Developments in post-elections Suriname
NDP meeting hears…
-Guyanese community unperturbed
WORD OUT of Paramaribo is that despite the possibility of his arrest on the authority of an Interpol warrant, chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and former military strongman, Dési Bouterse wants to be president of the former Dutch colony, which he ruled after staging a military coup in the 1980s.
A source in Suriname told the Guyana Chronicle that Bouterse recently met with party officials during  a cadre meeting of the NDP and expressed his desire to be president.
Immediately after the elections were over and Bouterse’s Mega Combination coalition declared the winner, the understanding was that the president would have been chosen from one of two persons, namely Dr. Jennifer Simons and Rabindre Parmessar.
This arrangement, not unlike the Jules Wijdenbosch scenario some years ago, would have seen Bouterse in the background but still in control. Since Friday, Bouterse’s NDP has reportedly been holding talks with various other parties, including the Indonesian party and the Nieuw Front.
It is felt that the VHP will form an alliance with Bouterse’s Mega Combination coalition. “People believe that this is the best combination for Suriname, since it will bring together all the races [in the country],” our source said. But reports indicate that not all of the parties are ‘playing nice’ in forming a coalition and contributing the seats that they gained individually during the elections.
Meanwhile, Bouterse is saying that he would like to come together with anyone interested in the development of Suriname. People seem to think that Bouterse’s Mega Combination has the best ideas, although none of the parties put out manifestos of what they will do once they gain power through the polls. Bouterse’s group is focused on the economy, on creating jobs, on reforming the constitution and on changing electoral laws.
His Mega Combination also promised to guarantee press freedom, establish Suriname’s own gold mining company in like manner as the State oil company (STATSOLIE), address land rights of indigenous people and maroons, combat poverty, increase general provision of old age, strengthen pensions and increase child benefits. Bouterse is said to have boosted his following among the masses by offering populist promises of affordable housing and more jobs.
A source close to the Guyanese community said that there is not much of a response from members of the Guyanese Diaspora in Suriname on the outcome of the elections. They say that it does not even appear as if Suriname had an election just days ago, since the atmosphere is extremely quiet.
Said source disclosed that people are of the view that the Bouterse whose NDP won the elections is a different Bouterse from the person who staged the coup back in the 1980s.
“Bouterse has mellowed over the past two decades …he will be the commandante in the background. He may not take up any Cabinet position, but he will be a Member of Parliament… He will be calling the shots,” said another Paramaribo source.
The observer said that it is presently a “wait-and-see” game on the part of foreign investors with an interest in Suriname as regards the unfolding of events. He is of the view, however, that the military usurper and dictator Bouterse is long gone, and a 64-year-old leader of a political party which has won an election is all that’s left.
The Bouterse-led Mega Combination coalition won 23 of the 51 seats in parliament to become the largest bloc, according to preliminary results released on Wednesday.
The observer with whom this newspaper spoke believes that two factors were responsible for the downfall of Venetiaan’s party. The first is that the party had become too complacent and overly confident that they still had the trust of the people. There was no programme put in place, and too much internal rivalry in the party. The second reason proffered for the defeat is that the young voters know little, and care even less about the occurrences of the past, thus they made their voices heard on elections day.
“The Nieuw Front had no leader… [Chandrikapersad] Santokhi would have won them votes…Venetiaan is not interested in the Presidency anymore,” the observer said.
“The mood of people in Suriname [has] already been said during the elections. Bouterse won the elections, what means that the majority of the electorate [wants] to have Bouterse as president,” said a Surinamese journalist.
Her perception of the composition of the Cabinet is that it will be the Mega Combination, the VHP and the BEP. “Then they will have a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, so they can choose the president,” she said. The president and vice-president are elected by 32 votes of the 51 seats in parliament. Parties who have at least seven seats in parliament propose nominees, she said.
According to the election results and call-in radio programmes, there is no fear among the majority of the people. Ruth Wijdenbosch of the Nieuw Front said on Friday in the television programme ‘Panorama’, that it will not be good for Suriname if Bouterse is President, because of the international investigation warrant of Interpol.
“In fact, it is up to Bouterse if he wants to be President. The majority of the voters already vote for him, and the party with at least seven seats in the National Assembly is allowed to nominate the president. It is not certain yet what will happen…” the journalist said.
And according to an Associated Press report, voters who remember Bouterse’s leftist military regime in the 1980s as a time of economic instability and human rights abuses were startled by the outcome. This is despite pre-elections polls favouring Bouterse’s party.
“I was shocked, but now I say to myself and others, let it be,” the Associated Press quoted retired insurance worker Frank Jong Ly as saying. “If people want this, then let them have it. But they will have to deal with the consequences when they come.”
But taxi driver Dennis Fernand, 36, was quoted by AP as saying he was thrilled by the election results. “Now the country will be run in such a way that it will benefit everyone living here,” he said.
According to the country’s Constitution, Suriname’s President is chosen by a two-thirds vote in parliament, and since no faction has that share, the parties must negotiate to choose a new leader. Bouterse’s NDP is the largest opposition party and has held 15 seats in parliament before Tuesday’s elections.
Five years after Suriname won its independence from the Netherlands, Bouterse seized control and only stepped down under international pressure in 1987. He seized power briefly in 1990 and in 1999, and was convicted in a Dutch Court for trafficking in cocaine from Suriname to the Netherlands, but because both Suriname and the Netherlands prohibit extradition of each other’s citizens, Bouterse avoided an 11-year prison sentence.
Further, in June, a trial is supposed to commence at which Bouterse will be tried for the murder of 15 prominent political opponents in 1982. His trial resumes June 6 and if convicted, Bouterse could face up to 20 years in prison. The Associated Press said it is believed that Bouterse’s bid for the presidency is a move to avoid imprisonment by granting amnesty to all those involved in the 1980s killings.
The Associated Press also quoted Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen as saying on Wednesday that the Netherlands respects the will of the electorate, but added that the past cannot be forgotten.
“Mr. Bouterse has been sentenced to an 11-year prison term in the Netherlands for drug dealing, and in Suriname, a case about the murders of December 1982 is still proceeding. We cannot brush all that away,”
Verhagen said, according to the Associated Press report.