Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PARAMARIBO638
2007-12-10 19:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Paramaribo
Cable title:  

BOUTERSE'S TRIAL BEGINS WITHOUT HIM; STRIKES

Tags:  KCRM PGOV ASEC PREL NS 
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VZCZCXRO8132
RR RUEHAO
DE RUEHPO #0638/01 3441919
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 101919Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9857
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 1511
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1644
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 1632
RUEHAO/AMCONSUL CURACAO 1216
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000638 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, INR FOR BOB CARHART, DS/IP/WHA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017
TAGS: KCRM PGOV ASEC PREL NS
SUBJECT: BOUTERSE'S TRIAL BEGINS WITHOUT HIM; STRIKES
CONTINUE

REF: A. PARAMARIBO 609


B. PARAMARIBO 617

Classified By: PolOff in accordance with E.O. 12958

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000638

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, INR FOR BOB CARHART, DS/IP/WHA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017
TAGS: KCRM PGOV ASEC PREL NS
SUBJECT: BOUTERSE'S TRIAL BEGINS WITHOUT HIM; STRIKES
CONTINUE

REF: A. PARAMARIBO 609


B. PARAMARIBO 617

Classified By: PolOff in accordance with E.O. 12958


1. (C) SUMMARY: The &December Process8 murder trial of
Desi Bouterse began anti-climactically on November 30 with
Bouterse,s failure to appear. The venue was heavily
secured, and as expected Bouterse,s lawyer called for
dismissal, claiming the court has no jurisdiction. Outside
the venue, attendees speculated that the beginning of the
trial will not mean the end of Bouterse,s attempts to force
the government to resign. Elsewhere, strikes continued, with
more expected. Hence, while the beginning of the trial
relieved some tension, the process will be slow and
technical, and the strikes, rather than the trial, are
probably now the most destabilizing factor in Suriname.
END SUMMARY

--------------
Bouterse Doesn,t Show
--------------


2. (U) The long awaited and highly anticipated trial of
former military strongman Desi Bouterse and 24 others opened
November 30. The 25 defendants are on trial for the December
8, 1982 execution of fifteen democratic opponents of the
military regime. Amidst a tense atmosphere, a large
contingent of journalists (including 87 from the
Netherlands),relatives of the 15 men killed, and eleven of
the defendants sat waiting for the opening procedures.
Tension subsided as it became clear that Bouterse was to make
good on intimations he might not attend (ref A). Bouterse,
who is the lead defendant, is chairman of Suriname's largest
political party, the National Democratic Party (NDP),and a
Member of Parliament.

--------------
The Trial: Logistics
--------------


3. (U) The trial is being conducted in a specially designed
courtroom located on the compound of a Navy base some 15
miles south of Paramaribo. The Government of Suriname has
left little to chance: the navy base and the road leading up
to it are heavily guarded by armed officers of the military
police. Private vehicles are not allowed near the base, and

all visitors are bussed in from a police checkpoint some 600
meters from the courthouse. Ironically, this courtroom is
part of a building which served as Bouterse's residence while
he was army commander.

--------------
The Trial: Legal Proceedings
--------------


4. (U) The Court of Justice established two judges'
chambers for this high profile criminal trial. One chamber,
consisting of three judges (Chief Judge Valstein-Montnor,
with judges Rasoelbaks and Rodrigues),hears the cases
brought against the high ranking military officers (such as
Bouterse) and the civilians implicated in this case. The
second chamber, consisting of one judge (Valstein-Montnor)
and two high ranking army officers (Cooper and Amatdasin),
hears the cases brought forward against lower ranking army
officers.


