BOUTERSE RETRACTS SLANDEROUS STATEMENTS AGAINST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000409 SENSITIVE SIPDIS WHA/CAR FOR JACKIE ROSHOLT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR NS SUBJECT: BOUTERSE RETRACTS SLANDEROUS STATEMENTS AGAINST JUSTICE MINISTER, BUT WILL APPEAL COURT DECISION REF: A. PARAMARIBO 323 ¶B. 2007 PARAMARIBO 176 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Seen as a prelude to Suriname's 2010 elections, an internal power struggle reached fever pitch this month as former military strongman Desi Bouterse engaged in commonly-used smear-and-taint tactics against Minister of Justice and Police Chandrikapersad Santokhi. On September 23, Bouterse complied with the court decision that he publically retract his earlier accusations that Santokhi had ties with drug criminals. Santokhi had taken the battle to the courts, which on September 19 handed down the verdict that Bouterse must retract his comments. Santokhi, a consistent counternarcotics ally of the United States, has had his public reputation as a crime-fighter tainted. Bouterse has announced he will appeal the court's verdict. This case is reminiscent of accusations Bouterse made against former Minister of Justice and Police Siegfried Gilds, which finally gained credibility after a Dutch drug investigation incriminated the former Minister. With elections two years away, and Bouterse currently on trial for murder, no end to Bouterse's diversionary tactics is in sight. END SUMMARY. -------------- - BOUTERSE: "OUR JUSTICE MINISTER IS A CRIMINAL" -------------- - ¶2. (U) Desi Bouterse, chairman of largest political party in Suriname (the opposition National Democratic Party, NDP), former military strongman, and the main suspect in the ongoing trial of the 1982 murder of fifteen political opponents (Ref A) has periodically stated that "he won't go down alone," and that he has damaging information on his bitter political enemy (Ref B),Minister of Justice and Police Chandrikapersad Santokhi. ¶3. (U) On August 30, Bouterse unveiled a new attack on the Justice Minister, a consistent counternarcotics ally of the United States, when he announced that Santokhi's wife had purchased a home from suspected drug criminal August Adjoeba in November 2006 at a "below-market" price. Bouterse provided the media with a copy of the deed of sale, which showed that the property, valued at SRD 75,000 (USD 26,785), was sold for SRD 18,000 (USD 6,428). This sale showed that Santokhi is a "criminal himself," Bouterse claimed, and that Santokhi must have had some business connection with Adjoeba. ; (Note: Adjoeba was recently murdered in the Netherlands. This presumably drug/criminal-related incident was a prominent news story in Suriname. End Note). ¶4. (U) Santokhi refuted Bouterse's claims by saying that his wife is from a "rich family," and that he was not aware of his wife's plans to buy the house from Adjoeba until after the sale was made. He added that, after learning of the purchase, he did a background check and told his wife that Adjoeba was "a bit shady." (Note: Later, the media carried the story that Santokhi and his wife had long-standing marital problems, which could explain their separation of finances and lack of communication. End Note). ¶5. (U) On September 6, Bouterse continued his attack, claiming that Santokhi's relations with drug criminals dated back to when Santokhi was a police officer. Bouterse also showed film footage of a mother recounting how her son had been killed (as a criminal) in the 1980s by Santokhi when he was Inspector of Police, and that although she had filed a complaint, it was never fully investigated. -------------- -------------- SANTOKHI: BOUTERSE'S COMMENTS "SLANDEROUS, OFFENSIVE AND INSULTING" -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) Following Bouterse's September 6 remarks, Santokhi responded that they were "slanderous, offensive and insulting" and filed a defamation suit. In the suit, Santokhi requested Bouterse publish a retraction on the front page of all local newspapers. On September 19, the courts handed down the verdict that Bouterse must retract in all the major media sources his statements about Santokhi. Bouterse complied with the verdict on September 23, but announced his plans to appeal the court's decision. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT. The Santokhi/Bouterse affair dominated Surinamese news for two weeks. Santokhi wished to cast this PARAMARIBO 00000409 002 OF 002 controversy as a legal matter. Bouterse, however, successfully set this as a battle for public perception -- which he may be winning, despite the court's verdict. Santokhi, regularly hailed for his energetic crime-fighting, has begun to lose his Teflon coating. Post's review of media sources and internet sites showed that public opinion was not on Santokhi's side. One reason for this may be that the case reminds the public too much of Bouterse's repeated allegations that former Minister of Justice and Police Siegfried Gilds had criminal ties, which were supported by a Dutch investigation that eventually incriminated the former Minister. Credibility gained for Bouterse from that case may influence public opinion this time around. It is too soon to tell, though doubtful, that Bouterse's retraction will change the public's siding with him in the short term. Nor is it certain Santokhi will regain his image. With the 2010 elections just two years away, and Bouterse on trial for murder, Bouterse's smear-and-taint machine will surely stay on the roll. END COMMENT. SCHREIBER HUGHES