SURINAME: BOUTERSE ANNOUNCES HE WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000275 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR WHA/CAR SWHALEN SOCSOUTH FOR J2 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL NS SUBJECT: SURINAME: BOUTERSE ANNOUNCES HE WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Desir Bouterse, former military dictator and current chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Mega-Combination coalition of political parties, announced on August 28, 2009 that he wants to be the next president of Suriname. Given Bouterse's well-known aspirations, what made this announcement surprising was how early it was made in the electoral process. There are various interpretations of Bouterse's move, including that it was to quell internal fighting among political leaders of the Mega-Combination members on who would be president or that it was to force the current ruling government to make public its choice for president, which is expected to affect it poorly in the polls because no popular, viable alternative to Venetiaan has been identified. End Summary. ¶2. (U) With the upcoming May 2010 elections in sight, former military dictator and chairman of the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) Desir Bouterse announced at a political rally on August 28, 2009 that he wants to be the Mega-Combination's candidate for president. (Note: Bouterse is also the chairman of the Mega-Combination coalition of political parties, which includes the NDP, Democratic National Platform 2000 (DNP2000),Javanese Indonesian Peasants Party (KTPI),New Suriname (NS),Progressive Workers and Agriculture Union (PALU) parties. End Note). Bouterse said he would like to serve one term as president, after which he will let the "youth" within his party take over the reins of leadership. Press accounts have interpreted this statement to specifically refer to Andre Misiekaba (a current NDP member of the National Assembly) and Melvin Bouva (a former CARICOM Youth Ambassador and new member of the NDP). The De Ware Tijd (the newspaper of record) reported on September 8 that Bouterse's announcement was to quell internal fighting among political leaders of the Mega-Combination members on who would be president if they came into power. It is widely believed that Mega-Combination members Jules Wijdenbosch (chair of the DNP2000),Rabin Parmessar (member of the NDP who was the opposition's presidential candidate in 2005),and Jennifer Geerlings-Simons (NDP) all have their eyes on the presidency. While not entirely surprising, Bouterse's announcement came extremely early in Suriname's electoral process because the president will not be elected by the National Assembly until after the new one convenes in mid-to-late summer 2010. ¶3. (U) While there was some negative reaction to this announcement by political parties, including some in the Mega-Combination, the biggest reaction came from the surviving relatives of the December 8 murder victims. One surviving relative told the media that it would be a disgrace for Suriname to have Bouterse as president when he is currently on trial for the December 8, 1982 murders of political opponents of the military dictatorship. Freddy Kruisland, advisor of the surviving relatives of the victims, stated to the media that amnesty from prosecution is not available to Bouterse because the prosecution has already begun its case. The December Murders Trial began in November 2007, and began hearing witnesses in the beginning of 2008. The trial is proceeding slowly, with the next session scheduled for late October, and is not expected to be completed before the elections. ¶4. (U) In addition to the ongoing murder trial, Bouterse also has an international warrant out for his arrest because he was sentenced (in absentia) in a Dutch court for drug trafficking. Margo Waterval, a lecturer of Diplomatic and Consular Law at the Anton de Kom University, was quoted by the De Ware Tijd saying that the country would not be isolated if Bouterse were elected president of Suriname because the Vienna Convention grants immunity to Heads of State. An editorial in the September 7 edition of the De West countered that, stating it unlikely that countries would issue a diplomatic visa to a convicted criminal. The drama heightened when Waterval sent a mass email to dozens of her contacts claiming the De Ware Tijd misrepresented her statements and had refused to print a correction. She explained in her email that the Vienna Convention does not determine whether, if Bouterse were elected president, countries would continue diplomatic relations with Suriname. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Bouterse's announcement that he wants to be president occurred extremely early in Suriname's electoral process. While it is true that political parties and coalitions of political parties are preparing for the 2010 National Assembly and Resort (Local) Council elections, the President of Suriname is not elected by popular vote. The new National Assembly will vote for the next president within thirty days of its convening. Some have PARAMARIBO 00000275 002 OF 002 interpreted Bouterse's early announcement as a political maneuver within the Mega-Combination to ensure he is that coalition's choice for president. It could also be a strategy to force the parties of the current ruling New Front Coalition to make public who their choice for president would be. Embassy interlocutors have told us that the ruling coalition government is expected to be negatively impacted at the polls if they announce who their frontrunner is for the presidency, mainly because at present it is not clear if there are viable alternatives to Venetiaan. End Comment. SCHREIBER HUGHES