SURINAME
REPUBLIC OF
SURINAME
Head of state:
Ronald Venetiaan
Head of
government: Jules
Ajodhia
Death penalty:
abolitionist in
practice
International Criminal
Court: not
signed
Impunity for killings
committed under military rule continued to be a major issue.
Several incidents suggested excessive use of force by
police.
Background
Suriname's compliance
with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was
reviewed by the UN Human Rights Committee in October. As Suriname
had not fulfilled its obligation to submit a report, the review
took place under new procedures and was based on questions put to
Suriname's representatives on issues of concern, including
impunity for past violations, prison conditions, alleged ongoing
human rights violations and the death penalty.
In June the UN Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considered
Suriname's report on compliance with the UN Women's
Convention, covering the period from 1993 to 1998. The Committee
expressed concern at a number of issues, including the situation of
rural women, particularly those from minority groups.
In August the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights responded to a petition by
representatives of the Saramaka people, a group of descendants of
escaped slaves of African descent who established settlements in
Suriname's rainforest interior in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Commission requested the suspension of logging and mine
concessions on the land in question until it had investigated the
substantive claims raised in the case. It also requested that
Suriname take appropriate measures to protect the physical
integrity of the communities concerned.
Impunity
1982 'December
murders'
By mid-2002 more than 160
people had reportedly testified in the investigation into the 1982
"December murders" in which 15 journalists, academics and
labour leaders were extrajudicially executed at Fort Zeelandia, an
army centre in Paramaribo. In May and September, Surinamese
investigators went to the Netherlands to hear testimony from people
there. Lawyers for Desi Bouterse, the coup-installed military
leader of Suriname at the time of the killings, were allowed to
attend the hearings in the Netherlands. According to some reports,
this caused some people to "adjust" their testimony out
of fear of reprisals. In June a team of forensic experts from the
Netherlands Forensic Institute visited Suriname and in December
they returned and played an advisory role during the exhumation of
the bodies of the victims.
1986 Moiwana
massacre
In August the Public
Prosecutor's Office ordered the reopening of the investigation
into the August 1990 killing of chief inspector Herman Gooding.
While leading the police investigation into the 1986 Moiwana
massacre, Herman Gooding was reportedly forced out of his car by
unknown assailants near Fort Zeelandia and shot in the head. His
body was reportedly left outside the office of Desi Bouterse. As a
result, other police investigators fled the country and the
investigation into the massacre stalled.
The massacre took place on 29
November 1986 when a specialized military unit attacked the village
of Moiwana, burning the house of armed opposition leader Ronnie
Brunswijk and reportedly killing at least 35 people, mostly women
and children. Civilian police investigated the massacre. Several
soldiers were arrested, but were released at the demand of armed
military police officers said to have the backing of Desi
Bouterse.
In June 1997 the
non-governmental human rights organization Moiwana '86 lodged a
petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
concerning the massacre. The Commission made a series of
recommendations to the government, and extended the deadline to
late 2002 by which it had to comply. However, the government did
not do so and in December the case passed to the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights.
Possible excessive use of force by
police
In several incidents the
police reportedly used excessive force. The authorities failed to
reply to AI's requests for further information on the
cases.
□ In March a man held
in the detention block of the police station Keizersstraat in
Paramaribo was reportedly shot dead by police as he tried to
escape. Another detainee was apparently injured during
the attempted escape and
needed hospital
treatment.
□ In May a man who
allegedly fled after resisting arrest following a suspected robbery
in the Del Pradostraat in Paramaribo was reportedly shot dead.
Police were said to have fired after he failed to stop in response
to warning shots.
□ In April 2001 Ricardo
Benito Vrieze was reportedly shot and killed by a police officer in
a sports complex in Paramaribo. The officer was said to have shot
him twice while arresting him for suspected theft and vandalism. In
July 2002 the police officer was convicted and sentenced to one
year in prison, reportedly for excessive use of violence. It was
not clear whether the officer was subsequently taken into custody.
Meanwhile the Public Prosecutor, who had asked for
six years' imprisonment,
was said to be considering
an appeal.
Conditions of
detention
Conditions in the severely
overcrowded prisons and police jails were reportedly harsh,
sometimes amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
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