SUGGESTED INFO MEMO ON BOUTERSE TRIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARAMARIBO 000609

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR FOR JACKIE ROSHOLT, INR FOR BOB CARHART, WHA/PDA
FOR AUDREY PRUITT AND CHARLOTTE PETERSON, USEMBASSY
BRASILIA FOR BRIAN BUTCHER, LEGATT FOR K KURRIER, POL-MIL
FOR MIKE BORDERS, DRL FOR JENNIE MUNOZ AND THERESE TRACY,
DOJ FOR ROBERT LIPMAN, OSD FOR ASHLEY RICHARDSON, SOUTHCOM
FOR STEVEN WETZEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2017
TAGS: PGOV ASIC SNAR NS
SUBJECT: SUGGESTED INFO MEMO ON BOUTERSE TRIAL

Classified By: PolOff in accordance with EO 12958


1. (U) The following is suggested text for an info memo on
the "December Process" (Bouterse trial) in Suriname.


2. (C) The trial of Desi Bouterse and 24 co-defendants for
the December 1982 murder of fifteen political opponents will
begin on Friday, November 30. Bouterse is expected by many
to attempt to derail the trial through fomenting unrest and
violence. President Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan and Minister of
Justice and Police Chandrikapersad Santokhi, staunch
political and personal enemies of Bouterse, say they are
committed to ensuring that the process moves forward
peacefully and without the taint of politics.

Bouterse, coup leader in 1980, military strongman from 1980
to 1992, and current opposition leader and parliamentarian,
remains a prominent figure in Surinamese politics, whether
delivering bombastic speeches or goading his National
Democratic Party (NDP) to try to force the government,s
resignation. Often disappearing into the unpatrolled,
forested interior of the country, Bouterse is the subject of
rumors ranging from likely true: drug trafficking and
alliances with the FARC -- to speculative: contracting
Guyanese assassination squads, organizing Amerindian
uprisings, and planning arson attacks on the Surinamese
judiciary,s homes.

While Bouterse has admitted "political responsibility" for
the 1982 killings of fifteen opponents of his then-military
government and offered a public apology, he continues to deny
personal involvement. Eyewitness reports place him at the
site of the killings, and one rumor circulates that Bouterse
castrated one victim before killing him.

"I,m not paying attention to the trial" remains the Bouterse
line, and as the process moves forward, he may test the
government,s will by daring them to compel him to appear.
He may appear for trial to deride the government, the
process, and the politics of putting him on trial. Or, he
may choose to flee.

There is little clarity on what form the trial will take.
Hans Lim A Po, Surinamese legal expert and policy advisor to
the government, does not know how the trial will be
structured -- including if defendants will be tried together
or individually. Much will depend on the will and health of
the aging, independent-minded judiciary. At the quickest,
the trial will last for months, and at the slowest, for
years. It could be followed by an amnesty process in
Parliament, which Speaker Paul Somohardjo favors.

Ordinary Surinamers regard the trial, machinations and rumors
surrounding it with alienated cynicism. They appear less
worried about whether Bouterse will be convicted, or start
riots and fires, and more about whether this government, or a
subsequent Bouterse-led one, will move forward decisively to
address inefficiencies created by a corrupt, bloated state
sector. For most, the trial promises to be business as
usual: incremental steps forward in the midst of speculation
and rumors reported by a less-than-responsible press, and
attempts by both political sides to get the public on their
bandwagons. In the end, the only side ordinary Surinamers
are likely to take is their own, which bodes ill for
Bouterse,s plans for popular revolt -- as well as the
government,s plans for public approval of its procedures,
policies, and the trial itself.
SCHREIBER HUGHES