NEARLY one month after national elections in Suriname, the atmosphere in the neighbouring Dutch-speaking republic remains “strangely quiet” as citizens come to grips with the possibilities of who will head the nation, a well-placed source said yesterday.
The presidency has not yet been decided, but Suriname newspapers are reporting that former military strongman, Desi Bouterse still has aspirations of being President.
“That seems to be the popular perception, but who will be Vice President is not clear,” said a source with whom this newspaper spoke. “Everybody is back at work, and the general feeling is that things are going to go well,” the source said.
Bouterse’s Mega-Combination won 23 of the 51 seats in the Suriname Parliament. But the party needs to partner with other groups to achieve the two-thirds majority needed for naming a President and Vice President.
Immediately after the elections were over and the Mega Combination coalition declared the winner, there was speculation that the President would have been chosen from Dr. Jennifer Simons or Rabindre Parmessar.
This arrangement, similar to the Jules Wijdenbosch presidency some years ago, would have seen Bouterse in the background but still in control. Bouterse’s NDP has reportedly been holding talks with various other parties, including the Indonesian party and the Nieuw Front.
But soon after, Bouterse revealed his intention to be President, a surprising development, given that there is an Interpol warrant for his arrest for drug dealing, for which he has been convicted in his absence.
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 do not allow the extradition of each other’s citizens, Bouterse was able to avoid an 11-year prison sentence.
Bouterse’s trial for the murder of 15 prominent political opponents in 1982 should have resumed on June 6 and if convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
The source said that when the trial was called up prior to the elections, witnesses did not turn up. On another occasion, Bouterse was a no-show because of the demands of the elections campaign. According to information from Suriname, a new date for the trial has not yet been decided.
This newspaper understands that for security reasons, the trial is being held in a specially-renovated building of a former naval-military base just outside of Paramaribo. The location is a community called Boxhill in an area called Domburg, and is about a 40-minute drive from Paramaribo.
The building, which is not a regular courthouse, was specially renovated with very tight security specially for the holding of Bouterse’s trial.
The source told Guyana Chronicle that the Nieuw Front wants to put up its own candidate for President and this person will be Chandrikapersad Santokhi. Its Vice-Presidential candidate will be Gregory Rusland.