Suriname - Dick de Bie former Bouterse government collaborator testifies in massacre trial

Desiré Delano Bouterse (64) trial

EU-Digest

Dick de Bie former Bouterse government collaborator testifies in massacre trial

Dick de Bie, the former head of Bouterse's information service, told a three-member military tribunal in Paramaribo, Suriname (a former Dutch colony on the North East Coast of South America) overseeing the ex-dictator's murder trial that he was alarmed by news of the killings and said he had no prior knowledge that regime opponents would be rounded up and shot on Dec. 7, 1982. "Yes", he said, "there were tensions within the regime and there was social unrest. But I never suspected it would lead to the killings of 15 people." De Bie testified at a naval base outside the capital, Paramaribo. Bouterse, who could not be reached for comment Monday and rarely speaks to reporters, has denied any involvement in the 1982 killings. However, in March 2007, he offered a first public apology and said he accepts political responsibility for the slayings. The regime's critics were taken by soldiers to Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo and shot one by one. Two days after the killings, Bouterse said in a televised statement that the 15 men had been shot while attempting to escape police detention. De Bie who testified has not been accused of participating in the slayings.

Even though Mr. de Bie told the tribunal he was alarmed about the killings and that he had never suspected that 15 people would be killed, records show he nevertheless remained very faithful to Mr. Bouterse before, during and after the massacres. Following the Bouterse coup in 1980, Mr. de Bie became a staff member at the CONS Office/ Planning Office in the section of the OPO negotiations and also liaison officer of UNDP. One year later in 1981 Bouterse appointed de Bie Director of the National Information Services (NVD). He held that position through 1983. In 1985 he became the head of the UN Desk and head of the USA/Canada Desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Consul General of Suriname in the United States in 1987, stationed in Miami where he remained until he was transferred back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993. In 1996 de Bie was appointed Transport, Communications and Tourism Minister in the Bouterse controlled NDP government. He held that position until 2000 when the NDP coalition was defeated in the general elections by the New Front of President Ronald R. Venetiaan.

Bouterse and the 11 others could face 20 years in jail if found guilty. It was not clear when Bouterse might appear before the tribunal. Testimony is scheduled to resume on April 20.