5. (U) Bouterse's lawyer, Erwin Kanhai, takes many
high-profile drug cases and is known in society as &the drug
lawyer,8 reputed to always manage to get his clients off the
hook. In his opening before the court, Kanhai carefully
avoiding the word "army commander," and contended that
Bouterse was not an army officer but de facto head of state
and the legislature in 1982. He argued that this court is
therefore not qualified to hear Bouterse's case. The panel
of judges will deliberate on this point, and the next session
is scheduled for December 17. (NOTE: While Suriname's
Constitution stipulates that those who hold political office
have to be brought to trial before the High Court, this
objection will almost certainly be rejected. END NOTE)

--------------
Strikes Continue Apace
--------------


PARAMARIBO 00000638 002 OF 002



6. (C) In Paramaribo itself many high schools and most bus
routes remained closed as of December 4, the result of
strikes which began the week of November 26. Many observers
insist the strikes are politically motivated and orchestrated
by Bouterse. On December 4 the bus strikers upped the ante,
blocking roads in downtown Paramaribo. More strikes are
expected: in addition to those forecast by Minister of
Justice and Police Chandrikapersad Santokhi (ref B),the head
of the customs union says the union will strike December 6,
meaning Christmas imports will remain in the ports,
threatening sales. Meanwhile, Bouterse is close with &De
Moederbond,8 an umbrella union whose constituent unions
control many sectors. Santokhi told Ambassador Schreiber
Hughes (ref B) that he expects &all8 Moederbond unions to
strike.

--------------
Scuttlebutt
--------------


7. (C) Waiting for the court proceedings to start on 30
November, many present discussed the current political
situation and drew parallels between Bouterse's behavior
before he took power in the 1980s and his behavior now. Some
said they believe Bouterse will eventually have to surrender
to the justice system; many more believe the NDP will
continue to stir things up and send the Government home. A
great deal also believe Bouterse will attempt another coup.
On the other hand, a few people whispered that Bouterse might
want to go the same way Hitler did and commit suicide before
the trial concludes. From the international community, the
only Embassy to join Post (the U.S. Embassy sent two LESs) at
the venue was the Dutch, whose PolOff told EmbOff earlier in
the week that while the Dutch might prefer to send no one,
for &internal political8 reasons, they are required to
attend. In the end, the Dutch Ambassador stayed away,
sending a political officer.


8. (C) A welcome reception hosted by the new French
Ambassador in his own honor the evening of November 30 drew a
surprisingly large number of senior GOS officials closely
associated with the trial, including Minister of Defense Ivan
Fernald, Minister of Justice and Police Chandrikapersad
Santokhi, Attorney General Subhas Punwasi, Defense Ministry
Head of Planning and member of the Court Martial Court of
Appeals LTC Justus Hew A Kee, Head of the Suriname Defense
Forces COL Ernst Mercuur, and Commander of the Military
Police LTC Carlos Li Fo Sjoe (in charge of security at the
site of the trial). Minister Fernald told Ambassador
Schreiber Hughes and the DCM that Suriname, by starting the
trial, had proved that it was serious about the December
Process. Meanwhile Santokhi, Punwasi, Hew A Kee and others
seemed loose, confident, and relaxed as they drank French red
wine and exchanged jokes for most of the evening.


--------------
Comment
--------------


9. (C) COMMENT When Bouterse failed to appear, November 30
immediately became anti-climactic, and when no violence
occurred elsewhere, a certain relief from tension was soon
palpable in Paramaribo. However, Santokhi,s warning that
the strikes and tensions in Suriname are not just related to
the trial but an ongoing, separate effort by the NDP to force
the government from power (ref B) are believable; however,
just as plausible is the view that unions with long-standing,
unresolved grievances are merely taking advantage of a
perceived GOS willingness to dialogue in this tense political
climate.


10. (C) COMMENT CONT'D November 30 seemed a sort of
Suriname-specific &millennium bug8: while the gloom and
doom widely predicted for did not dawn, nor did a new era
suddenly spring up. Surinamers, their government, and
Bouterse must still struggle slowly forward with the same
troubles as before )temporarily free from the sense of
apocalyptic paranoia the country,s hothouse culture of rumor
and innuendo so easily generates. END COMMENT
GENTON