made by the government appear to be taking their
toll. The poll also showed increased popular support for
Bouterse's NDP at the expense of President Venetiaan's New
Front Plus, with 9 percent of New Front voters declaring
themselves prepared to swing to the NDP if an election were
held today. A full 62 percent of respondents disapprove of
the President and his cabinet and 78 percent characterize
Venetiaan's policy as vague and unclear. (See septel for
complete poll results).


11. (SBU) Since doubling its DNA seats in the May 2005
election, the NDP has ratcheted up its criticism of the
government and worked hard to unite its fellow opposition
parties to strengthen its hand. In addition to the above-
mentioned situation of street vendors and energy shortages,
the NDP has also used hikes in gasoline prices to criticize
the government. (See ref C). While the NDP exploits
sometimes fizzle, such as failed street protests in October
and November, the party's efforts to address everyday
issues and problems can still resonate with average voters.


12. (SBU) According to an influential weekly editorial page
which questioned Bouterse's devotion to democracy, the
NDP's end game is to use these issues to create enough
dissatisfaction to force an early election (despite the
lack of a clear constitutional mechanism to do so). The
editorial made the point that although the next election is
scheduled for 2010, with NDP chairman Bouterse likely
facing a murder trial before then, the NDP is very eager to
see early elections.


13. (SBU) It is unlikely that the political polarization
will end soon. The NDP-led opposition has said that the
government has until February 14 to develop satisfactory
solutions to the street vendor issue and energy problems in
Nickerie or it will once again face serious disruptions
during the next session. There are also reports that the
vendors are planning street protests on February 14 with
support from the NDP. The government, meanwhile, has
failed to reach out to the public to articulate a vision
for the future. One Minister complained to the Ambassador
about the government's inability to mount an effective
information campaign to tout macroeconomic improvements.

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COMMENT

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14. (SBU) The NDP's political gambits appear to be part a
concerted and aggressive campaign to undermine the fragile
majority of the New Front Plus, force new elections and
form a government. In the context of the upcoming December
murder trial, NDP political actions can be seen as an
extension of party chair Bouterse's suspected efforts to
create a critical mass of unrest and instability in order
to force the government to end his criminal trial. The GOS
has given the NDP an advantageous environment in which to
operate as the government's popularity is suffering from
its apparent inability to articulate and justify its
policies and decisions. The arrogance and isolation
exhibited by New Front leadership indicates their continued
failure to internalize last year's election, in which they
lost ten seats and their majority, as a major defeat.

BARNES